Travian

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Travian is a MMOG developed in Germany. In Travian, players interact simultaneously, competing with thousands of other players online in a virtual world set in the Iron Age.

Travian is a browser-based game, made in PHP, which is played directly through the internet. No downloads, installations or plugins are required, although a graphicpack may be downloaded. After registration, players may start playing Travian immediately, all free of charge. Travian provides enhanced access (such as access through mobile phones) for a fee. Also, you can sign up for 'Plus' - which allows the player access to more advanced game features.

One starts as the chief of a small village, either as a Teuton, a Gaul or a Roman, each having different unit types and playing styles.

There are four different types of resources in Travian: wood, clay, iron and crop, all of which are required in various quantities to build and expand. The resources are produced by fields in one's village, producing resources at a preset rate, which may be upgraded. Though unusual for an online browser-based game, field tiles continuously generate resources. For example, if 30 units of a resource are to be produced per hour, one unit is generated every 2 minutes, rather than 30 units on the hour.

The game shares some similarities with the board game Settlers of Catan: the board is shaped similarly, tiles are hexagonal, and each tile generates resources of a unique type. However, these similarities are only superficial. The game is more one of managing resources and a complex build tree, and players do not directly compete for resources as they are generated.

There are currently seven game servers running the English version of the game, numbered s1 to s7. Each server represents a separate world.

Travian version 2 games are in progress on s4, s5, and s6, while version 3 is in use on s1, s2, s3, and s7. Server s3 runs at triple speed, so a building which might take 33 minutes to build on s2 will take only 11 minutes on s3.