Screenshots
Watch trailer on Steam ↗Monarchs at Play
MixedMoonGames · Published by MixedMoonGames
Last updated 28 Sept 2026
Turn-based 4X strategy in just one hour. Place buildings, chain adjacency bonuses, optimize resources, and outsmart rival monarchs through trade or war to earn the most Glory - solo or multiplayer.
Monarchs at Play challenges you to master 4X strategy within an hour. Build wisely, exploit adjacency bonuses, and decide your fate through trade or war against other ambitious rulers.
About this game
Monarchs at Play is turn-based 4X strategy distilled into one hour.
Plan cities, place buildings, and chain powerful adjacency bonuses to build the most efficient empire.
Choose your monarch, optimize your resources, and outsmart rivals through trade or war - solo or in multiplayer matches. With different map types, sizes, challenges, and highscore chasing, every game offers new strategic possibilities.
Features
Classic 4x strategy - reimagined around one simple action: placing buildings
Deep city planning with powerful adjacency combos
Short matches - finish a full game in about 60 minutes
Game modes - singleplayer, multiplayer, and challenges
6 monarchs with special abilities and exclusive buildings
50+ buildings to craft your perfect empire
Place your palace to found your empire. Explore new regions, unlock stronger buildings, and carefully design your layout to maximize production. Every turn expands your possibilities.
Trade with rivals or conquer them. Earn the most Glory to win.
Monarchs at play is inspired by:
Civilization
TerraScape
The Settlers of Catan
System Requirements
Will my PC run this? →Minimum
- Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
- OS: Windows 10 or higher
- Processor: Intel i5 6300U or higher
- Memory: 8 GB RAM
- Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 520 or higher
- Storage: 8 GB available space
- Sound Card: Not needed
- VR Support: No
Recommended
- Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
Supported Languages
Latest news
AnnouncementsOfficial
New playable playtest of Monarchs at Play
Hello everyone,over the past few weeks we’ve been superbusy working on a huge milestone for the next iteration of Monarchs at Play - our brand new PLAYTEST BUILD.That's right - you can play a completely overhauled early build of our game, starting now, by just requesting access on the steampage right here ! What is new ?Brandnew onboarding processNew Challenge GamemodeMAJOR UI UpgradeComplete AI overhaul - a LOT smarter than before, heheNotifications will show up ingame for specific events like being under attackedIngame graphics upgraded (new water tiles, cloud shadows, delightful bird visitors,..)Rebalanced militaryTons of quality of life changes and bugfixes Want to get in touch with the devs and give feedback about the playtest ?Make sure to hop on our discord and let us know about your experience ! Have fun out there !Emanuel & EricRead full article on Community Announcements (Acumen)AnnouncementsOfficial
First Playtest Recap
Hey Monarchs,our first closed playtest has officially come to an end and we just want to say: thank you.Seeing players jump in, experiment with strategies, and push the limits of what we thought was possible has been incredible.Playtest in numbersWhat Went WrongDuring the playtest, a D3D12-related issue caused big problems for some players.This likely affected session length and overall experience. The issue has now been fixed and will not be present in the next playtest :)Community & CoverageWe were lucky to see the game featured by creators like Nookrium and Writing Bull, a huge honor for us as a small indie team. We also welcomed a handful of new Discord members, who are already helping shape the game with valuable feedback.Next PlaytestThe next playtest is not far away. If you haven’t already, make sure to follow the game on Steam to get notified when it goes live.Cheers, EricRead full article on Community Announcements (mixed.moon.games)AnnouncementsOfficial
FYNG Award at CaGGtus in Leipzig
Hi Monarchs, TL;DR: We're attending the CAGGTUS Gaming Festival in Leipzig (April 17th - April 19th), we're nominated for the FYNG Award (vote for us!), sign up for our upcoming playtest (April 24th – May 1st), and check out our new CaGGtus-themed challenge. CaGGtus Gaming Festival 2026We’ll be attending the CAGGTUS Gaming Festival in Leipzig from April 17th to April 19th. If you're nearby, feel free to join the festival, meet us at our booth, and check out all the other fantastic games.You can find us in Hall 3, Booth 250. Check out the festival homepage for more details.Find Your Next Game Award by GameStarWe’re happy to announce that we’ve reached the finals of the FYNG Award 2026 alongside two other great games.If you enjoy Monarchs at Play, we’d really appreciate your vote during the festival!Here’s a link to a press article explaining the event. As part of the event, we’re also featured in the Steam sale.Sign up for Playtest (April 24th - May 1st)There’s just over one week to go until our first closed playtest on Steam.Make sure to sign up now so you can join and play the game :)New Caggtus ChallengeTo celebrate the gaming festival, we’ve themed our latest challenge mission around… a cactus 🌵If you're new: you can join our Discord to get early access and play the game before everyone else! Cheers, EricRead full article on Community Announcements (mixed.moon.games)AnnouncementsOfficial
Closed Playtest: April 24th - May 1st
Hey Monarchs,our first closed playtest is just around the corner! Make sure to sign up so you can start building the most glorious empire of all time.What’s included in the playtest?A tutorial to help you learn the basicsSingleplayer mode against bots on procedurally generated mapsChallenges: 6 handcrafted scenarios where you can compete for the highest scoreTo stay up to date and secure future early access opportunities, join our Discord server. We highly value your feedback, so don’t hesitate to share your thoughts, either through the in-game feedback system or directly with us on Discord.Cheers, EricRead full article on Community Announcements (mixed.moon.games)AnnouncementsOfficial
Weekly Challenges
Welcome Monarchs!This is our first Steam announcement. We'd like to thank everyone who has already wishlisted the game or joined our Discord server to playtest the gameRead full article on Community Announcements (mixed.moon.games)
