Foreign Empires and Kingdoms

The Great Empire is just the beginning. Once you upgrade your main castle to a decent level, the game will start unlocking additional kingdoms, each of which looks and plays differently. The Glacier of Eternal Winter, the Burning Sands, the Fiery Peaks, and the Stormy Islands are not just different colors on the map. Each has its own resource, its own enemies, its own combat bonuses, and its own reward circuit that you simply cannot access from the Great Empire. The catch is that most people do it half-heartedly: they open a foreign kingdom with a weak home map, send an army there with the same composition as at home, and then wonder why they are losing troops. Here’s what you really need to know to kick off your expansion in a way that empowers you rather than drains your resources.

One account, multiple maps

You still have one account, but your holdings span several separate maps. The Great Empire is the home map where you start, where your main castle is located, and where most events take place. Gradually, additional kingdoms unlock, and unlocking is tied to the level of the main building of the main castle, not to anything random.

For reference, so you know what to expect: the Glacier of Eternal Winter opens around level 25 (it can be unlocked earlier for rubies), the Stormy Islands from around level 35, the Burning Sands around level 40, and the Fiery Peaks at the latest, around level 50. Always check the exact limit directly in the game, as Goodgame adjusts numbers from time to time. The point is that it goes hand in hand with your account level, so there’s no point in rushing.

You switch between maps via the world map or through the kingdom icons in the interface. The key thing is that each kingdom has its own economy and its own resource that you cannot extract anywhere else. You cannot click on a castle in the Burning Sands and supply it from home. Foreign kingdoms must largely sustain themselves.

What is shared across all maps: your army (units can be moved), your commanders, rubies, and overall account progress. What is separate: local resources, local buildings, and the points of a given event. You share strength, but you must build your local base separately.

How the individual kingdoms differ

It’s not just cosmetic; the differences are gameplay-related:

- Glacier of Eternal Winter: a freezing map where you extract charcoal. The enemies here are Barbarians. This is often the first foreign kingdom that most people aim for, serving as a warm-up before you venture further.

- Burning Sands: a desert map, no islands, a classic continent with sand. Olive oil is extracted here, and the enemies are Arabs. Logistics and defense have their own rhythm.

- Fiery Peaks: the latest and toughest content. Glass is extracted here, and you will encounter Cultists and Dragons. Defenses at targets are tougher, and rewards are more valuable. Don’t come here with a weak account.

- Stormy Islands: an island map where each player has their own island. Unique rules and a separate reward circuit, again distinct from the rest.

The most important thing to remember: in every foreign kingdom, local bonuses to attack and defense apply. Specifically, this means that a unit that dominates in the Great Empire may not have the same effectiveness here, and conversely, there are units built specifically for that map. Before sending a crew somewhere, check which of your units have bonuses there. Blindly copying your home composition is the most common reason why people feed the enemy their own troops in foreign kingdoms.

What expansion will actually bring you

Reasons to venture into foreign kingdoms:

- New resources, and thus new buildings and upgrades. Many strong bonuses are locked behind charcoal, olive oil, or glass. Without a specific resource from a specific map, you simply cannot build them.

- A unique reward circuit. Each kingdom has its own goals, its own points collection, and its own rewards. More maps run in parallel, so you are pulling rewards from several sources instead of just one.

- More overall production. Additional castles mean more resources and greater capacity for your army.

- When things are calm at home or you are waiting for something, you still have plenty to do on another map.

Rewards increase with the number of points and progress you accumulate. Right after opening the gate, don’t expect anything top-tier; it works gradually. The more you push on the map, the better things unlock. Therefore, it makes sense to truly develop every open kingdom, not just to check off that you have one castle standing there.

How to kick off expansion and move your army

A process that will save you a lot of frustration:

1. Don’t rush. Before you open your first foreign kingdom, have the Great Empire running: stable production, decent defense of the main castle, and an army from which you can send part without leaving home empty. A foreign map is another mouth to feed.

2. Go map by map. The Glacier of Eternal Winter is a reasonable first target; save the Fiery Peaks for when you are strong. Trying to kick off everything at once will scatter you.

3. Immediately start local production. In the new kingdom, you need to get your own extraction of its resource as soon as possible; otherwise, you won’t be able to sustain anything there long-term.

4. Account for travel time. Between some kingdoms (Glacier, Fiery Peaks, Stormy Islands), armies travel via ports and ships; elsewhere, they travel across the map, and depending on the distance, it takes time. You can’t pull defense from one map and have it on another a second later. Before you attack or prepare to defend, send forces ahead of time.

5. Never leave a bare castle at home. If you send a large part of your army away, the main castle becomes a target. This is exactly what others are watching for.

6. Deploy commanders according to the situation. You share them across maps, so be clear about who you will send for attack and who for defense on which map.

Strategies that pay off and mistakes that will sink you

What to do:

- Specialize crews according to the map. Find out which of your defensive units have bonuses in the given kingdom, and defend with them. Similarly, attack with units that have the upper hand there. This alone will save you more troops than anything else.

- Save local resources. Charcoal, olive oil, and glass are your fuel for local progress. Keep a reserve for what will push you towards better rewards; don’t waste it on the first nonsense.

- Push for points consistently. Regular activity will yield more in the long run than one frantic burst attempt.

- For tough targets, especially in the Fiery Peaks, team up with an alliance. Joint actions and sharing what works on the map is a huge advantage.

What to avoid:

- Expanding too early. A foreign kingdom with a weak home map means two undernourished economies instead of one strong one.

- Copying compositions. What is top at home may be weak on the Glacier or Fiery Peaks due to local bonuses. If you don’t pay attention to what works where, you’re just feeding the enemy.

- An empty castle at home. You send an army to conquer a foreign map and leave a hole at home? That’s an invitation to be raided.

- Ignoring travel time for ships and armies. Those who forget this will fail to defend or arrive late.

- A castle without local extraction. A dead investment. Without your own resource, you can’t build anything there.

- Scattering. Two well-developed kingdoms are better than five neglected ones.

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