MMORPGs, Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games, have come to the public's attention largely due to the vast success of World of Warcraft. I myself have never been a fan of MMORPGs and never really played any.

If you have Facebook chances are that you have seen the advertisements for Evony, also an MMORPG, which is similar to Age of Empires. The ads are everywhere and I always got the impression that the game was a clone of Age of Empires and you'd be asked to pay within days of signing up.

But I was proven wrong as a friend convinced me to sign up and try it out two weeks ago and since then I have been hooked. I enjoyed Age of Empires II and thought well then this can't be so much worse but actually it is quite different and I like it a lot more.

In Evony you create a town, and in the town you have to build and upgrade your farms, buildings and fortifications. This concept is the same as in AoE, but the big difference is, that Evony has a very strategic orientation. You never actually see your workers or soldiers and you can only build one building at a time. Some buildings take hours or even days to complete but the goal is to protect the town. After the first seven days the "Beginner's Protection" that protects you from any attacks expires and you must fend for yourself.

This is where the Alliances come in. In Evony one joins an Alliance of players and in an Alliance you protect each other and help each other out, which is great and gives Evony the social touch making it both a chat as well as a game.

Now, how does one progress through the game? The basic measurement of progression is Prestige, which is a point score that rises when you build or upgrade and conquer things. But then there is also honor which you gain when killing other players' troops. And ultimately the actual indicator is the rank. The higher in rank the farther you have moved through the game, conquering valleys and towns, building more cities and attacking and plundering other players.

I have been playing for 12 days and have a prestige of somewhere around 22.000, struggling to protect my second city from attack as it isn't as advanced as my first, which I have now stocked with a few thousand archers and hundreds of Archer's Towers.

Evony is a game requiring advance planning and a strategic mindset. Teamwork is important in the Alliance to protect each other and defeat the enemy and gain honor and new titles.

I don't see my addiction for this game wearing off anytime soon yet, as I am adamanet to conquer some cities and get a prestige of over 50.000. Why don't you come and join me?