We Love It's Guide to…
Build an ancient Chinese stronghold, manage farms and supply chains, recruit scholar-advisers, and command real-time battles.
Released 11 Aug 2026
Plan Free-Form Strongholds
Manage Seasonal Farms
Build Supply Chains
Mandate Order is a Warring States war city-builder set in ancient China. Build a stronghold, manage industries and logistics, recruit scholars from the Hundred Schools of Thought, raise armies, and command real-time tactical battles with thousands of soldiers.
Developed by Digital Sky · Published by Digital Sky
You lead a settlement in ancient China, developing it into a fortified city-state while facing the threat of invasion. Assign households to work and build roads, homes, farms, workshops, and defenses across a free-form layout.
Gather resources and coordinate production, storage, and transport to supply residents and the military. Seasonal changes affect farming and the pace of activity; you can also recruit advisers from different schools of thought, set policies, and pursue diplomacy.
Prepare armies by producing weapons and equipment, then direct real-time battles with formation-drawing commands. Fortifications, siege weapons, and defenses let you plan for assaults as well as field engagements.
Players who enjoy the game often point to the hands-on production and resource-management loop, the ancient Chinese setting, and the combination of settlement building with armies and fortifications. Some also praise the soundtrack and the freedom to lay out a settlement. Other reviews repeatedly describe hauling and storage as frustrating, report performance slowdowns, and feel the Early Access systems or content need more work.
Mandate Order is an ancient war simulation and city-building game set in ancient China, combining construction, management, and tactical strategy.
The game features free-form city-state construction, a retainer system inspired by the Hundred Schools of Thought, dynamic seasonal and weather changes, and large-scale real-time tactical battles. Under the constant threat of enemy invasion, you will build and manage an ancient military stronghold that integrates production, defense, and warfare.
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A gridless free-building system allows you to construct everything from residences and farms to workshops and barracks, forming a complete urban production chain.
The game features rich farming, building, gathering, and production systems. A full annual production cycle brings seasonal changes that affect not only the visual atmosphere, but also city management and the rhythm of marching and warfare.
Rule like a city lord or feudal ruler: integrate different schools of thought, formulate diplomatic strategies, and shape your own philosophy of governance. Make choices such as forming alliances, declaring ceasefires, opening trade, or joining forces against powerful enemies. A nine-grid national policy system works together with court debates, while the schools of your retainers influence the direction of policy.
Recruit retainers from Confucianism, Daoism, Mohism, Legalism, Militarism, Agriculturalism, and other schools. Assign them to city governance, military command, diplomatic negotiation, and national policy development. Different combinations create unique gameplay experiences.
Use simple mouse line-drawing commands to quickly deploy formations, enabling tactics such as encirclement, breakthrough, siege assault, and defense. Chariot charges, fortress warfare, thousand-unit battlefields, and a pseudo-physics knockback system create an immersive ancient warfare experience.
Build a complete fortress defense system with walls, towers, catapults, ballistae, and more. Plan your military architecture around walls and defensive structures, with enhanced physical feedback to make battlefield impact more tangible.
Offer sacrifices to Heaven and Earth to pray for the fortune of your state. The ritual system affects natural disasters, calamities, and event outcomes. How you respond to these trials will become a test of your judgment and morality.
As the old saying goes: fortune and misfortune depend upon each other. After a devastating disaster, could there also be a hidden opportunity for growth?
Through technological development, building upgrades, and logistics systems, you will experience not only the advancement of tools and techniques, but also the deeper transformation of institutions and civilization.
Raw materials such as timber, ore, and grain go through gathering, processing, storage, and distribution to form a complete industrial chain.
Depending on the sandbox environment and your available resources, you must constantly adjust your strategy, strengthen your state through reform, and renew old systems to survive and grow.
🔸 A unique Eastern war city-building experience rooted in China’s Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods
🔸 A Hundred Schools of Thought retainer system, with different schools enabling different playstyles
🔸 Gridless free-form construction and a deep logistics system
🔸 Large-scale real-time tactical battles, including chariot charges and fortress warfare
🔸 Dynamic seasons and weather, natural disasters, and a ritual system
🔸 Diplomacy and national policy systems that extend strategic depth
🔸 Sandbox mode with multiple ways to play
City-building, war simulation, Eastern tactics, city management, resource management, and strategic decision-making.
Follow us for ongoing development updates and gameplay information.
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We believe that a truly complete game is not born in a closed development environment. It is shaped through continuous dialogue with players.
With respect and dedication, we look forward to your criticism, suggestions, and feedback.
| Platforms | Windows |
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| Achievements | 40 |
| Age ratings |
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| Controller required | No |
| AI disclosure | Some multilingual localized text content is AI-generated; parts of the code and art assets also contain AI-generated content. |
| AI disclosure categories |
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| Website | Official website |
