n the 17th and 18th centuries of Europe. It features sixteen playable nations each with its own architectural styles, technologies and units. Players must avoid famine and engage in army expansion, building construction and simple resource gathering. Mission scenarios range from conflicts such as Thirty Years' War to the War of the Austrian Succession, and the game is renowned for the seemingly unlimited number of units players may control. This ability set it apart from other games of the time such as Age of Empires and Empire Earth. Cossacks is a game which allows the user to gain strategy skills and even pick up some relative history of that period by the inclusion of a comprehensive encyclopedia. This top selling title has won two awards and was positively favoured by a majority of reviewers.