Okay, with over 12000 hours on steam alone I think it's time I review this game. This is a very addicting very parasitic game. It is completely pay to win. While it is possible to do everything for free it would take too much time. The steam version has a lot of issues with crashing so It's probably best to just download the client at strongholdkingdoms.com . I actually quit this game for some time after leading my house to win an Age then plunging it into war.If you want to be successfull in this game (in terms of leading other players) you have to have a basic understanding of politics and diplomacy. This game has tightly weaved webs in its community that can sometimes be very hard to climb. It took me most of an age to rise to the rank of House Marshal. It took rising up through the ranks of a faction within house 16. Then when I had a reputation I formed my own faction and filled it with volunteers from other factions of House 16 and the gloucestershire area. Pretty soon it was full and I formed 2 more factions and joined them to house 16. At this point I had 3 votes to make myself marshal. But it was not time to strike. I waited for the opportune moment which presented itself as a out of game issue that my house marshal had. Suddenly he had to go on vacation mode. During his vacation the house started to go slightly down hill and I would just keep whispering how we needed a house marshal. It wasn't long before I had some of the other convinced that we needed a new HM. But they wern't sure who, it's not normally a responsibility people want. Luckily I already had plans of stepping up and ran unopposed. This wasn't the top of the ladder though. House 16 (at this point) was in a super alliance that controlled the server. House 16 happened to be slated for winning the second age. I had to maintain diplomacy with the other houses of the alliance while waiting for my age to begin. Once it began I became the leader of the super alliance it was just a matter of keeping stability. Which takes all your time. I was psychologically drained and by the end of the round I was ready to quit. But the world at this point was farmville. So I declared war without warning on our main enemy and left the game. I found out later that the enemy won and took the next age.In the end this game is only worth it if you can afford the time and money loss. If both of those things are expendable to you feel free to play all you want. It's a good game but it is not for everyone. I'd give it a 6/10 and I'd never be a house marshal again.