Kaiser

Kaiser - the 1984 trading strategy for Commodore 64 from Ariolasoft.

Climb from minor noble to emperor by feeding your people, taxing wisely,
building fast, and beating rivals under a one-year-per-turn clock.

Core loop
- distribute grain and trade land at the start of each year
- tune taxes and justice to drive growth and mood
- build markets, mills, cities, palace, cathedral to earn promotions and win

Systems and items
- markets - boost income and help form cities
- grain mills - improve production and city status
- titles - eight ranks up to Kaiser gate new options
- palace and cathedral - mandatory milestones for king and emperor
- army units - cavalry, artillery, infantry, militia for optional wars
- time limit - slow turns shorten lifespan for your ruler

Level design and feel
Text and number screens flow into a simple map view. Hotseat play for
a living-room crowd, with a brief joystick-driven battle setup when
borders allow war.

Why it is notable
- early German Wirtschaftssimulation inspired by “Santa Paravia en Fiumaccio”
- up to 9 alternating players on one machine
- later remade as Kaiser Deluxe on PC in 1995

Tips
- speculate: buy land or grain cheap, sell high, but mind the 10% fee
- lean on income tax while keeping others modest to keep people happy
- invest early in markets and mills to stabilize cash flow

At a glance
Year - 1984
Developer - Creative Computer Design (CCD)
Design and programming - Claudio Kronmüller - Dirk Beyelstein - Markus Mergard
Publisher - Ariolasoft
Genre - Trading strategy
Players - 1 - 9 alternating
Controls - Joystick in port 2 (war setup may swap ports) + limited keys