On this page you will find some of the more common questions asked by players. Thermopylae Online is still a new game so our FAQ list is very short at present. If you have questions about the program, game rules or the community or any other aspect of Thermopylae Online, please visit our forums and ask. We will be happy to assist you and may use your questions to add to our FAQ.

1) Is there a fee?

For basic memberships, no there is not. The program is free to download and your basic membership is free as well. We can do this because Thermopylae Online is advertsing supported, which helps offset the costs of offering the software and basic memberships for free. We are constantly adding additional benefits for our Enhanced Membership subscriptions, for those players wanting more game credits and extra features.

2) I don't understand how Credit works. Please explain.

In the ost simple terms, a credit is a token that lets you play in a game. 1 credit = 1 game. When a game is completed, you get that token back. Free membership in the Empires of History Online Gaming Network, for which Thermopylae Online belongs, get 4 Game Credits. That means you can play in up to 4 games within the network at once.

3) I don't understand the Bidding things. Please explain.

Bidding is both how we determine which faction you will play and what the victory conditions for that game will be. It is a given that in 95-99% of games that the Persians will win. Thier army is simply too large. The bid allows both players to submit a number where that number represents how many units within the Persian army you think you can destroy IF you play the Greek army. The player who bids the highest ends up with control of the Greek army and their bid becomes the number of Persian units they must kill to win.

4) How fast do games run? What are Game Speeds?

On the Game Search/sign up page you are given a field to insert your bid and also some radial dials to select your game speed. There is no SET speed that games progress at. Most of the time a game will play as fast as the two players are able to put in turns. If you put in a turn now it updates now and you can instantly go back to that game page and look at the results. If you opponent is online, they can then put their turn in right away. You can e-mail your opponent to schedule game periods if you like. Game Speed is a way to insure that a game can not progress slow than a certain pace. Game Speed number represent the MAXIMUM number of days a player has to submit their next turn, once their opponent has played their last turn. This number of days does not include the same day your opponents turn was updated. Hence if you sign up to a Game Speed 1 game if you opponent plays his turn at noon today you will have until midnight (Eastern Standard Time - GMT-5) the following day to play and submit your next turn.

5) How do I e-mail another player. On the Game page for each game you are in it will tell you the user name of the player you face. If you click on that user's name it will take you to the Mail Compose page where you need only type out a message and send it. Messages mailed through the Empires of History mail system only go to a user's in box ON THIS SYSTEM unless they have their mail settings configured otherwise.

6) Range Striking. I don't get it.

Range Striking are FREE attacks a unit on a mountain can get against a unit in an adjacent territory, so long as the target territory is at a lower elevation. To conduct a range striking attack you merely select your unit that is on a mountain territory, then click on the ADJACENT TERRIRORY at a lower elevation that contains one or more enemy units. DO NOT click on an enemy unit directly. It won't do anything. You attack the territory, not a specific unit within it. Unlike regular attack, your units does not move to conduct a Range Strike attack. Only your foe stands a chance of getting hurt, not your unit. Though a Range Strike by a single unit can only ever do 1 point of damage so one range striker will never destroy a unit that can take 2 or more hits.

7) Please explain territory troop limits.

All territories except the Persian cam territory have "stacking" restrictions. This means that at the end of any given turn on 3 units may be in regular territory and only 1 unit may be in a mountain territory. If you are moving into a non enemy held territory (ala, not attacking) it is impossible to move more than 3/1 unit into a territory. If you are moving troops on the attack, into an enemy held territory, you may place more than the limit (any number) into that territory and all guys moved into the territory will join in the attack. HOWEVER, if you win the battle and still have more than the 3 (or 1) units the territory can hold, any units above that number automatically are destroyed.

8) What's with the "To Athens" territories?

There are two such territories on the map. If any Persian unit enters that territory and wins its control, meaning they must defeat any Greek defenders positioned there, then the survivors of that battle (Up to the troop limit of 3 for the territory) will leave the game map. Basically, these were put into the map to give the Persian army a way to leave the game map and continue on with their conquest of Greece, even if they did not yet kills all Greek units. This is to prevent the Greeks from simply putting all their best units on the most defensive mountain zones, expecting the Persians to die en mass trying to assault those positions. In the real Battle of Thermopylae, the Greeks, led by the Spartans were there to try and stall the Persians from pushing onward to their conquest of lower and central Greece, so the Greeks must attempt to hold the pass to stop the Persian army. In game terms, Persians that leave the map can not thus be killed by the Greeks, so if enough Persians leave the map it will become imposible for the Greeks to kill enough Persians to achieve their victory conditions.