After hours of trial and error, and no help from rival players, I was able to gauge what the point of the game is and how a typical game plays out. At the start of each game, you are given a hero and a main town, similar to other strategy games. Each turn, you are able to move your hero a limited number of spaces, build one building, hire available creatures or additional heroes, and engage in battles with nearby neutral or enemy units. Buildings allow you to earn resources, research spells for your hero, upgrade creatures, and so on. To say that is oversimplifying this game is the understatement of the century. I feel like even a 300 page color illustrated manual would merely scratch the surface of all of the options and strategies available. Just to give you an example, in addition to the standard gold and lumber, there are at least five other resources that are required. But don’t worry if you are missing one resource, since you can build a marketplace, complete with a Wall Street-like resource exchange system. Although, you probably need a degree in finance just to trade gold for ore. The game desperately needs a comprehensive tutorial, or it will alienate anyone who has not played the previous HOMM games.