Immortal Cities: Children of the Nile
A city-builder where bread is currency and nobility drive the economy.
Immortal Cities: Children of the Nile is a city-building game set in ancient Egypt, created by Tilted Mill Entertainment. It belongs to the City Building series and launched in the United States in November 2004, followed by a European release in February 2005.
The game avoids a traditional treasury of abstract currency. Instead, players designate construction sites for different citizen classes, split into private workers and government workers. Any citizen eligible for social advancement will move in, build their own home, and begin performing their new profession. Most sites are free to designate and are built quickly by their new occupants, but government buildings require bricks produced at state-run brickworks and transported by bricklayers.
All citizens use bread as currency, made from grain grown by peasant farmers. The number of farmers is limited by the number and personal wealth of noble-class citizens, so all wealth ultimately comes from noble estates. Harvested food is automatically distributed to nobles and farmers, with nobles taking a much larger share based on the size of their townhouse—which itself depends on the food they possess. Shopkeepers earn food by selling crafted goods and luxury items to other citizens. Servants and entertainers earn food by selling services to nobles; servants can also work for luxury shopkeepers. Government workers—soldiers, priests, and scribes—receive food taxed by scribes acting as tax assessors. Taxed food is stored in bakeries, with surplus going to granaries. The Pharaoh’s palace functions as both a private townhouse and a granary, receiving a percentage of all taxed food. Palace staff use this food to buy crafted goods for the royal family, and palace upgrades (bought with government food and bricks) improve the player’s prestige rating. Surplus food in granaries or the palace can be used for trade or world map missions, some of which are required to complete a scenario.
All citizens need their needs met to stay happy and work efficiently. Upper-class citizens, especially nobles, require the most goods and services. Everyone wants common crafted goods, religious facilities, and healthcare. Nobles also desire luxury goods—some must be imported—and require entertainers, who perform for food. Eventually, nobles want to buy a family tomb, which the player must build and make available.
Quick Facts
- Title
- Immortal Cities: Children of the Nile
- Developer
- Tilted Mill Entertainment
- Publisher
- NA · Myelin Media · EU · Sega
- Producer
- Mat Williams
- Designer
- Chris Beatrice
- Programmer
- Mike Gingerich
- Writer
- Ken Parker
- Composer
- Keith Zizza
- Engine
- Titan 2.0
- Series
- City Building
- Released
- NA · November 9, 2004 · EU · February 4, 2005
- Modes
- Single player
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Unlike many similar titles, Children of the Nile has no abstract treasury. Instead, the player designates construction sites for citizen classes divided into private and government workers. Eligible citizens move in and construct their own dwellings, performing the functions of their new profession. Most construction sites are free to designate and are built quickly by new occupants, but government buildings require bricks produced in government-run brickworks and carried by bricklayers.
All citizens use bread as currency, made from grain grown by peasants. The number of peasants is limited by the number and wealth of nobles. Harvested food is automatically distributed to nobility and farmers, with nobles taking a larger share based on the size of their townhouse. Shopkeepers earn food by selling goods; servants and entertainers earn food by selling services to nobles. Government workers—soldiers, priests, scribes—are allotted taxed food stored in bakeries, with surplus in granaries. The Pharaoh's palace receives a percentage of taxed food, used to purchase crafted goods and palace enhancements that improve the player's prestige rating.
Citizens' needs must be met to keep them working efficiently. Upper-class citizens require more goods and services. All citizens want common crafted goods and access to religious and healthcare facilities; nobles also desire luxury goods, some imported, and the services of entertainers. Nobles eventually wish to purchase a family tomb. Dissatisfied citizens stop working and protest; the royal family never protests, but the player's prestige suffers until their needs are addressed.
Reader's Guide
Children of the Nile is notable for its economic system where bread serves as currency and all wealth ultimately derives from noble estates. The game's prestige rating, increased through world map missions, palace upgrades, monumental tomb construction, and propaganda steles or obelisks, determines how many educated workers can be employed. Prestige can be lowered if a royal family member dies without proper mummification and interment.
An Enhanced Edition was released on July 8, 2008, with refinements including new buildings like the brickyard. Patch 1.3 upgraded the retail version to the Enhanced Edition. An expansion, Children of the Nile: Alexandria, followed on September 10, 2008. A browser-based game, Immortal Cities: Nile Online, was released on March 5, 2009, focusing on trading resources to increase palace level or number of cities, with player versus player elements. As of March 3, 2009, there were approximately 5000 registered players. Tilted Mill's president described Nile Online as an attempt to make a simpler, more accessible city-building game that still looked great.
Did You Know?
- Bread is used as currency by all citizens, and all bread is made from grain grown by peasants.
- Government buildings must be constructed with bricks, which are created in government-run brickworks.
- Prestige can be lowered if a member of the royal family dies without being properly mummified and interred.
More in City-Building Games 1-24
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced