Conqueror: A.D. 1086

Conqueror A.D. 1086 is a strategy medieval game released in 1995 by Sierra On-Line, Inc. The player must control a lord as he tries to develop an army of knights and soldiers in order to challenge the king to the rulership of the entire country. Traveling on the medieval roads are not like traveling on today's superhighways (and require months to get from one end of England to the other). Rivers also provide a quick path to get to the target village but the player must watch out for bandits that will attack him and his hired men. Starting the game as a 12-year-old boy, some money and a basic sword is given at the start of the game.

At the age of 18, the player is assigned a fiefdom to oversee in addition to a substantial amount of land. All games end at the player's 30th birthday (the maximum life expectancy of a male during the 11th century). If the player doesn't slay a dragon or overthrow the King of England by then, the game is considered to be lost. While not fighting in battles or tournaments, the player can develop his fiefs with agricultural and civic developments similar to SimCity; examples of these buildings include chapels, stables, storehouses, and farms. Marriage is also possible as the player can acquire his wife through socializing with the ladies prior to the jousting. The moneylender can provide the player with loans at 50% interest (which would be have considered usury in the real-world 11th century England). With the religious beliefs of the Roman Catholic Church being dominant in England during that century, applying any level of interest was considered to be off-limits for any moneylender practicing his trade regardless of the recipient's social status.