If there's a lesson to be learned from Travian, I think it's to be wary of complexity. Though the game features simplistic, cute, welcoming drawings of Romans and Gauls in the vein of Asterix, it is, honestly, the most hardcore civilization building game that I've yet played on the web.

I think that in some respects I could consider that a good thing, but for the fact that its tutorial—which takes forever to progress through thanks to the demands of the turn-based, one development at a time design—teaches you almost nothing doesn't help. You learn how to develop your land and village, but very little about what makes up the majority of the game (largely, interacting with other players.)

Once you've left the relative safety of the tutorial, Travian is a bitter, unwelcoming place. Expect your city to be pillaged constantly, with (in the early stages) few ways to retaliate. The game is an intense struggle for survival, not the "dip in, dip out" kind of game you could often expect from web-based titles of its ilk, and after a while it is simply exhausting.

Travian's dated interface adds to the general sense of desperation, with a clumsy and poorly explained navigation that rarely gives you the information you need when you need it (and paying extra for Travian Plus's interface improvements generally doesn't add enough.)

Perhaps it's unfortunate that I played its most direct competitor, Ikariam before I played Travian, but in comparison the game is deeply disappointing, suffering all of Ikariam's flaws and more. It does ultimately offer more to the player willing to put in the effort (especially when it comes to interactions with other players) but I can see few reasons for the average gamer, or online world connoisseur, to bother.