She moved erratically. She'd walk up to the defensive line, fire off a volley of arrows and retreat. In a genre where peasants and patrols walk in straight lines to their target, a unit that sidesteps, charges, and runs back and forth just hasn't been seen before.

Aidan had a good idea of how to deal with the intrusion. We pulled most of our own troops back, and let the archers on the towers continue their work. Then he advised us to take Ramses out to fight. Cleopatra backed off, firing. We sidestepped her arrows, and gave chase. She ran.

With that first incursion repelled, we turned our attention to managing our resources. Along with wood and gold, civilisations in Rise & Fall can shower themselves in 'Glory'. Glory is earned by killing the enemy or constructing monuments.

It's spent on upgrading your units, progressing up the tech tree, or employing advisors. These experts act as side-specific bonuses: you can buy a defence advisor who will automatically provide troops to repel attacks. We invested in new funny hats and armour for our men, and a bonus to our hero. Hero-mode is time-limited, and this meant we could stay in Ramses' body for longer.

The peaceful interlude was short-lived. To the front of our base was a bay which we'd ignored. Steaming out of the fog-of-war on to the beach was a longboat. The gangplank went down, dropping off a sortie of soldiers.