Doodle Empires

About

Doodle Empires is a single player strategy game. It was developed by Turtle Stack Games and was released on May 30, 2025. It received very positive reviews from players.

Doodle Empires is an alternate history sandbox game where you create and shape your own nations by drawing borders and crafting unique stories. Watch your world evolve as you expand, split, and influence the rise and fall of nations across various maps. Strategic use of drawing and action cards determines your nation's fate.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

93%

Audience ScoreBased on 684 reviews

gameplay8 positive mentions

stability29 negative mentions

The game offers a unique and creative sandbox experience, allowing players to draw their own maps and create their own nations.
It's highly enjoyable for those who love history and geography, providing a fun way to simulate alternate histories and world-building.
The community and workshop support enhance the game, offering a variety of maps and scenarios to explore.

The game is plagued by numerous bugs and performance issues, including lag spikes and problems with saving progress.
Many players find the card-drawing mechanic frustrating, as it can lead to repetitive gameplay and unwanted outcomes.
The lack of a tutorial and clear instructions makes it difficult for new players to understand the game mechanics.

stability
29 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability is a significant concern, with numerous users reporting persistent bugs and glitches that hinder gameplay, such as broken mechanics and save issues. While some players find enjoyment in the game despite these problems, many recommend waiting for further updates and fixes before fully engaging. Overall, the game shows potential but currently suffers from a lack of optimization and stability.
- “Needs a lot of work, too buggy and incomplete.”
- “Honestly really fun game, it's just hella buggy; like if the game feels like it, the draw card button will just break and you can't fix it, so you just lose your save.”
- “Broken mechanics and constant glitches make it frustrating to play.”
gameplay
23 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
35%
52%
13%
The gameplay is generally described as fun and engaging, allowing players to build empires and create their own narratives, though it can become repetitive over time. Many users express a desire for additional mechanics, such as alliances and government types, to enhance depth and strategy. However, some players find the reliance on random card draws frustrating and note that the game has technical issues that detract from the overall experience.
- “Though the game is rough looking, its gameplay is very fun and being able to build little empires and have the game decide their fate is entertaining.”
- “So fun to play and has a lot of unique gameplay.”
- “Being able to easily create my own history, my own countries, build and crumble empires, and achieve a respectable amount of depth in terms of mechanics and tools for lore.”
- “Definitely needs more time in the oven for more new mechanics and cards.”
- “Every time I play this, it cannot be fun. The system of getting random cards is so annoying. Yes, that might be the core mechanic, but it is just bad. Very disappointed.”
- “Broken mechanics and constant glitches make it frustrating to play.”
story
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
50%
21%
The game is praised for its strong storytelling and roleplay potential, allowing players to create intricate narratives and develop lore for their nations. However, some users express frustration with the game's mechanics, which can disrupt their storytelling efforts, such as overwriting chosen elements like religion. Overall, it functions more as a "story generator," offering freedom and creativity despite some limitations.
- “Fun map game, especially for the storytelling and roleplay aspects.”
- “A lot of freedom and huge potential for future storylines.”
- “The game is really good for developing your own story for nations and country lore.”
- “Sometimes I'll create an intricate storyline on the map just for the game to decide I can no longer select countries.”
- “It does get annoying sometimes when you are trying to tell a story and the game just keeps overwriting your religion, which you cannot say no to from what I have tried at least.”
- “Honestly, I would call it more of a 'story generator' than a 'game' exactly since a lot of what you do is fairly random due to the card system.”
music
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
30%
30%
The music in the game receives mixed feedback; while some players enjoy the existing tracks and appreciate the option to customize music settings, others note that the music can be repetitive and suggest adding more variety and sound effects in future updates. Overall, the soundtrack is considered enjoyable and enhances the gaming experience, making it suitable for background listening.
- “Furthermore, it also has amazing music.”
- “Nice music and good graphics.”
- “Imma have it on in the background just for the music...”
- “Fun to play scenarios and make maps, though some music repeats itself.”
- “A little bit of flavor to the graphics without changing the style, like animations or even music, would be nice too.”
- “And while you can of course play whatever music you want, I would like to just see some sound added.”
graphics
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
13%
49%
38%
Overall, the graphics of the game receive mixed reviews. While some users appreciate the visuals and find them appealing, others criticize the UI design and experience frequent lag spikes, suggesting issues with optimization. Additionally, there is a desire for more animated elements and enhancements to the graphical style to enrich the overall experience.
- “Nice music and good graphics.”
- “I really should not be having constant lag spikes on this simple of a game. What amount of spaghetti coding is there for this to be the one game I have frequent lag spikes with compared to more graphical games?”
- “Visuals and UI design are dogshit, as dogshit as it gets.”
- “A little bit of flavor to the graphics without changing the style, like animations or even music, would be nice too.”
optimization
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
24%
38%
Overall, the game's optimization has received mixed reviews, with many users noting significant issues such as bugs and poor performance. While some improvements have been reported, particularly regarding specific features, the consensus is that the game still requires substantial optimization to enhance the overall experience.
- “The game is great; it just needs optimization.”
- “Good but needs some serious optimization.”
- “For $7, it's very basic, poorly optimized, and buggy.”
- “☐ poorly optimized”
- “I have unfortunately encountered a handful of optimization issues in the past, specifically relating to the randomizing button and creating save files, but it seems like those issues have been fixed from what I've heard.”
grinding
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
75%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and time-consuming, often requiring significant effort to progress. Many express a desire for features like a scenario editor to alleviate some of the repetitive tasks involved in gameplay. Overall, the grinding can feel overwhelming, leading to a sentiment that players might need "a second life" to fully engage with it.
- “A lot of the heavy lifting is on the player, and it can be at times tedious.”
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
humor
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is highlighted as being amusing and engaging, with players finding the comedic elements particularly enjoyable. The lighthearted nature of the gameplay contributes to an overall fun experience.
- “This game is filled with hilarious moments that keep you laughing throughout.”
- “The humor in this game is top-notch, making every interaction enjoyable.”
- “I love how the game incorporates funny elements that lighten the mood.”
replayability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
67%
Users note that the game's significant updates over the past five months have greatly enhanced its replayability, making it more enjoyable and engaging than at launch.
- “After 5 months of following this game, it's changed so much, and is much more playable than before.”
monetization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization aspect of the game appears to be unobtrusive, as players find it enjoyable without feeling pressured to spend money, suggesting that the game can be appreciated through organic discovery and free advertising. Overall, it seems to provide a satisfying experience for those interested in its content without heavy reliance on monetization tactics.