Kampfinsel

Kampfinsel Handbook — How to Play & Wiki

Who May Attack Whom?

The sea knows many laws — and every captain asks the same question before setting sail: am I allowed to?

TL;DR: The game checks attacks and colonisations, never spying or trade. You are protected during your first fourteen days, in vacation mode, behind a confirmed treaty of your alliance — and against clearly stronger captains by the points barrier. Whoever slumbers, loses the helm or leaves of their own accord gives that protection up piece by piece; Old Empire ruins and corsair fortresses are open to the whole world. This page gathers every rule in one place — the details live in the chapters listed at the end.

Whom may I attack? #

In principle any inhabited island of another captain — as long as none of the rules on this page stands in the way. Only two missions are ever checked: attack and colonisation. The game never blocks spying, trade or relocation; a spy report is always allowed and costs nobody their protection.

You may attack across ocean borders as well, as soon as an ocean is open. Only colonisation from foreign waters is blocked for a time after an ocean has been freshly opened — attack, trade and espionage are not.

You never have to guess: clicking an island in your own ocean shows you on the map whether an attack or a colonisation would be possible there, and if an order is refused, the game names the reason at dispatch.

Who may attack me? #

The same rules apply in reverse. During your first fourteen days nobody attacks you and nobody colonises you — unless you send an attack or colonisation fleet yourself; then your protection falls at once and for good, and the game warns you beforehand. After that: no clearly stronger captain may attack you, no member of your alliance, no captain of an alliance that holds a confirmed pact or non-aggression treaty with yours — and during a feud only your opponent. Anyone smaller than you, however, always may.

You are never caught cold: before every incoming attack your island receives a reliable base warning, and the higher your watchtower, the earlier you see it coming. Whoever plunders you leaves an open account: for a short time you hold a retribution against them, and if your counter-strike succeeds you may carry home more than your holds would normally take — up to what was taken from you. Above all mechanics stand the game rules: repeatedly overrunning clearly weaker players is bashing, and bashing is forbidden.

What about much stronger or weaker captains? #

The points barrier protects downwards: a captain who has grown overwhelmingly strong can neither attack nor colonise clearly weaker captains; the measure is the total score of the rankings. Upwards there is no limit — smaller captains may take on larger ones at any time, and whoever has no points at all yet meets no barrier.

The barrier applies only to awake captains. Whoever slumbers, has lost the helm or has requested deletion is within reach of everyone — beginner protection, however, still stands even then. Striking upwards is rewarded: take an inhabited island from an awake captain of a higher league — or of your own league, if they hold noticeably more points than you — and your running colonisation waiting period is waived. And whoever raids the same island again and again in quick succession carries away less each time.

Old Empire, rudderless islands, ruins — what applies? #

An empire whose captain falls silent loses its protection in stages: slumbering from seven days, rudderless from fourteen, Old Empire ruin from thirty. The map shows you the state of every island.

Slumbering — Plunderable without the points barrier; secondary islands colonisable, the main island stays protected. A pact or non-aggression treaty still protects a slumbering captain, and their beginner protection remains. Only their own alliance may reach for them after more than a week of sleep — with an explicit confirmation at departure.
Rudderless — Everything stands open, main and secondary islands alike: no barrier, no treaty, no alliance protection any more.
Old Empire ruin — No captain any longer, part of the world. Anyone may plunder it, but it defends itself with guards of its own, knows neither retreat nor capitulation, and what its stores hold is shown by the spy report. Only captains up to and including the Captain rank may conquer it — currently at most five times per captain. Ruins do not appear in the rankings.

Against sleepers and the rudderless you gain plunder, attack points and the island — but no waiver of the colonisation waiting period, no bounty and no War Academy points: those exist only against awake opponents.

Whoever requests deletion appears as departing for seven days. Whoever leaves of their own accord lays down every protection: points barrier, beginner protection and even the main island are then free. Only a captain whose account the admiralty has barred keeps protection and main island to the very end.

Main island or colony — does it make a difference? #

Not for attacking and plundering: both hit every island alike. For conquest it does. The main island of an awake or slumbering captain can never be colonised; their secondary islands you can take over if you fight their main building down far enough and bring a colony ship. Only a captain who is rudderless or leaves of their own accord releases the main island as well.

Whether an island is its owner's main island is told by the spy report. And the laboratory of a main island never drops below level ten in combat — the capital fortress.

Alliance, treaties, feud, combined attack #

Own alliance — You do not attack awake comrades; the game refuses the order. Free are only comrades who have slumbered for more than a week, are rudderless or leave of their own accord.
Pact and non-aggression treaty — A confirmed treaty between your alliances blocks attacks in both directions. After a cancellation or an armistice a cooling-off period still binds both sides; whoever instead declares war on a treaty partner wears the Oathbreaker Seal afterwards. The rudderless, ruins and voluntarily departing captains remain attackable despite a treaty.
Feud Draw — For the duration only the law of the feud holds between you and your opponent: pact, treaty or a shared alliance count for nothing between you, the points barrier is lifted, beginner protection is not. Only your opponent attacks you, and you only them; third parties are turned away at dispatch. Spying and trade run as always, and after the end all participants currently observe a breathing space of 48 hours.
Combined attack — Several captains of one alliance against one target: meant for corsair fortresses. Against player islands only if your alliances have officially declared war on each other — without a war, only the single attack remains against other captains.

Corsair fortresses #

A corsair fortress belongs to no captain, and no barrier, no treaty and no feud protects it — it stays free even during a feud. Anyone may attack it, from any ocean; but only a combined attack of at least two captains of the same alliance can take it. A captain alone does damage, but never conquers it.

Once an alliance holds the fortress, it is only a target for recapture: by a combined attack of another alliance, never by a single attack — the game refuses that at dispatch. A freshly conquered fortress is protected for a while, and an alliance does not attack its own fortress.

Home port, shield, vacation — when am I safe? #

Beginner protection — Fourteen days from your registration. Nobody attacks you, nobody colonises you; others may still spy on you. It ends early only if you attack or colonise yourself.
Vacation mode — Attacks and scouts bounce without losses, your absence clock stands still. It can only be started while no hostile fleet is inbound and none of your own attack or colonisation fleets is under way: it does not hide you from an attack that is already at sea. At least 48 hours, at most three weeks at a stretch, thirty days in a rolling year.
Feud shield — While your feud runs, only your opponent attacks you. Whoever gives up or goes on vacation loses the feud and the shield.
Home port — Does not make you safe, it holds you in place: after a move the target island rests for a day, one day longer per ocean border crossed, three at most — during that time it may neither attack nor colonise nor join a combined attack. It stays attackable, and the moved ships and troops may defend at once.

How do I reset the colonisation waiting period? #

Only a strike upwards waives it: take an inhabited island from an awake captain of a higher league — or of your own league, if they hold noticeably more points than you — and your running waiting period is waived at once, and the battle report tells you so on the spot. Sleepers, the rudderless, Old Empire ruins, corsair fortresses and empty islands never bring it, nor do comrades of your alliance, treaty partners or your feud opponent; between the same two captains it works only once in thirty days, and the Admiralty grants nobody more than three waivers in thirty days. The other way round, your waiting period is also waived if you yourself lose an inhabited island to an opponent — except to your feud opponent. You may build a new colony ship during the waiting period already; that does not shorten it, but the ship lies ready the moment it has run out. Everything else is in the chapter "Colonization".

At a glance: target by target #

Awake captain, main island — Attack: yes, if protection, barrier and treaties allow it · Spying: yes · Conquest: never · Plunder: yes
Awake captain, secondary island — Attack: yes, under the same conditions · Spying: yes · Conquest: yes, once the main building is weakened far enough · Plunder: yes
Beginner protection — Attack: no · Spying: yes · Conquest: no · Plunder: none
Slumbering — Attack: yes, without the points barrier · Spying: yes · Conquest: secondary islands yes, main island no · Plunder: yes
Rudderless — Attack: yes, even across treaties · Spying: yes · Conquest: yes, the main island too · Plunder: yes
Departing (voluntarily) — Attack: yes, without any protection · Spying: yes · Conquest: yes, the main island too · Plunder: yes — a barred account, by contrast, counts like a slumbering one
Old Empire ruin — Attack: yes, against guards of its own · Spying: yes · Conquest: only up to the Captain rank, currently at most five times · Plunder: whatever the stores hold
Corsair fortress — Attack: yes, from any ocean · Spying: yes, reveals the bonus · Conquest: only in a combined attack, a held one only by recapture · Plunder: for the participants of the storm
Vacation — Attack: bounces · Spying: bounces · Conquest: no · Plunder: none
Feud opponent — Attack: only the two of you · Spying: anyone · Conquest: only the two of you, the main island stays off-limits · Plunder: yes
Empty island — Attack: not applicable · Spying: yes · Conquest: yes, with troops against the basic defence · Plunder: none