Just three words: pay to win.
This is one of the best online strategy games with a great combination of strategy, tactics and politics, but (and this is where I agree with so many of the other reviews) the balance of the game is so extraordinarily in favor of the buying-system it is basically unplayable without spending a lot of money.

The problem is that there is no limit on the usage of the cards in the game. The more cards you have, the more troops you have, the faster they move and the stronger they are. You win by spending money -period-


Also, i'd like to add unless you join a brand new world the moment it's active, it will be extremely hard to get far on it.

You can use cards you aquired from other worlds in the new world, which is 1 way people stock up to get very far in new worlds.
And, usually within the first 48 to 72 hours, people will be already Rank 14 to 16 (or higher), and start taking over major parts of the world, making factions, join big houses, and conquer large areas.

Then if they move to your area, some may bully you to give up your Parish(es), or may even capture/raze your villages, just to clear you out so you don't vote for somebody else.
(The above happened to me a few times on multiple worlds.)

Also, the game has an "Inactive" system. Info below (Copied from wiki)

A village will be automatically abandoned when a player hasn't played or is dormant for a specific period of time; this time is dependant upon which rank they have reached.
The higher the rank, the longer it takes for the village to become abandoned.
If a premium token is in play at the time of going inactive, the player's account (and therefore, their village) will remain active until the premium token runs out.

It's okay I guess.

"Ever dreamt of being the worst landlord? Stronghold Kingdoms lets you do just that! It's like Monopoly, but with more fire and plague!"