Warlords is a round based strategy game, whose first incarnation was Warlords. There were a number of successors, all still sharing the round based gameplay and basic game principles, varying in the details.
The game consists of battles fought by single units or groups of units either on plan parts of the map (resulting in one group being destroyed while the other unit or group remains (at least partly)). Or the battle is concerning a city/castle. Depending on the outcome, either the attacker of the city is repelled (destroyed) or the attacker succeeds which makes him take control over that city. Units are produced in such cities. Also gold is gained by these cities, funding the production and maintenance of units.
In all variations, the AI can take control over one or more factions, but does not necessarily have to be part of the game. Units have several advantages and disadvantages, which can also influence the group they are part of, or the opponents units. Also the collection of items giving hero units and their groups or the player in general advantages such as increased income, flying abilities for non-flying units or simple attack/defense boosts.
The following games are part of the original Warlords series: