Private Realms
Most of the time you join a realm that already exists. A private realm flips that around: it is a world you create and host yourself, set up the way you want and open only to the people you invite. It is the way to run a match for your alliance, your friends, or a small tournament without sharing the world with strangers.
What a private realm is
A private realm is a full, independent world, the same engine as any public realm, but one you own. It does not appear in the public realm list, so players you did not invite will not stumble onto it, and its address is randomly generated rather than based on its name, so it cannot be guessed. Everything that happens inside it is real play; the only difference is who controls the door.
Who can host one
Hosting a private realm is a perk of the Beta Founder Pack. If you hold the Founder Pack you can create a private realm; if you do not, you can still join one you have been invited to.
You can host one private realm at a time. To start a new one, end the realm you are currently hosting first. This keeps hosting a deliberate act rather than something you spin up and abandon.
Setting it up
When you create a private realm you choose how it plays:
- Speed. The tick rate, which sets how fast everything resolves. The default is a comfortable middle pace.
- Size and length. How many players can join and how long the world runs before it ends.
- Bots. How many computer-controlled players to seed the world with, and whether they play a standard or a more aggressive game. Bots are a good way to fill out a small private match.
- Join policy. Who is allowed in, covered next.
How players join
A private realm controls entry through its join policy:
- Invite-only. The default. You hand out invite codes, each good for a set number of uses, and a player redeems a code to get in. This is how most private matches run.
- Open. Anyone can join without a code. An open private realm is listed under a separate Private section so invited players can still find it easily.
- Closed. No one joins on their own; the host adds players directly.
A private realm also starts as a lobby rather than launching immediately. It waits until you, the host, start the round, so everyone can gather before the clock begins.
How it differs from a public realm
Beyond who can enter, two things set private realms apart. They start only when the host chooses, rather than on a fixed public schedule. And they do not award Hall of Fame ribbons, since a host controls the world and could otherwise mint awards at will. For competitive, ribbon-earning play, that happens in the standard public realms.
See also
Read Joining a Realm for how realms work in general, see Welcome to RealmConquest for the core loop, and read Alliances for playing alongside the people you invite.