You’ve seen them. Honestly, if you have a smartphone and a YouTube account, there is no way you haven't. A tiny, 3D-rendered king stands in front of a gate, crying because his "Power Level" is only 50,000. Suddenly, another player rolls up with 10 million power, takes his land, and steals his resources. It’s a Rise of Kingdoms advert, and they are everywhere. They're bizarre. They’re often nothing like the actual game. Yet, they work so well that Lilith Games has basically rewritten the playbook for mobile marketing.
Mobile gaming is a brutal business. To survive, you need "UA" or User Acquisition. Most companies try to show off high-end graphics or deep lore. Not Lilith. They went the other way. They leaned into the "fail" ads—those clips where a player makes the most obvious, brain-dead mistakes possible, forcing you to scream at your screen, "I could do better than that!"
That’s the hook. It’s not about the beauty of the game. It’s about triggering your competitive ego.
The Logic Behind the Rise of Kingdoms Advert Chaos
Why do they look so cheap? You’d think a company making hundreds of millions of dollars could afford a cinematic trailer that looks like Lord of the Rings. They can. They just choose not to. These ads are designed for the "scroll-past" generation. If an ad looks too polished, your brain flags it as a commercial and skips it. If it looks like a weird, glitchy soap opera about a guy getting kicked out of his alliance because he picked the wrong civilization, you might actually stay for ten seconds.
The "Power Level" meme is the heart of every Rise of Kingdoms advert. In the game, your Power is a real metric—it's a combination of your buildings, technology, and troop count. But in the ads, it’s treated like a social caste system. You’ll see a guy at a wedding get rejected by the bride because he only has 1 million power, while the best man has 50 million and "picked the Vikings for the 10% gathering speed bonus." It is peak absurdity.
It works because it simplifies a very complex strategy game into a single, understandable number. You want the big number. You want the shiny armor.
🔗 Read more: First Name in Country Crossword: Why These Clues Trip You Up
Does the Gameplay Actually Match?
Short answer: Kinda, but mostly no.
Rise of Kingdoms is a "4X" strategy game—Explore, Expand, Exploit, Exterminate. It’s actually quite deep. You manage talent trees for commanders like Sun Tzu or Joan of Arc. You coordinate with hundreds of real people in Alliances to capture "The Lost Temple." It’s a game of spreadsheets, diplomacy, and 3:00 AM alarms to defend your city from a whale (a high-spending player).
The ads, however, often show a weird puzzle game or a third-person action RPG. This is a tactic called "misleading creative." It’s a controversial move in the industry. Developers use these mini-games in ads because they have a lower "Cost Per Click." They get you in the door with a simple puzzle, hoping that once you realize it's a deep strategy war game, you'll be hooked anyway. It’s a bait-and-switch that has become the industry standard for titles like Evony and Homescapes too.
Why We Can't Stop Watching These Ads
Psychology is a weird thing. These commercials tap into something called "cognitive itch." When you see a hand on the screen dragging a character into a fire instead of a treasure chest, your brain wants to "fix" the error. You download the game just to prove the ad wrong.
Lilith Games also leans heavily into "localization." If you’re in the US, you might see an ad featuring a guy talking about how the Rome civilization is the best for infantry. If you’re in Germany, the ad might focus on the Holy Roman Empire's defensive buffs. They iterate constantly. They produce thousands of variations of a Rise of Kingdoms advert every single year, testing which specific scenario—the cheating boyfriend, the workplace bully, or the stranded survivor—gets the most clicks.
💡 You might also like: The Dawn of the Brave Story Most Players Miss
The Rise of the "Live-Action" Skits
Lately, the ads have shifted. We’ve moved past the 3D models into weird live-action skits. These usually feature actors in an office or a restaurant having an incredibly loud conversation about their "legendary commanders."
"I have 20 million power!" one yells.
"That's nothing," the boss says, slamming his phone on the table. "I started with the Byzantines and used my speed-ups to rush my City Hall to level 25. Now I have 80 million power and a maxed-out Cao Cao!"
It’s cringey. It’s meant to be. The "cringe" factor makes it shareable. People screen-record these ads and post them on Reddit or TikTok just to laugh at them. That’s free marketing. Every time someone mocks a Rise of Kingdoms advert, the game’s brand awareness goes up. It’s a genius, if slightly annoying, circle of life.
Real Data: Is the Game Actually Good?
If the ads were just lies, the game would have died years ago. But it hasn't. Rise of Kingdoms consistently sits in the top-grossing charts on both the Apple App Store and Google Play.
- Longevity: The game has been out since 2018 (originally as Rise of Civilizations).
- Real-Time Combat: Unlike older games where you just send a troop and wait for a report, you can actually move your armies on the map in real-time. This is a huge selling point that the ads often fail to mention.
- Civilization Choice: You choose from 14 different historical civilizations. Each has its own architecture and specific units.
The disconnect is that the actual game requires a lot of patience. Or money. A lot of money. The "Power" you see in the ads is often unattainable for a free-to-play player unless they spend months—or years—grinding. The ads make it look like you can gain 10 million power in a weekend. You can't. Unless you have a very healthy credit card limit.
📖 Related: Why the Clash of Clans Archer Queen is Still the Most Important Hero in the Game
What You Should Know Before Downloading
If you're clicking that Rise of Kingdoms advert because you want a casual puzzle game, stop. You won't find it. What you will find is a highly competitive, social, and time-consuming war simulator.
- The Social Requirement: You cannot play this game alone. If you aren't in a top alliance, you are basically "farm" for other players.
- The Time Sink: During events like "Kingdom vs Kingdom" (KvK), players stay awake for 24+ hours to coordinate massive wars.
- The Pacing: It starts fast, but once your buildings hit level 20, upgrades can take weeks of real-world time to finish.
Navigating the Hype
The "Rise of Kingdoms Advert" style has become a meme in its own right, spawning parodies across the internet. It represents a specific era of the internet where attention is the only currency that matters. Whether you love the ads or find them incredibly grating, you have to respect the hustle. Lilith Games found a way to make people talk about a mobile strategy game in a crowded market.
If you do decide to jump in, don't pick your civilization based on who looks the coolest in the commercial. Do some actual research. Look at the "meta." Japan is great for scouting, China is amazing for the building speed buff early on, and Germany is the king of Action Point recovery.
Next Steps for New Players:
- Avoid the "Newest" Server: Unless you plan on spending money, don't join the brand-new servers where the "whales" are competing for the top spots. Look for a slightly older, stable kingdom where you can learn.
- Focus on One Commander: Don't spread your resources thin. A single "Expertised" legendary commander is worth ten mediocre ones.
- Join an Alliance Immediately: This is the most important rule. An alliance gives you "helps" that reduce your building and research time. Without it, the game is unplayable.
- Check the Wiki: Before you spend your "Gems," check the Rise of Kingdoms community guides. Gems are rare, and spending them on speed-ups early on is a mistake most people regret. Save them for the "Wheel of Fortune" events to get better commanders.
The ads are just a gateway. The real game is about math, politics, and a lot of waiting. Just don't expect to get 50 million power because you chose the Vikings—it takes a bit more work than the guy in the commercial suggests.