The deadline for the 3^rd Stronghold & Crusader Historical Castle Competition fast approaches with only 5 more days until August 29^th. The competition thread containing the rules and discussion can be found here. I hope entering map designers are ready and in the final stages of their production. Happy Sieging!

Lord Michael I has written and submitted a walkthrough, On the Edge, for the Second Crusader Trail mission 64. In the relatively balanced mission, you start from the high ground against three Arab enemies, the Emir, the Wazir, and the Nizar with the help of your two allies, the Abbot and the Marshall. Happy skirmishing.

In the last poll, visitors were asked: "Do you have Stronghold Crusader Extreme?"

Yes, it's great! (38.9% - 1281 votes)
No (31.5% - 1039 votes)
It's on the way! (15.3% - 504 votes)
Er, what is it? (14.3% - 471 votes)
Total: 3294 votes

Over 50% of voters are either playing Crusader Extreme or are about to. About a third aren't playing it at all, with about half as many hopefully discovering the game.

Previous polls can be viewed here and new polls can be suggested in this forum thread.

Around this time in 1281, the forces of Kublai Khan’s second invasion of Japan disappeared into a typhoon after being repelled from the Japanese beaches. The Mongol invasion force was estimated to have consisted of over 4,000 watercraft and over 200,000 soldiers. As the invasion fleet gathered into position over several days, it was harassed by Samurai boarding parties. The Mongols attacked Hakata Bay and its islands, pushing the Japanese back after intense fighting. The Mongols had superior numbers and better weapons in their arsenal, but the Japanese had the advantage of their defensive structures and knowledge of the local area, and so they held their ground, gradually pushing the Sino-Mongolian landing force back to its ships and boats. They retreated and prepared a larger landing force in the boats. During this time, millions of Japanese prayed for divine intervention. Seemingly as an answer to their prayers, a massive typhoon blew in, the kamikaze or divine wind, which sunk much of the Mongol fleet and most of the army onboard. The thousands of survivors were killed over the following days in Japanese attacks.

In the aftermath, Japan remained ever vigilant for another attack up until 1320. The resources spent to retain such a state of alert caused famine and disease. The period of the attempted Mongol invasions of Japan were one of the few spans of history during which the samurai clans did not fight each other for their own self interest.

More about the Mongol invasions of Japan can be found at The Age of the Samurai, The Story of the Invasion of Japan, and Wikipedia.

A walkthrough for Mission 63 of the Warchest Trail, Blessed Union, has been completed and submitted by Lord Michael I and can be found here. In it, he guides fellow players in routing your opponents, a Nazir and an Emir, from a slightly disadvantageous start.