<s>
Ikariam	B-Application
is	O
a	O
browser-based	B-Protocol
massively	B-Application
multiplayer	I-Application
online	I-Application
game	I-Application
of	O
the	O
strategy	B-Application
genre	O
produced	O
and	O
maintained	O
by	O
German-based	O
Gameforge	O
AG	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ikariam	B-Application
has	O
received	O
generally	O
positive	O
reviews	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ikariam	B-Application
has	O
been	O
compared	O
to	O
the	O
Civilization	O
series	O
created	O
by	O
Sid	O
Meier	O
and	O
to	O
the	O
Travian	B-Protocol
series	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Players	O
can	O
communicate	O
with	O
island	O
mates	O
by	O
using	O
the	O
agora	B-Protocol
,	O
a	O
message	O
board	O
found	O
on	O
every	O
island	O
that	O
can	O
only	O
be	O
viewed	O
by	O
people	O
with	O
towns	O
on	O
that	O
island	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
diplomatic	O
adviser	O
lets	O
the	O
player	O
read	O
and	O
reply	O
to	O
messages	O
the	O
player	O
has	O
received	O
from	O
other	O
players	O
,	O
send	O
messages	O
to	O
players	O
in	O
the	O
player	O
's	O
alliance	O
,	O
view	O
treaties	O
the	O
player	O
has	O
signed	O
,	O
see	O
which	O
agoras	B-Protocol
on	O
the	O
player	O
's	O
islands	O
have	O
unread	O
posts	O
,	O
and	O
access	O
agoras	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ikariam	B-Application
is	O
nominally	O
free-to-play	O
but	O
players	O
may	O
opt	O
to	O
purchase	O
in-game	O
advantages	O
via	O
a	O
Microtransaction	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
will	O
give	O
them	O
access	O
to	O
a	O
sixth	O
resource	O
,	O
which	O
can	O
be	O
used	O
for	O
Ikariam	B-Application
Plus	O
,	O
the	O
premium	O
version	O
of	O
Ikariam	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Alliances	O
frequently	O
draw	O
together	O
people	O
from	O
all	O
over	O
the	O
world	O
who	O
have	O
similar	O
interests	O
and	O
have	O
been	O
described	O
as	O
a	O
game	O
play	O
element	O
not	O
found	O
in	O
other	O
web	O
browser	B-Protocol
games	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
