Kampfinsel or Inselnova? Two island strategy games compared

While I was building Inselnova, someone else was building a game from the same memory. Kampfinsel and Inselnova both grew out of Inselkampf, the German island game a lot of us played in the 2000s, and they went live within weeks of each other in 2026. It was a complete coincidence. I only found out about Kampfinsel after Inselnova was already running.

Its developer and I have brushed shoulders since, and we are going in different directions. Kampfinsel is keeping to the old-school route, close to the game we remember, and I respect that a lot. Inselnova is trying to reinvent it, with new systems such as doctrines, stewards and a computer-run Black Tide. I think of Kampfinsel as Inselnova’s brother: same parents, different personalities.

Inselnova is the game I make, so read this as the view from one side. Every Kampfinsel fact here comes from its own site, its handbook or its developer.

Kampfinsel has been public since April 2026, ships frequent updates (version 0.151 in November) and is available in seven languages.

Two answers to the same old problems

The original game was over twenty years ago, and it had balancing problems that anyone who played it will remember: big players flattening small ones, empty accounts clogging the map, and a slow start that left newcomers exposed. I keep an eye on how Kampfinsel develops, and it is clear we have both run into the same problems, and we have often picked a different fix for each one. I think both are fair answers.

Protecting smaller players. Kampfinsel stops a much stronger captain from attacking a clearly weaker one, and helps small empires catch up: with up to four islands you build, train and research twice as fast. Troops and warships cost half for everyone, and what you lose in battle you rebuild three times as fast. Inselnova went for deterrents and information instead. The game posts bounties rather than leaving that to other players, patrols stop plunderers, each island has a Defense page showing attacks its Watch Tower has spotted, and every battle fought has a replay.

Empty islands. In Kampfinsel an empire left for 30 days crumbles into a ruin that anyone can reclaim. In Inselnova the Black Tide, a computer-run force, can begin claiming the islands of a player silent that long without Shuttering, one a day and the capital last, and it also raids, strikes back when raided and brings storms. As of November 2026 it has never taken an island from an active player.

The first days. Kampfinsel gives new players 14 days of protection. Inselnova gives seven days of Sanctuary, when no one can attack, raid, colonise or spy on you (unless you attack another player first). Alongside it runs Patronage, which makes your own raids on empty shores and your settling easier, never helps in a fight with another player, and is gone by day 14.

Growing your realm. Kampfinsel keeps expansion deliberately slow: new islands need permits that refill every few days, and its handbook says a first colony usually takes several weeks. Inselnova has no permits: a first colony charter succeeds 65% of the time, and the odds drop with each island you own. Once an island reaches Dominion prestige you can seat a steward on it for life.

What both games share

Quite a lot, which is why I’m happy to point people at both.

• One persistent world, no rounds. Kampfinsel’s handbook says there are no sessions and no rounds. Inselnova’s Founders World opened on 27 February 2026 and has run ever since without a reset or a merge.
• Nothing that helps you win is for sale. Kampfinsel’s FAQ says troops, ships, research, loot and points can’t be bought. Inselnova sells nothing at all.
• Built for short visits. Both keep building while you are away. When Kampfinsel launched, its developer put it nicely:

it’s designed for once-a-day check-ins though, not minute-by-minute refreshing. buildings are fast in the beginning and take real time later to upgrade. more like working in a garden than playing a game.

pparzivaltKampfinsel’s developer, Hacker News, April 2026 (thread)

• Time away. Kampfinsel’s vacation mode lasts up to 21 days at a time and 30 days a year, with production cut to a quarter. Inselnova’s Shuttering protects your islands for up to 21 days per rolling year.

Where Inselnova goes its own way

• You see the world. Islands, ships and the sea are drawn, on a phone or a computer.
• Computer-run events. Alongside the Black Tide, Ruptures open timed fights against creatures that players attack together.
• Stewards and doctrines. A grown island can take a steward for life, following one of four doctrines (Wealth, Attack, Defence or Stealth) that raises some of its buildings past level 20 and opens its own research. Different islands can follow different doctrines.
• It changes quickly. Releases ship weekly, and bugs players report are sometimes fixed the same day. Balance changes take longer, and I try them with a few players first.

Which one is for you?

If what you miss is Inselkampf as it was, with the same resources, buildings, multi-phase combat, colonisation and alliances in menus and tables, Kampfinsel is the more faithful of the two. It also gives new players a longer protected start, more vacation days, and a lot of help for small empires catching up, and it is available in seven languages against our two.

If you want the same roots taken somewhere new, with a world you can see, computer-run threats and events that keep the map moving, and a Defense page that shows what your Watch Tower has spotted coming, that is Inselnova. Both are free, so there is nothing stopping you trying both. Found your first island in Inselnova, and say hello to Kampfinsel too.