Algiers
1516 — Play the Barbary Pirates against Spain during the capture of Algiers. The scenario follows Oruc Reis and Hizir Reis as they seize the city from a Spanish-backed ruler.
Setting & objective
The required goals are Do not lose your Town Center; Destroy the three Spanish camps surrounding Algiers; Destroy all four Spanish Forts. Optional goals include Destroy the blockade (Reward: Home City access); Earn to obtain Ottoman help; Liberate the Algerian villages; Recapture the silver mine; Destroy the Spanish Weapon Caches.
How to approach it
Keep the Algiers Town Center safe while clearing the three Spanish camps and then all four forts; the objectives are linked, so avoid splitting the opening force across every target. Destroying the blockade restores Home City access and can improve later reinforcement timing. Add the villages or silver mine when the main defense can still hold the city.
Break the blockade before relying on shipments
Algiers is the opening Historical Battle in Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition, set around the Barbary capture of the city in 1516. The player controls Barbary Pirates under Hizir Reis and Oruc Reis, defending a Town Center from Spanish forces on land and sea. Starting in the Commerce Age with 850 Food, 850 Wood and 750 Coin, the player has a 200 population limit, five Settlers, nineteen Berber Archers, ten Barbary Corsairs, eight Berber Spearmen, two Galleys (three on Easy) and one Privateer. The opening begins in combat without a preceding cutscene. Five Outposts, two Barracks, an Artillery Foundry, Mosque and Market support the fortified base. Home City shipments are initially blocked by the Spanish naval blockade. Destroy the ships controlling the eastern passage and clear the Spanish vessels near the southern Docks to restore access. The difficult version has three Caravels and two Galleons in the blockade, while Easy uses two Caravels. Build Galleys and Privateers to contest the water; Galleys can engage larger Spanish ships effectively, and the Outposts can add fire if ships are drawn within their range. Do not launch the starting fleet into the whole Armada at once. Clear the passage, then use the newly available shipments to reinforce the land fight and economy. The land objectives require destroying three Spanish camps around the city and all four Spanish Forts while preserving the Town Center. Camps are guarded by combinations of Pikemen, Crossbowmen, Hussars and Lancers, often near an Outpost. Attack one position at a time and use the two heroes to absorb pressure while the ranged troops focus threats. Rescue Algerian prisoners to add troops quickly. Liberating villages along the Trade Route and recapturing the northeastern silver mine expands access to Coin, while destroying Weapon Caches awards 1,000 XP. The seven map treasures provide additional support and should be gathered when the surrounding guards can be handled safely. The 15,000 XP secondary objective brings Ottoman assistance. The reinforcements include twenty Janissaries, five Abus Guns and five Falconets arriving from the west, plus naval units in the southwest; the mission also lets the player train those Ottoman units after the objective. This is a major timing shift. Use the infantry and artillery to pressure the western Spanish position, then move against the remaining forts with a balanced army. Avoid sending Falconets ahead of their escort, since Spanish cavalry can quickly remove exposed artillery. The map has West African-style terrain and huntable animals in the northeast, but the fortified area is safer for early resource gathering. Build or use economic structures within the walls while the Spanish remain close. Home City cards available in the scenario include Settlers, resource crates, improved buildings, fishing upgrades, Janissaries, Galleys, Privateers, Berber Support, Falconets, Mamelukes, Corsairs and Bedouin Support. Their availability makes the blockade objective strategically important: the city’s defense becomes much easier once the shipment system is restored. The intended progression is defense, naval clearance, reinforcement, then a methodical counterattack. Keep the Town Center alive throughout, clear surrounding camps, free captured villagers and build enough production to replace losses. Ottoman help can make the final assault stronger, but does not substitute for protecting the city or destroying the required forts. This article describes the Definitive Edition Historical Battle, not standard Barbary Pirates skirmish play.
Prepare the counterattack in stages
The objective sequence controls the difficulty. Clearing the naval blockade first restores Home City access; earning 15,000 XP then brings the Ottoman force and unlocks its unit production. Use the land army to remove the closest Spanish camps while the fleet works toward the southern harbor. Do not split the starting troops across all three fronts: keep a reserve near the Town Center and send only a group strong enough to clear one camp. After the Ottomans arrive, combine Janissaries with the existing Berber force and keep Falconets protected from Lancers. Liberate the trade route villages and silver mine before the final siege if the army can do so safely, since extra Coin supports repeated training. Destroying the southern fort completes the battle after the surrounding camps and required Spanish positions are removed.
Protect the city while the fleet clears the route
Keep the Town Center and inner Outposts active during the blockade fight. The Spanish fleet and nearby camps can punish a naval sortie that leaves the city undefended, so preserve enough Berber troops to answer a land push while the Galleys work on the passage. Once shipment access returns, a defensive card or troop shipment can reinforce the next camp attack.
Hold the city while removing Spanish camps and forts
The first African Royals Historical Battle is based on the 1516 struggle around Algiers between Barbary forces and Spain. Keep your Town Center alive, destroy the three Spanish camps surrounding the city and then remove all four Spanish Forts. Optional goals include breaking the blockade to restore Home City access, gaining enough support for Ottoman help, liberating Algerian villages, recapturing the silver mine and destroying Spanish Weapon Caches. Establish a defensive force around the Town Center before pursuing those objectives. Liberated villages and the silver mine can strengthen the economy, while the blockade affects shipment access; decide which benefit supports the long fort assault. Clear nearby Weapon Caches and camps to reduce pressure, then focus siege on the four Forts. Do not leave the city center exposed while the army moves across the map.