🏆 Nation Cup · this week
🏳️ Nation vs nation
🌍 Nations that ruled the world
🏆 Greatest empires
💀 Hall of shame: shortest reigns
🗺️ Continent records
⚔️ Recently overthrown
The rules
- There is one ruler of the world.
- Pay $1, choose your champion and your capital city, and the crown is yours.
- Your empire starts as a million square kilometres around your capital and keeps spreading — the whole planet in 7 days.
- Down there, time runs faster: every second you hold the crown is an hour in the world. An hour on the throne is five months, a day is a decade, a week is a lifetime.
- You rule until someone else pays $1. Their siege lasts 60 hours — one real minute — and every shield you hit holds the line 3 hours longer, up to 180. Then your empire falls and theirs begins.
- When you're overthrown, we email you once. Revenge is optional.
- Take the crown again under the same name and your dynasty grows: II, III, IV…
- Overthrow the ruler who overthrew you and you become The Avenger.
- Whoever holds the crown longest each day enters the Hall of Legends forever.
- Every week, the nation that holds the crown longest wins the Nation Cup.
Questions
What is Rule the World?
A live map with one ruler at a time. Whoever paid last is shown as the ruler of the world — their name, their champion, their capital city — and their empire spreads across the map while they hold the crown. It is entertainment, nothing more: there is no prize and nothing to win.
How much does it cost to take the crown?
$1, once. There is no subscription and no account to create. The price includes any sales tax or VAT, and the payment is handled by Onelink, a Stripe company.
How long do I rule for?
Until the next person pays. That can be seconds or it can be weeks — it depends entirely on who turns up. The longer you hold it, the more of the map your empire covers: a million square kilometres at the start, the whole planet after seven days.
Can I defend my crown?
Yes. When somebody pays to take the crown, a siege runs against you for 60 hours of world time — one real minute — and every shield you hit on the map holds the line 3 hours longer, up to 180. You cannot stop them forever, but you can make them wait, and every hour counts towards your record.
What happens when I am overthrown?
We email you once to tell you, and your reign is kept in the history: the leaderboards, the Hall of Legends, and a short rise-and-fall video of your empire. Take the crown again under the same name and your dynasty grows — II, III, IV.
Is it a game of chance or gambling?
No. Nothing is won, there is no prize and no money comes back. You are paying to be shown as the ruler of the world on this site, and that is all.
Can I use any name I like?
Use a nickname rather than your full real name. Hate speech, harassment, sexual content, impersonating real people and advertising are not allowed, and names are checked before you pay — if yours is refused you are not charged.
Why does the clock say years?
Because a throne is not measured in minutes. Every second you hold the crown is an hour in the world below, so an afternoon makes you a ruler of years and a week would make you a dynasty of sixty-nine. The real time is still the real time — a siege really does last a minute — but the reigns are told the way history would tell them.
Is the payment safe?
Your card details go straight to Stripe's own checkout page; we never see them. Your statement shows “ONELINK*” followed by our name.