A battle in Dot Conquest can have up to eight sides on one map, each with its own colour. Colour alone is not enough to tell them apart: about one man in twelve sees some colours differently, and even with perfect colour vision a small dot on a busy map is easy to misread. So the game never shows a side by colour alone.
Patterns on land and dots
Each side wears a simple pattern as well as a colour, drawn on its land and on its dots. Two sides whose colours look the same to you still look different.
The patterns are on for a new game. If you prefer plain colours, the switch is on the Settings screen, under the GAME tab.
Marks beside numbers
Wherever a number belongs to a side, a small mark of that side's pattern sits beside it:
- in the top bar, beside each side's council countdown;
- on the Daily's record of your results against each general.
So "whose countdown is that?" never depends on reading a colour.
An ally says so in words
On some campaign levels a general fights on your side. An ally has its own colour and pattern like any side, so the game adds words:
In the match, the ally's countdown in the top bar carries the word ALLY beside its mark, the scoreboard names its row "(ally)", and a message says it fights on your side once the battle is under way. The level card says it before you start.
Faded land
Land that is cut off from its side's cities is drawn faded, for every side. That is a shade, not a colour, so it reads the same with any colour vision. It matters: dots standing on faded land wear down. See supply lines and attrition.
Other things that never rely on colour
- The siege phase changes the clock's icon to crossed swords, not only its colour. See the siege phase.
- A capture shows as a ring filling around the city.
- A Medic is drawn half-white, so it reads as a Medic whatever its side's colour.
Reporting a problem
If two sides are hard to tell apart on a particular map, or a pattern is hard to see, a report with the level's name helps fix it.
Where to go next
- The controls: mouse and keyboard.
- The campaign's worlds and their maps: worlds overview.