 Hamurabi is a text @-@ based strategy video game centered on resource management in which the player , identified in the text as the ancient Babylonian king Hammurabi , enters numbers in response to questions posed by the game . The resources that the player must manage are people , acres of land , and bushels of grain . These are managed over the course of ten rounds , each of which represents a year . Each person can farm a set amount of land , which produces grain . Grain , in turn , can be used to feed people , who otherwise die the following round , or planted for the following year 's crop . The player may also buy or sell land to their neighbors each turn in exchange for grain . Each round begins with an adviser stating " Hamurabi : I beg to report to you " the current status of the city , including the prior year 's harvest and change in population , followed by a series of questions as to how many bushels of grain to spend on land , seeds , and feeding the people . 
