Travian is a browser-based MMORTS based upon the culture and militaristic traditions of Ancient Rome and Greece. Players begin as a lowly village leader and aim, as in most RTS games, to collect resources, conduct research, and ultimately build and expand an empire with the hopes of becoming supreme in the world. There are three available tribes to choose from --Romans, Gauls, and Teutons. The Travian servers are timed to run at normal speed or at three times normal. On normal servers, the game's end game mode kicks in at around 300 days' time, and lasts until one player builds a level 100 world wonder and claims victory.

Around this time, the Natars, an NPC-controlled race enters the game and attacks players for every few levels of progress made on the wonder. First player to complete his or her wonder wins the game, and the servers are reset afterward, when a new round begins. At the end f each round, a list of rankings is released, offering the opportunity for players to earn medals and other accolades on his or her homepage.

Travian is free to play, although players can buy gold with real money and affect in-game operations such as production to gain an advantage.