The game had limited release in a few countries....Philippines, Australia, Netherlands, Sweden, Finland as early as October/November. I've been playing the game since December. Topdominator alliance was "Pinoy Pride" (Filippino based alliance). There was still cheating even then, but much less than now. We were the beta testers, I guess. Before global release the game was even less stable...lots of crashes..but the battle AI in my opinion, made battles far more enjoyable and satisfying. My Base, except for walls, was already maxed up in March.