You receive a "Game paused" message when you try to load a saved game in Age of Empires III

When you try to load a saved game in Microsoft Age of Empires III, you receive the following message:

To resolve this issue, when you load a saved game and receive the “Game paused” message, press the PAUSE/BREAK or F7 key to play the saved game. By default, the game is designed to load the saved game in the paused mode.

Alternatively, you can download and install the 1.04 update or a later update. After the update is installed, you can click Cancel on the screen to unpause the game. To download and install the latest game update for Age of Empires III, click Help and Tools on the main game screen, and then click Update Game. Alternatively, you can visit the following Microsoft Web site: If you are using an advanced keyboard to play the game, such as the Microsoft Wireless Optical Desktop keyboard, you may have to press the F LOCK key before you press the PAUSE/BREAK key. For more information about how to use the keys on an advanced keyboard, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: