Strategy & Simulation · 1990s
Sid Meier's Civilization
One more turn: guide a people from a lone settler to the space age across a map that generates its own history. Research trees, city management, and diplomacy in balance made it the model for the 4X genre.
| First released | 1991 |
|---|---|
| Developer | MicroProse |
| Original platform | DOS |
Why it matters
It defined the 'one more turn' compulsion loop and the entire 4X strategy category — explore, expand, exploit, exterminate — and has run as a continuing series for more than three decades.
Play it today
Later series entries carry the idea forward; the original and its sequels remain available on PC storefronts.
Start here
Newcomers get the same advice veterans give: set an alarm. Of the series, the current entries are the friendliest starts, but the original's clarity about the loop is unmatched.
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civilization_(video_game) — release date, developer, genre definition
Sources for this page were checked 2026-09-21.