Sid Meier's Civilization

About the game

Civilization compressed the whole of human history into a single, endlessly replayable board. Starting with one band of settlers in 4000 BC, you found cities, irrigate river valleys, research pottery and writing, and — several hundred turns later — either conquer the planet or race rivals to Alpha Centauri. No game before it had offered that sweep, and few systems have ever been as nakedly addictive as its interlocking loops of research, expansion and diplomacy.

The technology tree is the invention everything else hangs on: a lattice of discoveries where choosing the wheel over alphabet reshapes your next century. Wonders of the World — the Pyramids, Isaac Newton's College — give each era its trophies, while Genghis Khan, Elizabeth I and a famously touchy Gandhi supply the table talk. War, when it comes, is knives-and-phalanx brutal early and tank-versus-musketeer absurd late, and both extremes are half the fun.

Designed by Sid Meier at MicroProse, Civilization became the archetype of the 4X genre and one of the most influential strategy designs ever shipped. Its direct descendants still ship today, but the 1991 original remains startlingly playable — lean, fast and pure.

Technical notes

Tile-based EGA/VGA presentation over a deceptively light simulation — the whole of history fits comfortably on a 386. The archive documents DOS, Amiga, Atari ST, Mac and Windows 3.x releases among others.