These traits are typical of the Civilization series too, despite its reinventions over the years.ĭevelopers have released many other 4X games across the history of computer gaming, before and after Civilization. Typically, 4X games have the following game concepts: He went on to give the game a rating of XXXX.) (The 4X moniker was first coined by Computer Gaming World's Alan Emrich, in a preview of the first Master of Orion game back in 1993. The aim is winning, and you do this by eXploring, eXpanding, eXploiting, and eXterminating. Early reviews even referred to the original Civilization as a 'god game.' Whatever. Now into its sixth desktop incarnation, along with several console and mobile spin-offs, we take a look at every version of Civilization and examine how the series has evolved. Amazingly, there was a time when it didn't exist! But since its launch in the 1990s, the game series has gone from strength to strength, advancing graphically and introducing new game concepts and features. Sid Meier's Civilization 4X game series seems as though it has been around forever. Feel free to copy and share this with your friends and family. This guide is available to download as a free PDF.