Master of Orion 1993

Released: September 1993
Genres: Strategy · Turn-based strategy (TBS)
Platforms: Linux · PC · Mac · DOS
Developers: Simtex · Take-Two Interactive
More info: Wikipedia IGDB

Where to buy

Digital: GOG $2.39-60% Steam

The lowest price we've seen on GOG since September 2026 More deals on GOG, and in Strategy
In a collection: Master of Orion 1+2

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Physical: Search on Amazon

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Is it still worth playing?

Simtex's 1993 turn based space strategy game for MS-DOS, in which you lead one of ten races to dominate the galaxy through diplomacy and conquest. The map is generated randomly each game, and each race has its specialties, such as strong diplomacy or ground combat. Sliders divide a colony's output among ship construction, defenses, factories, ecology and research, you research six independent tech fields and you design your own ships. Combat takes place in orbit over planets and can be manual or automatic, and diplomacy covers gifts, tech trades, treaties and declarations of war, with AI rulers that have personalities. It was the first game described as a 4X game, and it helped establish the conventions of the genre. A game of conquest is still a puzzle of priorities: every colony is a choice between growth, defense and research on a slider.