Sid Meier's Civilization 1991
Why it still holds upEvery turn is still a small decision about research, building or war today, and the order you choose shapes the whole run.
4X games that still hold up
Explore, expand, exploit, exterminate, then one more turn
Games
Sid Meier's Civilization 1991
Why it still holds upEvery turn is still a small decision about research, building or war today, and the order you choose shapes the whole run.
Sid Meier's Civilization V 2010
Why it still holds upOne unit per tile keeps war a matter of terrain and positioning, which is reason enough to play it today.
Sid Meier's Civilization II 1996
Why it still holds upA full sweep of history, where every city and every advance is your choice, still makes it worth playing today.
Mount & Blade: Warband 2010
Why it still holds upWith no set objective, you can still decide whether to be a mercenary, a vassal or a ruler.
Sid Meier's Civilization IV 2005
Why it still holds upGrowing your cities toward one of five different victories still carries the game today.
Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri 1999
Why it still holds upCustom unit design and several victory paths still give it room to try different strategies today.
Master of Orion II: Battle at Antares 1996
Why it still holds upCustom race design, several routes to victory and ship by ship tactical combat still make each game start differently today.
Master of Orion 1993
Why it still holds upA game of conquest is still a puzzle of priorities: every colony is a choice between growth, defense and research on a slider.
Master of Magic 1994
Why it still holds upA choice of magic made at the start, on a world drawn fresh each time, still shapes every campaign today.
Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead 2013
Why it still holds upBecause so many survival systems depend on each other, every run still sets its own problem today.
Sid Meier's Colonization 1994
Why it still holds upColonists you can train into specialists, and prices in Europe that keep moving, still turn every colony into a small economy to tune on the road to independence.
The Battle of Polytopia 2016
Why it still holds upA short turn limit and a single resource to spend suit a short session today, since each game is a quick set of choices about what to unlock first.
Medieval: Total War 2002
Why it still holds upEach reign still has a place in a bigger story, since the campaign follows history and factions arrive on schedule.
Centurion: Defender of Rome 1990
Why it still holds upBuilding up an empire with these side shows remains a reason to give it a go now.
Sins of a Solar Empire 2008
Why it still holds upA full evening of empire building across whole star systems is still on offer.
Europa Universalis 2000
Why it still holds upA map of 1,500 provinces over 300 years gives a long campaign.
Disciples: Sacred Lands 1999
Why it still holds upUnits that gain experience give a strategy game the pull of a role playing one.
Imperium Galactica 1997
Why it still holds upRanks that unlock new functions one by one still introduce a strategy game with a large set of units gently.
The Settlers: Fourth Edition 2001
Why it still holds upA settlement that has to feed its own army is still a patient challenge to take on.
Endless Space 2 2017
Why it still holds upWith every faction playing by its own rules, each new campaign is still a different game.
Sid Meier's Civilization III 2001
Why it still holds upAn empire built a tile at a time still makes a long game worth starting today.
Sid Meier's Civilization VI 2016
Why it still holds upA random world and several ways to win still make each campaign take a different path, so one more game is easy to start.
Age of Wonders II: The Wizard's Throne 2002
Why it still holds upCommanding a fantasy army as an immortal wizard is still the hook today.
Age of Wonders 1999
Why it still holds upThe choice in every battle, to place the units yourself or let the game decide, is still its draw today.
Disciples II: Dark Prophecy 2002
Why it still holds upThe battles are still drawn to be watched as much as won.
Empire: Total War 2009
Why it still holds upEven now, a campaign that includes the sea as well as the land gives the age of sail its own shape.
Stellaris 2016
Why it still holds upA crisis that comes just when you thought you had won is still the point today.
Spore 2008
Why it still holds upDesigning what you play still makes each species your own.