Civilization

'Just one more turn' — build a civilisation from 4000 BCE to the Space Age; win by conquest, science, culture or diplomacy.

🌤indoor

What is Civilization?

Sid Meier's Civilization is a turn-based 4X (eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, eXterminate) strategy series launched in 1991. Players guide a civilisation from 4000 BCE to the Space Age, researching technologies, building cities and wonders, waging wars and negotiating treaties. Multiple victory conditions (domination, science, culture, diplomacy, religion) and Sid Meier's genius one-more-turn game loop have kept it a top-tier PC strategy franchise for over 30 years.

Quick facts

Category

Video Games

Type

Individual

Players

1–12

Where played

indoor

Country of origin

🇺🇸 United States

Estimated origin

1991, Sid Meier (MicroProse); Civilization VI released 2016

Olympic

No

Popularity

global

Sources & provenance

Last verified 2026-08-24.verified