Sid Meier’s Civilization

Sid Meier’s Civilization franchise has become one of the most successful video gaming franchises in history, and beginning with the release of Civilization in 1991, the franchise has grown to a huge fan base. Players love the turn-based style of this old PC games, as well as the opportunities for customization, and while the game may have been updated since the 1990’s the main premise is still the same: to build an empire to stand the test of time.

Civilization was originally developed for the Microsoft disk operating system, but due to its popularity, the game has been revised many time to be used on a multitude of platforms and operating systems, including Windows, Macintosh, Amiga, Atari ST, Super NES, Sega Saturn, PlayStation and N-gage.

What Made this Game So Popular?

Civilization offers players an opportunity to do something they would never have a chance to do in real life, which is to reshape the course of human history. Players select a historic civilization to take on, along with the persona of a very famous figure within that civilization’s history, and compete to build an empire against two to seven other civilizations. During gameplay, old PC games players must use micromanagement skills to develop skills and attributes within their civilization, which must be balanced with completing more overarching goals of exploration, warfare and diplomacy.

The scope of this game is incredibly broad, which was revolutionary for the time, and has been a theme throughout the series. Players start the game in the year 4000 BC as a nomadic tribe, and over the course of time progressing, can develop new technologies and attributes for their civilization in accordance with the historical period. Players can use many different units, also in accordance with the historical period and their civilizations technological availabilities. During the game, players are bound to encounter other civilizations, at which point they must make decisions about how to confront them, and deal with the possible outcomes.

Ending the Game

To win the game, a player must do one of two things. First, they can win the game by building the ultimate empire and taking over all other civilizations. Again, this can be done diplomatically or militaristically. Which strategy is best could depend on the civilization the player is trying to overtake. The other way to win the game is to win the space race by being the first civilization to reach the star system of Alpha Centauri. This involves many technological advances, and solidifies the player’s civilization as the most advanced at the end of the game. Of course, it is possible to lose the game by allowing an opposing civilization to overtake the world, or allowing them to reach the star system first.

This game was the first in a franchise that has swept the globe. User’s love how it makes them strategize, and feel like it provides a real challenge, while being incredibly enjoyable. This is one of the most important strategy old PC games of all time, and will continue to be played for years to come.