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Civilization (series) facts for kids

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Civilization
Genres Turn-based strategy, 4x game
Developers MicroProse
Activision
Firaxis Games
Publishers MicroProse
Activision
Infogrames Entertainment, SA
2K Games
Creators Sid Meier
Platforms Main series:
Microsoft Windows, Linux, OS X
Spin-offs:
Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, iOS, Android, Nintendo DS, Windows Phone, Facebook Platform, PlayStation Vita
First release Civilization
1991
Latest release Civilization VI
October 21, 2016

Civilization is a series of turn-based strategy video games first released in 1991. Sid Meier developed the first game in the series and has had creative input for most of the rest, and his name is usually included in the formal title of these games, such as Sid Meier's Civilization. There have since been six main games in the series, a number of expansion packs and spin-off games, as well as board games inspired by the video game series.

Sid Meier - Game Developers Conference 2010 - Day 4 (3)
Sid Meier, who conceived the Civilization series and co-founded Firaxis

The main Civilization games are turn-based 4X games, where players attempt to achieve one of several victory conditions against other human and computer-controlled opponents through the actions of "eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, and eXterminate". Civilization uses historical aspects from the development of mankind's civilization, and turns take place over a time scale that starts with the dawn of civilization in the millennia before 1 A.D., and continue through present times and beyond.

On each turn, players oversee their civilization's government, determine what technology, culture, and civics the civilization should develop, engage in diplomacy with other civilizations, set production and place improvements within cities, and move their civilization's units across the game's world map, often engaging in combat with other civilizations' enemy units.

To help newer players, the Civilization games include a number of artificial intelligence advisors that suggest which units, city improvements, and technology and cultures they should invest in based on the current state of the game.

The Civilization games can be played in a single-player mode, and both local and online multiplayer modes, along with a number of computer-controlled opponents.

All titles in the series share similar game-play, centered on building a civilization on a macro-scale from prehistory up to the near future.

The first version, Civilization, was released in 1991, and games have been released ever since.

In 1996, Next Generation listed the series as number 4 on their "Top 100 Games of All Time", commenting that, "[Sid Meier's] goal was to give players the chance to play God. And he succeeded, admirably."

Main series

Main Series
Title Release Notes
Civilization 1991
CivNet 1995 A remake with improved graphics and sound, local and online multiplayer modes, and support for Windows 3.1 and Windows 95.
Civilization II 1996 Introduced the isometric view of the world map.
Civilization II: Conflicts in Civilization 1996 The first expansion pack for Civilization II.
Civilization II: Fantastic Worlds 1997 The second expansion pack for Civilization II.
Civilization II: Test of Time 1999 Includes the original Civilization II plus new scenarios and improved features, including an alien landscape.
Civilization III 2001 Introduced aspects of culture, including culture victories and takeovers of nearby cities
Civilization III: Play the World 2002 The first expansion pack for Civilization III.
Civilization III: Conquests 2003 The second and final expansion for Civilization III.
Civilization IV 2005 Introduced aspects of religion and government civics.
Civilization IV: Warlords 2006 The first expansion pack for Civilization IV.
Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword 2007 The second expansion pack for Civilization IV.
Civilization V 2010 Introduced a hex-based map instead of a square tile map used in previous titles, and "unstacked" military units, where only one unit of a kind may occupy one space.
Civilization V: Gods & Kings 2012 The first expansion pack for Civilization V.
Civilization V: Brave New World 2013 The second expansion pack for Civilization V.
Civilization VI 2016 Introduced "unstacked" city tiles, where city improvements are placed outside the main city grid space, and a separate cultural development tree from the technology tree.

Related pages

These are the versions of the game. They are in order from oldest to newest.

Images for kids

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Civilization (serie) para niños

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