Sid Meier’s Civilization is the first in a series of turn-based “4X”-type strategy video game created by Sid Meier and Bruce Shelley for MicroProse in 1991. The game’s objective is to “Build an empire to stand the test of time”: it begins in 4000 BC and the players attempt to expand and develop their empires through the ages from the ancient era until modern and near-future times.
Civilization was originally developed for MS-DOS running on a PC. It has undergone numerous revisions for various platforms (including Windows, Macintosh, Amiga, Atari ST, Super NES, Sega Saturn, PlayStation and N-Gage) and now exists in several versions. A multiplayer remake, Sid Meier’s CivNet was released for the PC in 1995.