This week's topic is 4X games. 4X is a subgenre of strategy game that is defined by the "four Xs" that make up the genre name: EXplore, EXpand, EXploit and EXterminate. In these games you must explore surrounding territory, expand your empire or faction to claim it, exploit the resources found there, and exterminate other empires or factions. These games also sometimes feature auxiliary concepts like robust economy management, technology trees, and inter-faction diplomacy. Grand Strategy games are a subsubgenre (heh) under 4X that specifically involve an even larger and more detailed scope and often pit the player's faction against dozens of others, often times with an asymmetrical playing field.

Here are some questions and subtopics that I encourage people to discuss:

What are your favorite 4X games?
Which "X" of the 4X genre is your favorite?
What setting/background do you prefer for 4X games?
Do you enjoy Grand Strategy games, as a subgenre of 4X?

Also feel free to bring up anything you like related to the topic! If you have suggestions for future discussion topics, leave them in the suggestion thread.

Additional Resources

List of 4X games from Wikipedia
Grand Strategy & 4X tag on Steam

top 15 comments

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[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 year ago (2 children)

My favorite 4X games are:

-Civilization 4/5

-Distant Worlds 2

-Warlock Master of the Arcane

There are other games that would be my favorites but they just aren't polished or rich enough, like Galactic Ruler and Pax Nova.

I like space 4x games, but exact setting isn't as important as gameplay. I like unit/tech variety and logistics. Distant Worlds 2 has the appearance of my favorite game, but I wish many things were more fleshed out like building on planets.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Have you played Old World? It's by one of the Civ 4 devs.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I tried it on Gamepass but it didn't grab me. I'm sure I will buy it again on a sale and give it another chance.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

I tried it a few times and it didn't click with me until I watched a GDC Postmortem on it. He was talking all about how the blood lines worked and how all of the different things can happen to anyone. It makes it have a little more personality than regular civ type games.

[–] TheTick 2 points 1 year ago

I loved Warlock. I should reinstall and play it again, it's been awhile.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I really liked to play 4x games like master of orion 2, Heroes of might and magic and especially age of wonders 1 and two in hotseat mode when I was younger.

Now they seem to take ages in turns when playing multiplayer. Are there any 4x games that retain some complexity while keeping the turns fast and engaging for multiple players? Online and hotseat are both welcome.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago

I'm not really into playing 4x games multiplayer. But I did play Stellaris multiplayer. It can get pretty frantic if you don't pause every now and then, but a far cry from boring.

[–] Iamdanno 6 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I prefer the first 3 x-es. I find most of the combat to be more tedious than fun, but I haven't played much new stuff since Civ VI came out, so I may be OOTL a bit.

[–] random_character_a 5 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Oh I have played so many Stellaris games where I quit because of boredom after neutral space runs out and midgame borders are formed. I just don't have tolerance for the slow political shenanigans.

[–] Xylinna 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I believe the only 4x games I have played have been the Sid Meier's games. They weren't really my usual type of game but I did appreciate the complexity they created with balancing tactics and diplomacy.

[–] antik 4 points 1 year ago

Same, played a few CIV games over the years but never really got into it.. Nothing sticked. I would play it for a few days and then go back to playing fps games :)

[–] hungrythirstyhorny 4 points 1 year ago

sins of a solar empire 2 xplore

[–] TotalCasual 1 points 1 year ago

HoMM3 with WoG mod is a ton of fun. Songs of Conquest is 4X I believe. Also great fun.

I think EXplore is the big thing for me. The more incentive you have to explore, and the more content to be explored, the more enjoyable the game is.

I way prefer Sci-Fantasy, but it's a toss up between the Sci or the Fantasy.

I think Grand Strategy is where I'm at right now, and I tend to focus a lot of games in that area.

What is the smartest way to get into Stellaris right now? I'm waiting for the whole DLC package to get marked down in November or something like that. The Steam Workshop pretty much controls mods right now, so GoG isn't an option from what I've read.

For people who play Stellaris regularly, I recognize that the game has been less popular recently. Is there a specific reason for that?

[–] Epicurus0319 1 points 1 year ago

Stellaris

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

On the rare occasion that I have the time, I sometimes play Stellaris. (I’ve never played till the end though, I couldn’t sustain attention THAT long, especially given all the BS they keep doing to the game mechanics so often it makes strategizing impossible in the long run unless you dedicate your life to the game.)