Editing 4X (section)

{{short description|Genre of strategy-based video and board games}}
{{about|the board and video game subgenre}}
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[[File:Freeciv-net-screenshot-2011-06-23.png|upright=1.6|thumb|Detailed empire management, seen here in ''[[Freeciv]]'', is a central aspect of 4X [[strategy video game|strategy games]].]]
{{VG Strategy}}

'''4X''' (abbreviation of ''Explore, Expand, Exploit, Exterminate'') is a [[video game genre|subgenre]] of [[Strategy game|strategy-based]] [[video game|computer]] and [[board game]]s,<ref name="Habib2006" /><ref name="IroncladGames" /><ref name="MobyGames2008" /> and includes both [[turn-based strategy|turn-based]] and [[real-time strategy]] titles.<ref name="4XandRTS" /><ref name="DeafGamersSUDG"><!--
-->{{cite web |url=http://archive.gamespy.com/reviews/january02/sudg/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070629230929/http://archive.gamespy.com/reviews/january02/sudg/ |archive-date=2007-06-29 |title=GameSpy Reviews: Starships Unlimited: Divided Galaxies |publisher=GameSpy |first=William |last=Abner |date=January 2002 |access-date=2008-06-23 }}<!--
--></ref> The [[gameplay]] generally involves [[imperialism|building an empire]].<ref name="galcivGOTY" /> Emphasis is placed upon economic and technological development, as well as a range of military and non-military routes to supremacy.

The earliest 4X games borrowed ideas from [[board game]]s and 1970s [[text-based user interface|text-based]] computer games. The first 4X computer games were [[turns, rounds and time-keeping systems in games#Turn-based|turn-based]], but [[real-time strategy|real-time]] 4X games were also common. Many 4X computer games were published in the mid-1990s, but were later outsold by other types of strategy games. [[Sid Meier]]'s ''[[Civilization (video game)|Civilization]]'' is an important example from this formative era, and popularized the level of detail that later became a staple of the genre. In the new millennium, several 4X releases have become critically and commercially successful.

In the board (and card) game domain, 4X is less of a distinct genre, in part because of the practical constraints of components and playing time. The ''[[Civilization (1980 board game)|Civilization]]'' board game that gave rise to Sid Meier's ''[[Civilization (series)|Civilization]]'', for instance, includes neither exploration nor extermination. Unless extermination is targeted at non-player entities, it tends to be either nearly impossible (because of play balance mechanisms, since player elimination is usually considered an undesirable feature) or certainly unachievable (because victory conditions are triggered before extermination can be completed) in board games.