What Does The Term 4X Mean?

Terms like FPS and roguelike are very common in the video game world. In fact, they’re so common that pretty much everyone who plays games knows what they mean. Yet, there are other gaming terms that people aren’t as knowledgeable about because they aren’t used very often.

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One of those terms is 4X, which pertains to both video games and board games. Anyone who has heard the term probably knows it’s a type of game, but they might not know what it means or where the term comes from. Here is a full explanation.

What Does 4X Stand For?

To put it simply, 4X stands for Explore, Expand, Exploit, and Exterminate. The term was created in 1993 by writer Alan Emrich, who called Masters of Orion an XXXX game in the Computer Gaming World magazine. It was a play on the three Xs often used in the adult entertainment industry.

4X refers to strategy games that contain elements of the four words used in the loose acronym. So, to qualify, a game needs to include the following:

• Exploration – It provides a way for you to explore and uncover parts of the map. In strategy games, this is often done with scouts.
• Expansion – The game allows you to obtain new territory that enables you to grow your empire.
• Exploitation – The ability to gather resources from the land. So, things like mining materials and harvesting plants would count.
• Extermination – Includes other players you can fight and eliminate before perhaps taking over their territory.

Examples Of 4X Games

Here is a collection of some titles that are considered 4X games:

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