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.
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:
When it comes to 4X board games, they don’t always have to have all four of these elements, as they’re looser with what they consider a 4X game.
Examples Of 4X Games
Here isa collection of some titles that are considered 4X games:
1993
1996
1999
2002
2016
2022 (Early access), 2023 (full release)
2011
2012
2014
March of the Ants
2015
Tim Eiser and Ryan Swisher
2020
2021
