What is a 4X game or XXXX?

If you're even somewhat familiar with the world of real-time strategy games (STR), there exists an even more complete type of games: 4X games (or XXXX). Here, the player controls an empire whose goal is to dominate all others based on the four principles of exploration, expansion, exploitation, and extermination.

The four X come from the English words eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, eXterminate. They are the four cornerstone pillars that govern the genre:

Exploration: this aspect of the game involves exploring unknown territories around the player's starting point. Territories that gradually become gigantic.

Expansion: This is about extending one's power and influence, by enlarging one's territory (for example with new colonies) and becoming the Master of the World (pretty impressive!).

Exploitation: To gain power and influence, and thus become the Master of the World, you'll need resources. It's up to the player to gather them in the areas under their control while continually improving their use.

Extermination: When you invade your neighbor, they often don’t agree! To dominate your opponents, by force or by any other means; it may therefore happen that you need to destroy your opponents in combat. Victory is often tied to technological superiority gained through research. Research is one of the most important elements of a 4X game, typically represented in the form of a highly developed technology tree offering the player a wide range of evolution possibilities in several domains (war, diplomacy, science, etc.).

In short, it may look complicated at first glance, but we strongly invite you to dive into these teeming universes. Playing a game generally lasts a very long time, because managing an expanded empire requires a lot of micromanagement. 4X games put us in an adventure on a large scale of space and time. You feel a true sense of achievement as you watch your Empire grow and thrive, and on top of that it really gets your brain firing.

You don't become the Master of the World without a good dose of logical thinking!