Game elements

The Civilisation series is a 4X game, listing the game elements as: explore; expand; exploit; and exterminate. I prefer to think of the game elements as follows:

• Exploration

  • Technological advancement

  • Infrastructure improvement (this is divided in Civilisation between tile improvements and city improvements)

• Diplomacy

  • Conquest (acquiring territory through significant military action against a technologically equivalent adversary)

  • Colonisation (acquiring territory through insignificant miliary action against a technologically inferiour adversary)

  • Espionage, sabotage and assassination

  • Trade

The player should have the ability to turn game functions off, e.g. a no warfare game that is completely determinant on infrastructure and trade.