Sid Meier's Civilization is a
turn-based "
4X"-type
strategy video game created by
Sid Meier and
Bruce Shelley for
MicroProse in 1991. The game's objective is to "Build an empire to stand the test of time": it begins in
4000 BC and the players attempt to expand and develop their empires through the ages from the ancient era until modern and near-future times. It is also known simply as
Civilization, Civilization I, or abbreviated to
Civ or
Civ I.