Loop
eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, eXterminate
You might say: the four Xs, what 4X means
The four activities that name the genre. Exploring comes first and expanding soon after; by the late game the map is explored and fighting finishes the game. All four can overlap.
- What it does
- Defines the genre and its arc: an unknown map early, a known map and mopping-up wars late.
- Ask
- Does each X stay relevant, or does one phase end and leave the player with only the others?
Loop: s-curve
Map → Expansion → Empire economy → Warfare ↺
Sources
- PC Gamer, Alan Emrich, the game designer and writer who coined the term '4X,' has died, Alan Emrich, the game designer and writer who coined the term '4X,' has died
I give MOO a XXXX rating because it features the essential four Xs of any good strategic conquest game: EXplore, EXpand, EXploit, and EXterminate.
- eXplorminate, The End Game and Its Follies, The End Game and Its Follies
The eXpansion phase comes shortly after the eXploration phase really starts to unfold.
- eXplorminate, The End Game and Its Follies, The End Game and Its Follies
The exploration phase has long ended and, as such, nothing truly new awaits the player … In most 4X games, you’re in the “mopping up” phase.
- eXplorminate, The End Game and Its Follies, The End Game and Its Follies
Finally, eXtermination can occur at any point in the game.
Use it on your project
teardown-apply: hold "eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, eXterminate" (four-x-arc) from the teardown at https://teardownatlas.com/4x-strategy/ against my project
Paste it into a coding agent that has the teardown skills.
An AI agent wrote this map with the teardown skill. It can contain errors: check the sources before you rely on a part. About and legal