This batch ranges from old-school planetary bookkeeping to fantasy maps with underground layers, united by the pleasure of making one more carefully considered turn.

Age of Wonders

In the first Age of Wonders, two campaign sides frame the conflict between arriving humans and the established magical races. Twelve races, roaming independents, global spells, and hex-based battles make the map feel busier than a simple city-grabbing contest. The three-layer map editor remains the feature I’d put beside a friend’s custom scenario first.

Age of Wonders II: The Wizard’s Throne

Merlin’s sequel shifts the series toward Merlin’s campaign and the recovery of the magic Spheres. Pioneers establish cities while Teleportation Gates can reposition friendly units, a combination that gives expansion and reinforcement their own rhythm. Would you rather spend an early turn planting a city or preparing a gate network?

Age of Wonders: Shadow Magic

the Shadow Magic expansion is a stand-alone expansion to Age of Wonders II, adding Nomads, Shadow Demons, Syrons, and the Shadow World map layer. Its simultaneous-turn option sits alongside the classic turn sequence, while random maps and expanded editing tools broaden the skirmish side. Which of those additions would change how you approached multiplayer most?

Anacreon: Imperial Conquest in the Far Future

Anacreon’s Windows-era remake revisits Anacreon: Reconstruction 4021 with a mouse-driven interface from its original designer. The supplied scenarios center on planetary economies, fleets, trade routes, diplomacy, and war, with eight built-in setups and eleven more in the Scenario Pack. It sounds like the right candidate when you want star maps and production queues without a long campaign script.

C-evo

C-evo’s Civilization-style campaign starts with a city and follows a civilization through technological milestones toward interstellar colonization. It supports hotseat games for up to nine players and exposes an AI API for custom opponents. Put its local multiplayer next to Civ II at a table: which one gets the group through the evening?

Call to Power II

Call to Power II’s long timeline carries a civilization from stone tools to orbital platforms, undersea colonies, and plasma weaponry. Farms, mines, roads, trade, espionage, governments, and combined-arms warfare all sit on the same sprawling turn structure. The far-future units are the real temptation here, not merely another march through the ancient eras.

Civilization II: Multiplayer Gold Edition

Civilization II’s Multiplayer Gold package bundles Civilization II with the Conflicts in Civilization and Fantastic Worlds scenario packs. Historical flashpoints share the disc with fantasy maps, while hotseat and LAN play make the collection especially suited to a planned local session. Would your first scenario be a historical matchup or one with dragons and magic-fed cities?

Civilization II: Test of Time

Civilization II: Test of Time builds on the Civilization II framework with the Centaurus, Lalande 21185, and Midgard settings. The scenarios bring their own units, resources, events, and victory conditions, and the game supports LAN or Internet play for up to seven people. Midgard’s Viking raids and alien-world colonization make a sharper contrast than another standard Earth map.

Civilization: Call to Power

Civilization: Call to Power takes an empire from the Stone Age into oceanic cities and planetary colonies. Its technology path reaches underwater habitats, terraforming, and orbital defenses, so the late game deliberately leaves familiar continental maps behind. Which destination would you chase first: the sea floor or another planet?

Deadlock II: Shrine Wars

Deadlock II: Shrine Wars offers seven race-specific campaigns around contested alien shrines. Planetary construction, finances, diplomacy, terraforming, and hex-based combat share the stage, with each faction bringing distinct units and objectives. I’d start by comparing how the Viron and Xyor Coalition handle the same early-world pressures.

Of these Windows 4X games, which one best rewards a long Saturday campaign: Age of Wonders’ layered fantasy maps, Civilization II’s scenarios, Call to Power’s future eras, or Deadlock II’s race campaigns?