Unlike strategy games that put players in command of armies, players call most (if not all) grand strategy games 4X games. These games allow them to: Explore, Expand, Exploit, and Exterminate. These terms also describe the majority of the features grand strategy games offer, which often makes players consider them as real-world leadership games. Thanks to titles likeCivilization,Total War, and evenEuropa Universalis, players can put themselves in the shoes of world leaders today.
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Moreover, grand strategy games often help players simulate situations in the real world that cannot merely happen today. Alternate history fans often use these to gain insights as to what can happen to countries given various scenarios. These games can also provide insight into world leaders that people can’t get through simple observation. Here are some of those thoughts.
Updated on June 27, 2025, by Rhenn Taguiam:With games like Battlefield exploring notable historical conflicts such as the Great War, Call of Duty speculating on the future of warfare, and Command & Conquer looking into alternate histories, fans can delight in the idea of their characters being able to shape the course of history. Fans interested in the thought processes of how today’s world nations are acting may want to look into how grand strategy games implement specific mechanics such as the strength in being the first to achieve (and potentially monopolize) something, the harsh costs of maintaining war, and how some unconventional strategies could lead to victory.
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In politics, geography, and business, the party that first introduces an innovation or technology becomes the go-to for the said commodity. This explains why the Middle East dominates the oil industry, while France remains a cultural powerhouse for the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower. This observation is gamified by grand strategy titles, where the likes ofCivilizationpopularized the concept of the World Wonders that give benefits to factions that first develop or discover them.
These developments often become instruments of recognition for world leaders of factions that pull off these accomplishments. In 4X and grand strategy games, being able to control these wonders provides benefits toward Culture stats or Culture-leaning stats in the game.
While today’s hostilities have shaken global geopolitics, history enthusiasts and political scientists fear these escalating conflicts may lead to another World War. Perhaps the only deterrent stopping nations from plunging the Earth into a situation similar to the Great War and World War 2 is the active cost of conducting war.
In modern grand strategy titles, while a conquest victory is perfectly achievable, it’s more often than not resource-intensive based on both mid-war and post-war efforts. On top of cultivating an army strong enough to dominate a certain state or area, players of certain games need to consider potential unrest from the local populace and hostilities from fans.
War isn’t everything in a grand strategy game, even if the idea of amassing control over the whole world seems like a delightful sight to see. For instance, the United States and China have been recognized as global “superpowers” that dominate not just the military scene but also businesses as they are among the world’s richest nations. Decades earlier, it was the United States and the Soviet Union fighting over dominance in the Space Race, with the ultimate goal of having a man on the Moon.
Grand strategy games reflect these aspects through different victory conditions. Aside from a faction “winning” the game by colonizing all other areas and nations, some games determine winners based on extra objectives. Likewise, even an objective like conquest can be approached in ways other than war. Instead of risking a revolt by dominating a state with a different religion, a player can have its owner convert to their faith before colonizing the area.
Players ofCivilizationlove the seriesfor trying its best to have an accurate portrayal of world events, especially when it comes to the leaders the game uses to represent countries and factions. It’s so far, so good, right? It should feel amazing having a historical figure in a 4X game. Except when Mahatma Gandhi goes Nuclear.
This “Nuclear Gandhi” received notoriety amongst fans as he leads a rather “aggressive” India in the late-game ofCivilizationsessions. This situation appears to be a result of a coding glitch. Either way, this situation serves as a reminder that appearances don’t define a person, especially leaders. Gandhi might’ve lived as someone to admire, but behind all good appearances of leaders are decisions for their countries that people should always think about.
Fans of grand strategy games can get so engrossed in them that sessions can last for days, weeks, or even years. A Redditor back in 2012 shared they’ve been playing theirCiv 2game for ten years! A huge allure of 4X games lies in the options available for players. However, these options become challenging to manage in the endgame. Thanks to the complexity of these options, players can encounter in-game challenges such as civil unrest, debt, or even wars.
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In the real world, it’s easy for people to point out mistakes in certain parts of national leadership. However, proper management of national resources requires an astute understanding of everything happening in a nation.
4X games remain popular not just for their vast faction options, but for their full cast of leaders. Faction leaders inCivgames take away popular characteristics of their real-life counterparts (except Nuclear Gandhi). As sessions occur in turns, there’s no way for a player to be aware of what other factions are doing ahead of time. This caveat can make diplomacy tricky, and may even encouragespy work.
In the real world, this situation might explain why some countries have rather complex relationships with each other. Moreover, this caveat may explain why some countries make “too safe” statements, and why analysts discourage rash actions from leaders.
When players start 4X games, they want to start a game from scratch. After all, it’s amazing seeing settlers mark their first territory andbuild a bustling empirefrom there. Likewise, players who haven’t touched theirCivsave file for years might find themselves scratching their heads with everything that’s happened. Where do they even start?
Whenever leaders sit in the office, they “load” a saved file. Only this time, they load a save file where resources are few, international relations are a mess, and there are millions of lives to feed. If players get confused with a loaded save file from a 4X game, imagine the pressure world leaders face. Moreover, unlike gamers, world leaders can’t slack off.
Alliances remain a focal point of a lot of 4X games. In hit titles such asCivilization, players have to make alliances with other nations and factions to achieve a lot of benefits. These benefits come in the form of shared resources, allies in times of war, or even aid in times of crisis. Unfortunately, world leaders have a tendency to have “preferences” in terms of their political allies, especially when it comes to their interests.
Nations can easily fall out of favor with others due to various diplomatic scenarios. Just like in games, even one unfortunate circumstance can ruin a country’s “friendships.”
In the real world, leaders often shape their own nations based on their political viewpoints. Much of political unrest also stems from these differences, especially during election time when political agendas and platforms get put under scrutiny.
4X games usually have “World Domination” as a default win condition. This mechanic means players win the game once they conquer all factions on the map. However, players may soon realize this win condition can take hours' worth of real-time to accomplish. Alluding this to real life, history has had its own share of leaders who eyed world domination. Alexander the Great, for instance, is widely known as a man who established the ancient world’s largest empire.
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Comparing this to today’s political climate, it’s not impossible for world leaders today to think of the very same thing. Perhaps what stops world leaders from outright conquering the world would be their respective nation’s limited resources and potential international backlash.
