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If you are looking for a 4X game that combines familiar city-building and exploration with the politics of a ruling family, start with Old World. Developed by Mohawk Games and published by Hooded Horse, it is set in antiquity and follows a dynasty across generations. The “Civilization meets Crusader Kings” label is a useful shorthand, but the key adjustment is learning to manage a limited pool of orders while planning around fixed city sites and a mortal ruler.
What kind of 4X game is Old World?
Old World has familiar 4X foundations: explore the map, establish and develop cities, research technologies, gather resources, and use armies and diplomacy to deal with rivals. Its distinctive systems change how you approach those activities. Rather than treating every unit as if it can act freely each turn, you allocate orders from a shared budget. You also place cities at designated sites, and your leader is a person whose life and family shape the kingdom.
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Steam lists the game’s release date as May 18, 2022. Unlike games that carry a civilization through many historical eras, Old World remains focused on antiquity; a 2021 review describes each turn as one year. Steam’s Old World listing
Learn to budget orders before trying to do everything
Orders are a shared action budget. Many activities use them, so the practical question each turn is not simply what could move or build, but what deserves your limited attention now. You may spend additional orders to give a unit multiple actions, which makes prioritization important: an army that must respond to a threat competes for orders with other work across your kingdom.
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In his April 15, 2020 preview of an early build, Kotaku writer Luke Plunkett summarized the design this way: “It’s no longer an expectation, but a resource.” The line captures the central idea, though the preview predates release and should not be read as a guide to current balance details. Kotaku’s Old World preview
- At the start of a turn, identify actions that address immediate threats or unlock useful expansion.
- Choose which units and projects get orders instead of spreading them automatically across everything.
- Keep enough flexibility for a response if a rival, event, or exposed city changes your priorities.
Scout marked sites before planning where to expand
In Old World, settlers found cities at designated locations, not at any point you choose on the map. That makes exploration part of your settlement plan: scout to reveal promising marked sites, then consider their usefulness and exposure before committing to expansion. Do not assume a city can be placed wherever a conventional free-placement 4X game would allow it.
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After founding a city, develop it while balancing its needs against the orders and resources available to the wider kingdom. Expansion is not only a race to claim ground; it also creates places you may need to protect.
Plan for a ruler, a court, and a succession
Your ruler is not an abstract, permanent leader. The ruler ages and dies, and family members and courtiers can matter to succession, court life, city governance, military command, and relationships. Events can have consequences for both the dynasty and the kingdom, so a choice that seems personal may affect your wider position.
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As you make decisions, consider who could follow the current ruler and what roles people around the court might fill. The dynasty layer is part of the strategy, not a separate story mode: leadership changes occur within a kingdom that still has cities to govern, rivals to watch, and military needs to meet.
Use a simple first-session loop
There is no source-backed universal opening move or tested best build order. A useful way to orient yourself is to repeat this priority loop, adapting it to what the map and events present:
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- Explore: scout nearby territory and identify designated city sites.
- Expand deliberately: found and develop cities with attention to their value and vulnerability.
- Allocate orders: choose which units and activities matter most this turn, rather than expecting every task to proceed independently.
- Manage risk: protect new expansion and respond to threats or rivals that could disrupt your plans.
- Look beyond the current ruler: weigh court and family decisions with succession and the kingdom’s future in mind.
This is a learning framework, not a guaranteed optimal strategy. The right priorities depend on the situation you encounter.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Use tooltips and the in-game reference when a rule is unclear
A 2021 review reports that the game included nested tooltips, help, and a Civilopedia, while also noting that some mechanics and character effects could be opaque. If an action, statistic, or character role is unclear, inspect its tooltip and the in-game reference rather than guessing. Those interface observations come from a review-era account and are not a guarantee that every current interface label or layout is unchanged. Rock Paper Shotgun’s Old World review
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How it differs from a conventional Civilization-style 4X
| System | What to expect in Old World | What to adjust if you know conventional 4X games |
|---|---|---|
| Actions | Many actions draw on a shared orders pool; spending more orders can give a unit multiple actions. | Prioritize actions instead of assuming each unit can act freely each turn. |
| City placement | Cities are founded at designated sites. | Scout for viable locations rather than planning to settle anywhere. |
| Historical scope and time | The game stays in antiquity; a 2021 review describes turns as one year. | Expect a narrower historical span than a multi-era civilization game. |
| Leadership | A mortal ruler, family, and court influence succession and kingdom affairs. | Include people and future leadership in your strategic decisions, not only territory and technology. |
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