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Master of Orion

Master of Orion
Master of Orion cover.jpg
Developer(s) Simtex
Publisher(s) MicroProse
Distributor(s) Wargaming.net
Producer(s) Jeff Johannigman
Designer(s) Steve Barcia
Programmer(s) Maria Barcia, Steve Barcia, Ken Burd
Artist(s) Maria Barcia, Jeff Dee, George Edward Purdy, Frank Vivirito, Bill Willingham
Composer(s) David Govett
Platform(s) MS-DOS, Apple Macintosh
Release date(s) September 6, 1993
Genre(s) Turn-based strategy
Mode(s) Single player
Review score
Publication Score
AllGame 5/5 stars

Master of Orion (MoO or MOO) is a turn-based, 4X science fiction computer strategy game released in 1993 by MicroProse on the MS-DOS and Mac OS operating systems. The game is the first in its franchise, and the rights are now held by Wargaming.net. The player leads one of ten races to dominate the galaxy through a combination of diplomacy and conquest while developing technology, exploring and colonizing star systems.

Master of Orion is a turn-based game. In the first iteration of the franchise, one can only play against the AI (the computer). Human and AI players control the management of colonies, technology development, ship construction, inter-species diplomacy, and combat.

The software generates a map randomly at the start of each game; the player can only choose the size of the galaxy, and the number and difficulty of AI opponents. In the first game, star systems have at most one colonizable planet and a few have none. Later games have more planets.

Master of Orion has 10 playable races, each with a specialty. For instance, the Humans have advantages in trade and diplomacy; the Bulrathi are the best at ground combat; the Silicoids ignore pollution and can colonize even the most hostile planets, but have slow population growth. Each race is predisposed to like or dislike some of the other races, and is advantaged or disadvantaged in different research fields.

The game begins with a single homeworld, one colony ship, and two scout ships that can be used to explore nearby stars. The game will sometimes produce random events which can be harmful or advantageous. One planet is Orion, "throne-world of the Ancients" and most valuable research site in the galaxy, protected by a powerful warship, the Guardian. Victory is gained either by eliminating all opponents or by winning a vote on peaceful unification.


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