Player take the role of tribal leaders in 25000 B.C., compete against AI opponents to found cities, support military and economy, and finally to complete an empire that survives all encounters with its neighbors to emerge victorious. To construct new city buildings and deploy of new units, new technologies should be discovered. You can wage war on one another or form diplomatic relationships with AI opponents.
Achieving success requires a balance between economic expansion, military strength, and technological development. Not only must you develop all three in concert to both expand and successfully defend your empire, but any of the three may provide victory over your opponents:
As in other games of conquest and expansion, you are declared the winner by default once the last city and unit of every other civilization is destroyed.
Once technological progress has brought you into the space age, you may launch a spacecraft destined for Alpha Centauri; the first civilization whose craft reaches the system wins.
In the absence of other means to determine victory, the game will end after 5000 turns if no spacecraft have yet been launched. The surviving civilizations are then rated, and the one with the highest score is the winner.