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Games that try to simulate real-world activities (like driving vehicles or living the life of someone else) with as much realism as possible. Simulators generally require more study and orientation than arcade games, and the best simulators are also educational.

4X is a genre of strategy-based games in which players control an empire and "eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, and eXterminate". Emphasis is placed upon economic and technological development, as well as a range of non-military routes to supremacy. Games can take a long time to complete since the amount of micromanagement needed to sustain an empire increases as the empire grows.