Master of Magic is a single-player, fantasy turn-based 4X strategy game[2] in which the player plays as a wizard attempting to dominate two linked worlds.

From a small settlement, the player manages resources, builds cities and armies, and researches spells, growing an empire and fighting the other wizards.

While it never received a direct sequel, a number of other games published since have been described as inspired by it, and reviewers and players remain divided on whether any has succeeded at recapturing the feeling and gameplay of the original.

The player can customize the skills, spell choices and appearance of their wizard, choosing one of 14 races for the starting city.

The gameplay starts with units exploring their surroundings, pushing back the strategic map's fog of war.

The battle takes place in an isometric map that expands the contested square in detail (including fortifications and terrain aspects that affect movement and combat).

Mercenaries can seek employment with famous wizards, allowing them to possibly recruit units which their cities are unable to produce.

Arcanus is a land much like the Earth, with climatic zones and varied terrain like forests, oceans, grasslands and deserts.

[10] Early versions of Master of Magic were riddled with bugs and had a terrible artificial intelligence (AI), frustrating a lot of reviewers with its crashes and ignorant enemies.

IGN reviewed this version of Master of Magic in 2002[3] and stated that the ability to customize the player's character, random maps and vast variety of spells and creatures give an immense replayability to the game.

[17] Master of Magic was inducted into GameSpy's Hall of Fame in 2000,[18] with the network describing it as a visually stunning game with "enduring replayability", due to its randomness and large variety of spells.

GameSpy credited the game with being more popular than Master of Orion and responsible for making Steve Barcia and Simtex household names.

[21][22] The writer Alan Emrich, responsible for coining the "4X genre" term, has placed Master of Magic in the top position on his "Games of All Time" list in 2001.

[24] In 1997, the game was ported to PlayStation with various graphical improvements, retitled Civizard: Majutsu no Keifu (シヴィザード 魔術の系譜).

MicroProse revealed that it would be developing the sequel on its own, but this plan was canceled when the company's financial situation deteriorated in 2000.

[30][31] Due to Master of Magic's impact on the fantasy "turn-based strategy" genre, the Age of Wonders series, which some considered almost identical in terms of gameplay, has received comparisons in reviews of the latter.

[35] Further prospects of a sequel surfaced with the announcement that companies Quicksilver Software and Stardock had obtained the rights to undertake such a venture.

[40][41] Worlds of Magic officially launched at retail outlets and on Steam according to the gaming news site, Gamasutra on March 19, 2015.

[44] A remake to Master of Magic by MuHa Games was announced in August 2019[45] and released under the same title in December 2022.