Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri
Hacker ApprovedShares rank 4 of 24 strategy games by recommenders
Turn-based 4X strategy game praised for sharp writing, timeless ideas and a place among the genre's best; one critic finds it a touch slow.
Turn-based 4X strategy game praised for sharp writing, timeless ideas and a place among the genre's best; one critic finds it a touch slow.
16 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 16
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 7 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 16 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 7 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Ranked among the greatest 4X games
“GREATEST strategy and philosophical game I have witnessed in the past 30 years”
Comment from 16 Jun 2026 in “Banned Book Library in a Wi-Fi Smart Light Bulb” “Alpha Centauri was objectively the best though.”
Comment from 7 Feb 2026 in “OpenCiv3: Open-source, cross-platform reimagining of Civilization III” “One of the all time greats.”
Comment from 14 May 2026 in “You Don't Align an AI, You Align with It” - Comment from 16 Jun 2026 in “Banned Book Library in a Wi-Fi Smart Light Bulb”
Sharp writing and timeless ideas
“It's crazy how good the writing in that game is and how applicable it is today.”
Comment from 24 Nov 2025 in “The feds want to make it illegal to even possess an anarchist zine” “the whole unease aspect of tech progress goes to 11. Absolute gem of a game.”
Comment from 11 Jul 2026 in “I used to love Claude, but the latest models are slowly ruining it” “This game and its ideas are so timeless.”
Comment from 16 Jun 2026 in “Banned Book Library in a Wi-Fi Smart Light Bulb” Storyline and voice acting praised
“I love SMAC -- I wish they had a real sequel to this complete with storyline.”
Comment from 15 May 2026 in “You Don't Align an AI, You Align with It” “The voice acting was great.”
Comment from 14 May 2026 in “You Don't Align an AI, You Align with It”
Other strategy games people recommend
The four most recommended other strategy games, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Battle for Wesnoth | 39 | 4 | 91% | 4 | 10 yrs5 owners | Approved |
| Sid Meier's Civilization | 25 | 9 | 74% | 10 | — | Approved |
| Sid Meier's Civilization III | 20 | 10 | 67% | 3 | — | — |
| Sid Meier's Alpha CentauriThis page | 16 | 0 | 100% | 7 | — | Approved |
| Heroes of Might and Magic III | 16 | 2 | 89% | 5 | — | Approved |
What people said
14 of the 16 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“A touch slow, but certainly playable.”
“the whole unease aspect of tech progress goes to 11. Absolute gem of a game.”
“Alpha Centauri was such a fantastic game.”
“This game and its ideas are so timeless.”
“GREATEST strategy and philosophical game I have witnessed in the past 30 years”
“Best 4x game of all time.”
“I love SMAC -- I wish they had a real sequel to this complete with storyline.”
“The voice acting was great.”
“One of the all time greats.”
“definitely worth the price on GoG”
“my favorite game of all time”
“Alpha Centauri was objectively the best though.”
“a newer version on GoG is okay like Alpha Centauri”
“It's crazy how good the writing in that game is and how applicable it is today.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.