Incunabula (video game)

Incunabula
Developer(s)	Avalon Hill
Publisher(s)	Avalon Hill
Designer(s)	Steve Estvanik
Series	Civilization
Platform(s)	MS-DOS
Release	1984
Genre(s)	4X

Incunabula is a video game designed by Steve Estvanik and released by Avalon Hill for IBM PC compatibles in 1984. It is the original computerized version of Civilization board game, preceding Sid Meier's Civilization which was published in 1991.

The gameplay loosely follows the rules of Francis Tresham's Civilization board game. It consists of three type of "scenarios", Incunabula, Imperium, and Traders. Incunabula resembles the board game most. One to three players can play and the computer players can be randomly assigned basis of law and "personality". The personalities determine how likely a computer opponent is to attack you. Personalities are:

• Choleric
• Phlematic
• Melancholic
• Sanguine

The choices for basis of law are:

• Theocracy
• Oligarchy
• Utopia
• Khanate

Combat follows Civilization rules with a one for one unit loss. There are no technologies to obtain but each player's progress is tracked through phases such as clan and tribe. The game is won on the basis of accumulating trade.

The different laws and personalities, and random starting positions, are the only game variations. There is only one map, and no varying difficulty level.^[1]

Jerry Pournelle in 1985 reported that Avalon Hill's Incunabula and By Fire and Sword "snaffled off more of my time than I could afford".^[2] Computer Gaming World that year noted the resemblance to Avalon Hill's Civilization board game and wondered why the company did not call the video game Computer Civilization, and cautioned that because of the lack of map variations or difficulty levels, "the probable solitaire life of the game could be rather limited". It nonetheless concluded, "Incunabula is an interesting and enjoyable multi-player game. The combination of combat, good trading, and diplomacy will give a wide variety of gamers something worth a closer look".^[1] In 1990 and 1993 the magazine gave the game three stars out of five.^[3][4]

• List of 4X video games

• MobyGames is a commercial database website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes over 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms.^[1] Founded in 1999, ownership of the site has changed hands several times. It has been owned by Atari SA since 2022.

Edits and submissions to the site (including screenshots, box art, developer information, game summaries, and more) go through a verification process of fact-checking by volunteer "approvers".^[2] This lengthy approval process after submission can range from minutes to days or months.^[3] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copy-editing.^[4] A ranking system allows users to earn points for contributing accurate information.^[5]

Registered users can rate and review games. Users can create private or public "have" and "want" lists, which can generate a list of games available for trade with other registered users. The site contains an integrated forum. Each listed game can have its own sub-forum.

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999, by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, and joined by David Berk 18 months later, the three of which had been friends since high school.^[6][7] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience. The database began with information about games for IBM PC compatibles, relying on the founders' personal collections. Eventually, the site was opened up to allow general users to contribute information.^[5] In a 2003 interview, Berk emphasized MobyGames' dedication to taking video games more seriously than broader society and to preserving games for their important cultural influence.^[5]

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.^[8] This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign.^[7] A few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025} On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art).^[9] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel,^[10] and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.^[7]

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.^[11] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.^[12][13][14] Over the next year, the financial boost given by Atari led to a rework of the site being built from scratch with a new backend codebase, as well as updates improving the mobile and desktop user interface.^[1] This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.^[15]

In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue.^[16] Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.^[17]

• IGDB – game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions

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