Master of Magic (1994)
Master of Magic is a 1994 strategy video game made by Simtex and Slitherine Ltd..
On the world of Arcanus, a young wizard inherits a single hamlet and a handful of spells. Master of Magic folds 4X empire-building into a high-fantasy framework where every city, unit, and research decision reflects the magical school you chose at the start. A second plane, Myrror, hides rarer resources and stronger opponents. Fourteen rival wizards pursue the same continental domination. Combat plays out on tactical maps where summoned creatures, enchantments, and terrain combine in ways that reward careful reading of the spell book.
Quick answers
What is Master of Magic about?
On the world of Arcanus, a young wizard inherits a single hamlet and a handful of spells. Master of Magic folds 4X empire-building into a high-fantasy framework where every city, unit, and research decision reflects the magical school you chose at the start. A second plane, Myrror, hides rarer resources and stronger opponents. Fourteen rival wizards pursue the same continental domination. Combat plays out on tactical maps where summoned creatures, enchantments, and terrain combine in ways that reward careful reading of the spell book.
When was Master of Magic released?
Master of Magic was released on 1 September 1994.
Who made Master of Magic?
Master of Magic was made by Simtex, Slitherine Ltd. and MicroProse Software, Inc..
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Explore Master of Magic guides
Master of Magic in our writing
- Companion guide: Academies of Magic: The Complete Guide to Magic Schools
- Companion guide: MicroProse: Flight Sims, Sid Meier and the Empire of One More Turn
A few thoughts on Master of Magic
Heroes of Might and Magic III: The Restoration of Erathia covers much of the same ground: army-building and careful expansion on a hex map with a fantasy layer over the strategy. For the long-game resource calculus without the magic, Sid Meier's Civilization V delivers the same empire-compounding patience.
Fantasy games with deep spell systems that reshape the world around you
Master of Magic is a rare hybrid: it combines 4X strategy with a full RPG spell system, letting you research over 200 spells while managing cities, armies, and rival wizards across two parallel worlds. The spells aren't decorative; they reshape terrain, summon permanent units, and decide battles. These fantasy games treat magic as a mechanical system with real strategic weight.
Strategy and RPG games where scouting unknown territory changes your options
Master of Magic runs across two worlds, Arcanus and Myrror, and you only see what your scouts and summons have uncovered. Fog of war here means genuine uncertainty about where rival wizards have settled and what armies they've assembled. These games reward curiosity about unknown territory and punish assumptions about a map you haven't actually walked.