Master of Magic Classic

Master of Magic Classic
N/A
Metacritic
96
Steam
86.083
xDR
Our rating is calculated based on the reviews and popularity of the game.
Price
$5.99
Release date
25 February 2020
Developers
Publishers
Steam reviews score
Total
96 (599 votes)

Master of Magic is a classic, one of the most popular strategy games of the 90s. It is a 4X fantasy strategy game that allows you to play as an extremely powerful wizard, leading your troops and overcoming your magical opponents.

Show detailed description

Master of Magic Classic system requirements

Minimum:

  • OS: Windows 8 / 10
  • Processor: 1 GHz
  • Memory: 256 MB RAM
  • Graphics: 3D graphics card compatible with DirectX 7 (compatible with DirectX 9 recommended)
  • Storage: 220 MB available space
  • Additional Notes: Please be advised that Windows 10 operating system will receive frequent hardware driver and software updates following its release; this may affect game compatibility

Recommended:

Recommended requirements are not yet specified.
Updated
App type
Steam APP ID
1146370
Platforms
Windows PC
Similar games
Popularity
Reviews
Write a new review
Targetdrone
Targetdrone

while i loved this game back when it came out originally, unless you are a masochist, i wouldnt recommend touching it. many of the creature comforts you are used to from current games are lacking, and the UI is rage inducing to the max. along with no autosaves, no warnings about overwriting save games, an archaic interface that will make you move units you didn't intend to move (thus leaving your town undefended with raiders/enemies right next to it) and really poor visibility of threats, especially on modern hardware (enemy movment zips by, and there is no marker for units on the "minimap").

no, seriously, hope that the remake they plan to do in december brings this to a somewhat current ui standard and spare yourself the agony of playing this.

bruce_jurin
bruce_jurin

No other game I've played, ever, has the kind of choices available to players that this game has. Exciting strategic and tactical game. With bug fixes, and improved AI, probably the best tactical/strategic game I';ve played. However, note that the interface is very old.

Creeden
Creeden

---{ Graphics }---
☐ You forget what reality is
☐ Beautiful
☐ Good
☐ Decent
☐ Bad
☑ Don‘t look too long at it
☐ MS-DOS

---{ Gameplay }---
☑ Very good
☐ Good
☐ It's just gameplay
☐ Mehh
☐ Watch paint dry instead
☐ Just don't

---{ Audio }---
☐ Eargasm
☐ Very good
☐ Good
☑ Not too bad
☐ Bad
☐ I'm now deaf

---{ Audience }---
☐ Kids
☑ Teens
☑ Adults
☑ Grandma

---{ PC Requirements }---
☑ Check if you can run paint
☐ Potato
☐ Decent
☐ Fast
☐ Rich boi
☐ Ask NASA if they have a spare computer

---{ Difficulty }---
☐ Just press 'W'
☐ Easy
☑ Easy to learn / Hard to master
☐ Significant brain usage
☐ Difficult
☐ Dark Souls

---{ Grind }---
☑ Nothing to grind
☐ Only if u care about leaderboards/ranks
☐ Isn't necessary to progress
☐ Average grind level
☐ Too much grind
☐ You'll need a second life for grinding

---{ Story }---
☑ No Story
☐ Some lore
☐ Average
☐ Good
☐ Lovely
☐ It'll replace your life

---{ Game Time }---
☐ Long enough for a cup of coffee
☐ Short
☐ Average
☐ Long
☑ To infinity and beyond

---{ Price }---
☑ It's free!
☐ Worth the price
☐ If it's on sale
☐ If u have some spare money left
☐ Not recommended
☐ You could also just burn your money

---{ Bugs }---
☑ Never heard of
☐ Minor bugs
☐ Can get annoying
☐ ARK: Survival Evolved
☐ The game itself is a big terrarium for bugs

---{ ? / 10 }---
☐ 1
☐ 2
☐ 3
☐ 4
☐ 5
☐ 6
☐ 7
☑ 8
☐ 9
☐ 10

Grab this review template here! 👉 https://vojtastruhar.github.io/steam-review-template/

Capn Kickass
Capn Kickass

Excellent adaptation with so many of the original's issues resolved without the game losing its vintage experience.

perryshaffer87
perryshaffer87

The graphics suck. They're EGA facrissake. But this, Civ2 and SMAC defined 4x games. Even when the genre progressed to RTS their influence was easy to see. Beyond that the game itself is interesting. Multiple magic paths, multiple races and procedurally generated maps mean essentially infinite replayability. My son gave me this on disk in 1998 so I do have that bias, but here I am 25 years later playing the same game. For the price, definitely a bargain. Even if you just want to own a piece of history.

Slitherine owns it now. I hope they'll update the graphics as well as the mechanics. Fingers crossed!

Darth JoDa
Darth JoDa

Stone old nigh ancient but still a master piece!

Ze Dant
Ze Dant

one of the best strategy games ever .

The Darkness
The Darkness

The best thing ever. Holds up even with graphics that dont matter.

ajm25
ajm25

Very good update especially to the AI. AI is very challenging.

fuzzydog
fuzzydog

Old classic that never gets old to play.

DJGreg
DJGreg

One of the best 4X that has ever been put out. They fact that I can play it and still enjoy it 30 years after it came out is a testament to just how great a game it is. If you are only about graphics and FPS then this is not for you BUT if you like a straight up challenging game that has vast replayability this may be of interest :)

denizakin
denizakin

extensive game play that had changed the era

Cordell
Cordell

I've played the daylights out of this game for close to 3 decades now and NOBODY has managed to recreate the fun of this game. Yes the graphics are terrible by today's standards. If you can't get over old graphics don't bother. The interface is also terrible, everything technical about the base game is terrible. I've had no bugs though. Caster of Magic goes a long ways to helping things along.

New game is in production. I hope it's great, everyone that has tried to remake this game has only partially succeeded. I don't know why!

Anonymous
Anonymous

Blast from the past. I used to play this as a teenager. Really fun turned based strategy game. Play as a wizard and conquer your foes!!

dxro
dxro

Amazing game - I like more the original version - new caster edition seem to be a bit overkill - it lost the greatest value of game balance of original edition.it is sad it not possible to play new interface with original rules

davefollin
davefollin

Game still sucks just like the original where starting position is always well below the ai players for resources and goods making the game obviously unbalanced in favor of the ai. If it cannot be randomly even there is no point in playing.

Garrett33
Garrett33

AAAH - MoM - This is the one.

Countless people are waiting for a worthy successor for decades.
One is in the making - who knows if it wil be good . . ?
And how do they call that 2022 successor of 'Master of Magic' ?
They call it 'Master of Magic' - yes they do.
I could facepalm and mutter a lot on this trend - but life is too short, right?

Anyway - try 'Caster of Magic for Windows' - that's really an improvement of the original IMO.

Kegger
Kegger

Great update of the classic game. I loved the game back in the day, and never found something similar enough to scatch the itch of a 4X magic civ like game. Even with dated graphics and UI, it is still fun.

Be warned, Caster of magic made this much more difficult than I remember. The AI kicked my butt, it is a real challenge even on lower difficulty levels.

Mazer
Mazer

The gameplay is rock solid. It's mind-boggling how SimTex could come up with all these so early in 4X gaming history (disclaimer: I only played the Seravy's enhanced version - Caster of Magic).

If you only can get past quarter-century's old UI & graphics - you should definitely give it a try. I couldn't, but am very eagerly awaiting the remake.

Serina
Serina

A classic 4x Game from my childhood. This is the OG, the true, the tried, and the best (in my opinion) Heavy Magic 4x Stratagem. Thousands of hours before i got the new, and refined on version on Steam. You will die, you will learn, and you will get better.

Anonymous
Anonymous

By the time the new intro ended I knew this game was going to be everything that the old version wished it could be. Expectations were high. And somehow, they were still exceeded. The AI is fantastic. Everything that annoyed me about city building is gone but the mechanics are still being honored perfectly. Game breaking exploits have been removed or balanced and all the mid range creatures that were unplayable in the old version have been given depth, character, and dimension. Diplomacy is actually a strategy. Its so customizable. You can limit the super aggravating ai tendancies by adding difficulty modifiers. Everything I ever signed about wishing I had with the old game has been fixed here, like more equipment slots. Everything moves faster in this version, which makes tactics in combat all the more critical. so much more fun. on ludicrous mode i actually have to play flawlessly and victory is 100x more satisfying than the old impossible setting. Youll never feel "secure" in this game. The difficultly just keeps scaling with the game age. It's so good. Take my money. take all of it. They deserve it.

dbemont
dbemont

The original 1994 Master of Magic is remembered as a classic for many good reasons. It broke new ground, it has been incredibly influential, and it was a blast to play. It was incredibly deep, providing a dizzying set of toys to play with -- interesting schools of magic, races, spells, kinds of attacks, kinds of defense, etc. And of all the games from that era, I would say that it is the most playable today. The map and UI scream 1994 but the gameplay remains a lot of fun.

However, what the game was not was... polished. In every art form, you get wildly exciting experimental creations, and you get polished products, but you can pretty much give up on having both in one package. Even the fully patched Master of Magic contained significant roughness, and although I won't rehearse them all here, the most obvious thing was that the AI could not really play the game. Which was a good thing, given that the game offered the human player several tools which were pretty much unstoppable. It was a lot of fun obtaining Torin in the early game, or assembling a pack of paladins, or any number of other strategies. It was a dangerous world of evil out there, but you could just cut right through it with a high level of certainty. However, it would have been no fun at all if the AI wizards had come at you with any of these strategies!

Not everyone discovered the same "loophole" but most shared my experience: you could consistently win the game without ever needing or understanding a large portion of the game. All those subtleties of magical ranged versus missiles, tests of resistance versus attacks on armor, why would I need to strategize in these areas, when my paladins or hero is going to eat up everything in my path regardless?

I am in no way criticizing the taste of those who like the original MoM and want to play it this way. How can I, when I have continued to play Civ VI, which is equally a "subtle systems are irrelevant, there's a surefire way to win" sort of game.

But the tantalizing thing about MoM was that it always seemed to possess such opportunities for being transformed into a truly all-time-great game. All those subtle tools you didn't need, they were fascinating to ponder.

Enter Seravy and his mod-turned-DLC now being sold as Caster of Magic for Windows.

Obviously, this update improves a lot of stuff. Being able to play against 13 opponents. Larger maps. Diplomacy that works. Production "overflow" and queues.

And just as obviously, in some ways, we are still stuck in 1994. The art is not going to please anyone who needs modern graphics to enjoy a game. The map does not zoom in and out; I find it very difficult to navigate or get the big picture, limiting the enjoyability of larger maps. And, as a result, the late game with a gazillion units is much more difficult to manage. And personally, I find the system of right and left clicking and the mechanisms for sending a unit to a distant location all aggravating. (I almost never save scum over a battle loss, but I constantly save scum after finding that the orders for a unit have somehow misfired.)

But these pros and cons are just trivia. The heart of this DLC is in transforming Master of Magic into a game where you have meaningful rival wizards, who can utilize most of the strategies available to you, and who will make a reasonable effort to counter your strategies. It's not that they play as well as an experienced human, they certainly do not. But they are not blind to the big stuff.

The corollary to this is that Caster of Magic for Windows no longer contains any "single-I-win" strategies that always work. After all, you don't want the AI to have access to such stuff, do you?

But the attraction of Master of Magic always centered using very powerful strategies... and this DLC has come up with a brilliant solution to the problem.

Now, very powerful strategies exist in roughly the same quantity as in the original, but each comes with an expiration date. You can devise a starting strategy for, say, combining the new Focus Magic spell with sprites or giant spiders and do some real damage... in the early game. It is unlikely that you will conquer the world, but you certainly can gain enormous advantage and possibly wipe out a neighbor. But then wizards will start discovering counters for your initial strategy -- spells or units which demote your original strategy to an ordinary weapon. And you will need to come up with something new, if you want to retain the upper hand.

Roughly speaking, this happens three times per game, as you move from common to uncommon spells, then to rare spells, then to very rare spells. Each level of spells dethrones previously extremely powerful strategies that you (or your opponents) were enjoying.

Thus, an overemphasis on pressing your advantage without staying ahead on research can be risky.

And just because a particular spell school in combination with a particular race provides great advantage at one stage of the game does not mean that it solves all your problems for the entire game.

And it really, really matters exactly what powers your major rivals' strategies, because you will need to research, buff, and otherwise strategize counters. Unlike in the original game, you will need to know whether the attack is against armor or resistance, whether flight protects you against a particular type of attack, whether opponents have tools that can kill your important units without traditional weapons.

One of the adjustments that works the best is in the start-of-game wizard creation. You now get to make 12 rather than 11 "picks" of spell books and/or retorts (wizard abilities), and I find the decision over spell books far more wrenching than in the original. In a reversal, taking all books of one color has gone from an overpowered no-brainer to a rather sub-optimal tactic.

Partly, this is because that will no longer net you a high level spell obscenely early in the game. (That would undermine the era system which works so well.) But more subtly, if you are experienced enough to be planning a powerful strategy for not one but four different eras, it is all but impossible that you will accomplish this with just one spell school. Maybe, just maybe, you might pull off a rush victory with all Death or Nature books, but it would be tough, and a lot tougher without some Sorcery backup. And it is going to be very difficult to utilize any hero strategy at any point in the game if you lack Life books. And during the "rare" and "very rare" eras, you better have significant Sorcery books unless you killed off all those who did have them earlier in the game. And if you are getting murdered by some rival's admantium deposits, you are really going to wish you had some Chaos books, and... well, you get the picture.

Furthermore, and this is extremely important, you can no longer fully control the spells you get to research. Even if you take all the books of one color, you will miss out on some very rare spells, and, in the more likely case that you are topping out at 6 or 8 of a color, you will be offered less than half the rare and very rare spells. The gameplay consequence of this is profound. You simply cannot get into a gaming rut where every playthrough is the same. You will have different tools to work with, every run, and you rivals will too. Consecutive playthroughs are typically very different, even if you set up identical wizards at the outset.

In my opinion, it is brilliantly done, producing one of the very best experiences ever. The Fall from Heaven II mod for Civ 4 might be close, but I think this is the new champion. Some may prefer more relaxing games, and some might resent any RNG in their games (to me, resentment of RNG sounds like wanting all your poker hands to be the same, but whatever). But for my tastes, Master of Magic for Windows cannot be beat.

Wrath of Westchester
Wrath of Westchester

So god damned good. Old action games never hold up, but strategy and turn based gems like these will live forever. I hope the new Master of Magic coming out soon does it justice.

wrathtribe
wrathtribe

Many stand alone games have taken inspiration from MoM and many tried to reproduce its... magic. Most only managed to produce inferior games with the occasional improvement in a field or two.

CoM managed, by being "only" a mod, to actually better the original in many ways. It also meant it kept some of the big flaws of the root, but overall it is not an accident if about 30 years later this happen to be sold on steam as a game in its own right. It is not a perfect game by any stretch of the imagination and would benefit an actual rehaul and more consequent re-imagining which so far I failed to find despite pretty much buying every attempt at a successor to this grandfather of the fantasy 4x (even if many have their own qualities too).

So in CoM, you now have much more settings for the world you are going to play on (up to 13 rivals, though i suspect this is not a good idea for a number of reasons) and can alter several rules which also affect scoring (i.e. more difficult or easier neutrals, less water, all against you, etc.). Of course this is quite impactful on the game's balance and what strategies might work or not. An important thing to note is that the AI turns are very fast even late game, which is quite a feat.

While I had some instability and crash issues with the windows version (especially with high opponent count on large maps), I still shall say the game kept me coming back to it and demonstrate that even if its graphics did not age well, the experience it offered me back then and now is still awesome. CoM offers even more customisation options and strategic avenues than the original game and improves so many aspects of the vanilla experience that it is easy to forgive the few things it did not.

The map you play on is randomly generated each new game ensuring two games are never the same. The terrain you play on is of great influence on the game, if you have access to adamantium or a dense cluster of mineral resources early on, it might win you the playthrough. Due to the magic system being the way it is, there is also a great lot of frustration linked to the fact some magic schools/races have no counters to some other branches spells (i.e. some races have no shamans to purify tainted land and you either need to get that ability through books or consider conquering at least one settlement of a race that can build the unit, also only nature and chaos magic can alter terrain and if you do not go with any nature and face at least a chaos sorcerer you better win the game before it starts terraforming your territory which is why there is an option to ban chaos).

A very easy game to pickup as the mechanics and rules are pretty clear and a very hard one to... master (can't help with those puns apparently) on higher difficulty levels as the synergies are satisfying for those who love fine tuning, which is both convenient for casual and immediate laid-back play and a much more deep and thoughtful experience.

There is in fact, quite a lot of beauty in this ugly looking thing by today's standards.

farberj
farberj

each game can be unique and so you have great replayability

fahey67
fahey67

I've first started playing this game shortly after buying my first IBM compatible computer, a 486 with 25mhz processor. I'm sure I've played it well over 2000 hours by now over the years. I prefer the original version with the 1.3 patch over all other versions of this game. Each game is different and I still haven't learned all there is to know about it. I think its one of the best turned based strategy games ever produced.

Player Juan
Player Juan

One of my favorite games, ever. I've been playing it off and on since the 90s. Get the Caster of Magic for Windows DLC for a lot of more modern improvements. It's very cheap! It still holds up today. The low resolution may be off-putting to new players. If you can look beyond the graphics, you'll find a great game.

CSmuggler
CSmuggler

Look, Master of Magic is a game older than many of you that might encounter it. That means it comes with some inherent flaws, such as 640x480 graphics, a relatively outdated control scheme (I'd kill to move the map with wasd), and a lack of QOL features that later 4x games possess.

However, if you can get past those flaws, you will discover a game that not only helped create the genre, but has stood the test of time as one of the best games in the 4x genre. Note that's ALL of 4x, not just fantasy 4x.

It also has a dedicated fan base who have spent years patching its (MANY) bugs from release day. Version 1.31 is the last "official" version, and fixes many bugs from earlier ones, but with the IP having been acquired and rereleased by Slitherine, the community patch, 1.52.03 as of my writing this, is now official and offered by the launcher.

This brings us to the subject of the launcher, which offers the original 1.31, the updated community patch, or the fan mod turned DLC called Caster of Magic which addresses many balance issues and improves the AI even beyond what the community patch does. There is also CoM for windows which is a windows native version of Caster instead of running via dosbox.

Quite simply this has been my favorite game of all time for the 26ish years I've been playing it. I probably have several thousand hours played in it over the years, and still find new fun combos to try and new enemy wizards to hate. I can't recommend it enough.

Not Athryan
Not Athryan

New player opinion here. One of the best 4X out there, straight up. The game mechanics and gameplay are well thought out. Cheesing is actually fun, even though I try my best not to and only do it once in a while, going so far to only using predefined heroes. The AI is bad and there are too many bugs in original, but the AI becomes much better and most of the bugs are fixed thanks to community patch 1.5.

I haven't touched Caster of Magic though. For me, it changes the main game way too far. I'm glad patch 1.5 makes some drastic changes optional, so I can still enjoy the pure Master of Magic game without the bugs.

Shoggy
Shoggy

This remaster is something I've been dreaming of since I first played this game on my Uncle's old DOS machine, and honestly it has completely blown away my expectations.

You know how you think to yourself "If they went through all the trouble to remaster the game, why not try their hand at a bit of extra content?" Well, here we've got a dev doing just that, and it's amazing.

It's just all so perfect, you've got the old Master of Magic for all the jank you could ever want, the community patch for more serious play, AND this whole fan remaster that is Caster of Magic. All that's left to make this impossibly perfect is the windows version they're ACTIVELY DEVELOPING to support modding of its own, at which point I'd legitimately call it Master of Magic 2.

markjpc
markjpc

used to plsy this on old 8086 computers back in the 80`s and 90`s. I love this game, I wish they had a more modern version for the XBox. This game would be wicked in CG with cinematics for the battles! If you ever played Warlords you will love Master of Magic.

ngoldwe_2000
ngoldwe_2000

This game I really loved, as I played it back in the day when it first came out on a friend's computer. Master of Magic is a combination of fantasy with a Civ 4x type game, and I found it it to be a wonderful combination. Imagine playing the role of a wizard competing and fighting against other wizards as you build cities, research tech and spells from different schools of magic, and exploring magic nodes, monster lairs, and ruins. Plus a traveling merchant from time to time , rather infrequently, show up to sell you magical weapons and armor, which you can give to your heroes, or you can make items if you have the right artifact formation spells. My friend gave me the game material and CD years ago and I still have it installed on my desktop, using Dosbox to activate the program. I am now happy to have it on my laptop through Steam too. Many hours of fun.

A Bob Ross painting of Ron Paul
A Bob Ross pai…

No one has ever done this game justice since original release except these guys. worth it

berlabin1
berlabin1

What a great game! So advanced for its time and still holds up. If you want a slower passed turn based game with lots of spells and enemies. It is 1994 graphics but it has a nostalgic look. Very changeling even on easy. You have to play it to understand why it is so liked.

mrredcoyote
mrredcoyote

I played this game back in the day when it first came out. I have always wanted it even since then and still enjoying it over 20 years later.

bfmhoff4
bfmhoff4

I played this game back in the 90s and still enjoy it. I like the concept of two plane maps. I like the different races and their abilities.

Anonymous
Anonymous

Old School gaming at it's best

lordagam
lordagam

Best game in history. Played it 30 years ago. Thus far no strategy game surpassed it. This game is brilliant and very Challanging. I'm praying for a new version.

Anonymous
Anonymous

14 playable races each with different strengths and unique character!

funkarty
funkarty

classic game with great updates

slindsey6
slindsey6

Its a great gotdamn game, ole son.

mnelson80
mnelson80

A beloved classic, now much easier to load on a modern system. I've played this game for over 20 years and I'm still hoooked!

< NEW PLAYER >
< NEW PLAYER >

I forgot how to play! I've always missed playing this but now that I have it finely, I have to relearn it! I get my a55 kicked pretty early on and get discouraged and quit. Still interesting and fun but I lack the patience to get back into it right now.
Buy on sale and learn what all the mystique and allure is about.
9/10, A true classic!

Euquila
Euquila

This is a quaint 4x game. Lots of interesting mechanics and you get to play out your battles like mini chess games.

Don't try to squeeze every last bit of energy from your armies and spells. Enjoy the game by lowering the difficulty and exploring ways to exploit what you got.

I'm playing the "Caster of Magic" variant of the game

kendric
kendric

This upgrading of an amazing 4x fantasy game has made a ton of great changes. I can clearly see the direction the author went and really approve of what he has done with the game. Thanks so much!

[PPP]Kirya
[PPP]Kirya

This is a wonderful improvement upon the original formula: difficult, expansive, fresh. For a game of this age I'm blown away by how much QoL was stuffed in to this game. Absolutely love it!

grimbaldi
grimbaldi

This game is exactly like the original... with some of the rough edges sanded off. While I'd like a worthy sequel, I'm just happy to play it again without using kludges like DosBox. Much like other classic games, the gameplay still holds up well.

4rkoholic
4rkoholic

One of the best civ type games ever made

FPSFun312
FPSFun312

One of the best fantasy strategy games ever made!

Biurito
Biurito

Ahhh the nostalgia this game evokes in my heart is just incomperable. It's a darling, yest flawed gem of the old days. I reccomand it to anyone in love with 8-bit aesthetics, willing to take on a real challenge and ready to experience something different from most of the new strategy games

Anonymous
Anonymous

Old school - took me back - just bit of fun!

R3b0rN
R3b0rN

Nice to see an update to one of my favorite childhood games. Just like Master of Magic with many nice updates and features! Good Job!

kensw
kensw

Fond memories seen through rose colored glasses
And then reality.
Sorry NO I just cannot play this again it is too dated the graphics are just too poor.

lunargod2002
lunargod2002

I am truly enjoying this retro classic 4x strategy game. I will absolutely recommend this game to my friends. The graphics are obviously dated and there are a few balancing issues. But, its definitely one of the best/fun strategy games I have played. Kudos to the developers.

Papabear
Papabear

when i was a child, 24 years ago, i played a lot old mom.this is much improved.i like it very much

Azgodeth
Azgodeth

A true classic! i loved this game when i was a kid, and i still got the spellbook sitting on my bookshelf 25 years later! (back in the good old days, when PC games came with tons of thick ponderous reading material.)

finding this on here was a real treat, and the game still holds up all these many decades later! the basic yet deep system of managing cities and armies like any civilization style game has, with the added depth of a magic system that reminds me of the very early magic: the gathering spellbooks. same color layouts and basic spell tropes we've all become familiar with, and have become the mainstream since then.
everything here is familiar and comfterble now that every 4x game in the universe uses the same basic format, but back when this came out, it was truly unique!

milspec
milspec

My favorite part? Good AI. Play this if you like when the computer fights back.

Mattkilt
Mattkilt

Nice trip down memory lane here. Can feel the familiar build of this family of games (MoO, MoO2...etc.). Not the most robust of the genre, but it was fun for a quick play through.

vehareron24
vehareron24

An excellent game if you enjoy fantasy/magic and appreciate complexity and depth in game mechanics over "good graphics". The graphics are pretty piss poor, in it's defence the graphics at the time of it's release were likely very good. There aren't many games like this, but many games have tried and failed to accomplish the same success and praise MOM had. Caster of Magic smooths a lot of the rough edges, MOM is far from perfect. The new game coming out in 2022 with better graphics and generally the same concepts and design is something I'm strongly anticipating.

Anonymous
Anonymous

Classic 4x game from the DOS era. Long, race-specific city development chains and a very very long spell list with lots of complex interactions make this a fun game. Downsides - AI is not very good and it takes a long time to get a productive economy working.

RanDumGai
RanDumGai

The classic 4X title. This was the absolute first of its kind, and is a must play for fans of the genre.

Most Magical Kitty~~♥♥
Most Magical K…

It's like Civilization 1 but with magic and chemical weapon

ethen.huang
ethen.huang

One of the original 4x game. Still fun today, the graphics are dated. A nice walk down memory lane.

Gomer
Gomer

I am 55 years old and played this game when it was first released. It rocked then and despite primitive graphics it's still an amazing game. The ability to play in windows through a DLC is a welcome addition.

It costs a few dollars and can bring you hours of gaming pleasure. If you like turn based fantasy strategy games you cannot go wrong dropping a few dollars on this game and giving it a try.

r.darryl
r.darryl

this game is as fun today as it was 20+ years ago. I always enjoy going back to it to simply take a nice lazy afternoon and play on the computer...against lots of tough computer

Jawlswyno
Jawlswyno

Master of Magic is one of Simtek and Microprose city building strategy games that had a unique spell book mechanic. As one of the early strategy games it incorporated a form of tech tree with spell research. The number of spellbooks for a given category determined the level of master a player would have in the rank of spells to start and the likelihood of getting certain category spells after researching the lower power effects. This includes enchanting and creating powerful magic weapons and armor for your heroes that could surpass what could be found in the world. Imbuing staffs with spell charges that could cast a limited number of spells in a combat or imbue the items with effects like flight or invisibility. Finding additional books was possible however it was somewhat uncommon. Additionally combat spells could be cast on units to provide support, attack or defense. This could be done during combat or cast and maintained outside of combat creating flying invisible catapults and warships. Various races possessed unique abilities like regeneration. Halfling luck in combat. or innate spell casting power. This was one an amazing game for its period and it fit on floppy discs so finding it on steam at a whopping gigabyte size is surprising. Particularly since steam has added features in a dlc download. The last patch I was aware of unleashed wandering monsters from their lair so finding a community update is surprising for a game this old. Graphics are dated but the system requirements are about as bare minimum as you could find. Worth a play through if you enjoy gameplay and arent bothered by the bit style visuals.

waynemonz
waynemonz

ONE OF THE BEST GAMES YOU WILL EVER PLAY

frankaiello72
frankaiello72

A classic turn based strategy game. This is among the first games I ever purchased back in the early 90's. I've missed it all these years and I'm happy to get access to it again!

empurress69
empurress69

Great classic game. Like original Civ but with wizards.
The game has a great user update, with the original game included.

earlb
earlb

Old classic - still better than many strategy games today...

mihailiuc666
mihailiuc666

Excellent game, based on the classic Master of Magic with lots of fixes and re-balances. Very recommendable for any TBS fan.

garner42
garner42

grrrr.....the game i worked so hard on last night is gone. it did some update nd poof! Saved games gone. Does it ever end the glitches with steam.

RV
RV

Loved returning to this classic game!!!

Anonymous
Anonymous

No matter your skill level at civilization games. This one has the difficulty you need. Very diverse creature and spell base.

Anonymous
Anonymous

A true classic. Proof the game play > graphics

LividSky
LividSky

Despite being released in 1994 I only ever started playing this a year before the caster of magic mod was first released. Caster of magic is the reason I play this game. Even vanilla I still would recommend it, especially if your an old school gamer like me.

Paladine
Paladine

One of my favorite classic strategy games. Heroes, city building, and army building.

zentec00
zentec00

A real classic. And with this Caster of Magic overhaul makes it a ton of fun.

Player 1
Player 1

There are no support, if your game isnt working

I bought Mater of magic, with the Caster of Magic DLC for both Windows and DOS.
But I don’t have sound effects in the Windows version of Caster of Magic, only music.

I tested with the DOS version and it have both sound effects and music.

I found out that when I am in battle, I do have sound.
But on the map and menu’s I don’t for example button clicks are silent.
That is making the game "unplayable" for me, i dont want to play a silent game.


I contacted support February the 14th. (2022)
We now have May the 2nd. (2022)

And im still not getting any support , even when i write them 1-2 times a month, they have asked me for some Dxdiag files and a game log, and then i just get silence, and then i have to be the one to poke them to get any progress update, and its the same answer i get every time "we have contacted the developer and have not heard anything back"

Update..
Today when i wrote them i got this e-mail back :

Your previous ticket is closed. A new ticket has been created for you.
This is an automated response from Slitherine Ltd. / Matrix Games Team 

Wait what? my issue was never resolved and support was non existing.

makim1
makim1

Great update to one of my favorite games from my childhood. add a few new units and buildings, along with additional difficulties.

gothferret22
gothferret22

With the exception of Civilization, no one game held my attention for as much of the 90's as Master of Magic. It took some of the best aspects of games like the original Civilization and through in its own unique magical feel to make it something special. Since then, it's been imitated (Heroes of Might & Magic, Age of Wonders), the object of failed reboots, and generally forgotten due to its dated graphics and sound. But, now thanks the "Caster of Magic" mod and the upcoming reboot it looks like the classic is back and still just as captivating!

seepsalm20.7
seepsalm20.7

This is one of my favorite games ever. The new updates add some additional flexibility and challenge. Fun to play over and over. One of the best explore, expand, exterminate games ever.

stefan.karlsson987
stefan.karlsson987

Master of Magic was the best 4X game never made. It was released prematurely, with so many bugs that it was impossible to play. With all the problems, it still was a source of inspiration for many of us. Throughout the year, the lingering thought remained with many enthusiast.... what if this game was actually finished?

Well, now it is (almost) done! A few bugs still remain, but it is fully playable. And it is amazing.

The depth of this game is great, yet its accesibile to be fun for the new user. It is the best 4X game ever made, and it keeps getting better.

One can hope that one day it will be ported to new graphics and even better combat engine (although it already is the best I know). Some nostalgy would probably be lost for us old-timers, but I would buy such upgrade in a heartbeat

DrKronic
DrKronic

This game is easily the most detailed fantasy 4x ever made, nothing comes close to the caster of magic mod of this game which is still being updated.

brian.bort
brian.bort

The OG still reigns supreme! I don't know how they did it back in the day, but I haven't played games as good as the old ones (original XCOM, Master of Orion, Master of Magic, CIV etc...). Oh maybe it was just my memory treating it preferentially? Played it yesterday, still better than any contemporary game. Wow. Elegance, imagination, simplicity, creativity... you can't buy this kind of excellence, but you can enjoy it!

shanerweston
shanerweston

Please appreciate the age, then consider the gameplay, the graphics should be low on your immediate gratification requirements. Keep in mind, subtle items like the way the math caculates the dice for each individual unit, and is re-adjusted as swordsmen fall. The perks the allow Halflings to resist, or the ability to fly or regenerate. This is a game that was ahead of its time, but the original release was PLAGUED by system crashing bugs and a level of technical understanding (enabling EMS memory on 486 machines) limited the audience and fanfare. The game was patched years too late (7 years was it?) and by then the momentum faded. The adjustments and additions the Caster of Magic upgrade brings will be lost on many but are a welcome upgrade to those of us who grew up to appreciate the gem this game originally was.

Far from perfect, but a solid 8/10 graphics + gameplay inclusive. If you're into real solid classic titles, give this a whirl.

busypaladin
busypaladin

All time classic with some new age mods, better than the original!

Nortalud
Nortalud

My favorite version of one of my favorite games of all time. I've been playing Master of Magic in various incarnations for something like 25 years now, and thanks to the hard work of modders, it's better now than it has ever been

nacho16
nacho16

Old Classic. DOS box works fine.

Anonymous
Anonymous

One of the best 4X games available. Spent many hours in the past playing it, and have rediscovered its charm and playability. If you enjoy 4X games, this is a must try

Hof
Hof

I own the original game in floppy disks, and have the huge Master of magic strategy guide made by PRIMA decades ago. This game was always one of the best in my mind, but I seldom got to play it as intended because of all the bugs, the nonsensical AI, the crashes and the completely and utherly unbalanced spells. Still, as a sandbox and concept, it was superb, and I always rated it far higher than the actual game experience I got out of it.

And now I've been playing it so many years later with the new caster of magic for windows DLC, and it's astonishing. Someone took the job of actually fixing all the issues, and now I'm playing the game as it was intended to be played. There are hundred of spells and creatures, so many combinations that few other games can even compare, and this even added new stuff to what was already there.

I started a new game, setting it up as a bit of a sandbox with medium difficulty, but as the lone wizard on the second plane of Myrror, all death magic, starting my huge dark-elf empire of nightmares. Conquered a couple continents, and then the AI's eventually poured in to compete.
Initially I crushed them all, but one of them became persistant, entering through another portal tower, and I sent all the armies to crush them.

This is where the original game faltered, the AI was useless at providing a decent challenge, but now it knows which spells to use in different situations, it factors which creatures are immune to what, knows when it's not ok to stay behind city walls, knows which stacks not to attack and doesn't randomly "Flee battle" 9 times in a row...
AND IT KEEPS UP!
I kept pummeling this invading wizard and he didn't budge, he kept sending armies through the portal to get a foothold on my dimension.

I'm slowly crushing his resistance with my undead armies, but the AI now provides an excellent challenge and doesn't randomly cower from the battle, it will definitely try to f**k you up if it can!
I know i didn't set this game to be a major challenge, but the AI can now keep up and play the role of "Heroic light wizard attempting to fend off an extra-dimensiona lord of death and dark magic" effectively, something that never -ever- happened in the original. This helps the "Make believe" and roleplaying aspect inmensely, especially knowing that perhaps it would mop the floor with me if I turned the slider into the harder difficulties.

I've been playing for several hours on end now, and I honestly feel that this new version is the best turn-based fantasy strategy game ever made for PC. So if you haven't tried MOM, I say you should definitely give it a try!

-EDIT: THE AI NOW LOVES KILLING YOUR HEROES JUST AS MUCH AS YOU LIKE KILLING THEIRS!

dpkirkwo
dpkirkwo

This is an old classic, and Steam's version is pre-patched to the version 1.3.1 (which works), is packaged with DOSBox, and doesn't seem to have any of the flaws I can recall--and on a modern machine it runs very fast! While Warlock: Master of the Arcane and its sequel are in some ways spiritual successors, neither is cool in quite the same way. Age of Wonders was never quite as good either. Relive the fun of playing this when it was new in the mid-nineties.

cdafmail
cdafmail

I've played this game so. freaking. much. "35 minutes at review time? That's not much!" No. Shhh, young Gen Z-er. I played this game before you were born. When you were pissing your diapers, I was flame-bolting zombie hordes. When you taking your first awkward laps on your bike, I was summoning guardian spirits to dominate mana nodes. When you were having your first kiss with fresh teenage love I was....er....playing computer games apparently. Give me a minute...

...

Right I'm back. This game is old. But if you can look past its sagging graphics. If you can look past its anachronistic ways. If you can you look past the haggard noises it tries to make from its aged sound system. Then, then you will find something worthy of love.

Fuck, I need another minute...

Comrade Question
Comrade Question

blast from the past to my childhood. excellent updates and still fun to play!

B Ca$h
B Ca$h

Classic and love it. Wish it was updated further for windows (working edition).

Praetoriax
Praetoriax

I played dozens of hours on the original so i can definitely say...

MoM has laid the groundwork for many modern RTS and it shows,
it's one of the finest RTS's ever made. No clue as to why there isnt a sequel yet!
The new start-up menu makes chosing the different versions super handy.
Even young players who can look beyond the aged graphics will enjoy the game.
Also D&D players will love this spin-off of the more classic approach.

(If youre new to the game, use your arrowkeys, not AWSD.
Also RMB... Right Mouse Button, is your friend! Click everything with it)

10/10

stracy1
stracy1

Classic spin on civ games. Still one of the best fantasy empire sims ever.

kendaae
kendaae

Still just a great as the day I installed this on a 286 from 4 x 3.5in floppies, lol! Turns are fast and furious, and so easy to click that next turn button!

For those that have never heard of Master of Magic...this is the OG 4x game. Very unbalanced (there are 2 factions that are WAY better than the rest) but still fun! This is where it started, this is still the yard stick all the others are measured by, and this might just still be KING!

If you like 4x games, this is a GEM! Get it and love it!