[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sidmeier.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''A game is a series of interesting choices.'']]

Sidney K. 'Sid' Meier (born February 24, 1954) is a world-famous Canadian game programmer and designer. His first game was inspired by arcade flight simulators; specifically, the ease with which he could exploit their pitiful AIs (with some help from a friend) pushed him to write a better one. He and his friend Bill Stealy went on to found Creator/MicroProse, and from there, the rest is history.

Meier is best known for two wildly popular game franchises: ''VideoGame/{{Civilization}}'', the TropeCodifier for the FourX TurnBasedStrategy genre, and ''VideoGame/RailroadTycoon'', the Trope Codifier for the [[ConstructionAndManagementGames business management simulator]] genre. However, these are most definitely ''not'' the only games he is famous for, and chances are pretty good that any serious strategy or simulation gamer has at least one of his titles in his collection. Many of them include his name [[InCaseYouForgotWhoWroteIt proudly displayed in the game's title]]. These include:

* Sid Meier's Civilization VI (2016) 2K Games
* VideoGame/SidMeiersStarships (2015), 2K Games
* Sid Meier's VideoGame/CivilizationBeyondEarth (2014), 2K Games
* Sid Meier's [=CivWorld=] (2011), 2K Games
* Sid Meier's VideoGame/{{Civilization}} V (2011), 2K Games
* Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution (2008), 2K Games
* Sid Meier's Railroads! (2006), 2K Games
* Sid Meier's Civilization IV (2005), 2K Games
** Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Warlords (2006), 2K Games
** Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Beyond The Sword (2007), 2K Games
** Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Colonization (2008), 2K Games
* VideoGame/SidMeiersPirates (2004), Atari, Inc.
** Sid Meier's Pirates! for Xbox (2005), 2K Games
* Age of Mythology (2002), Microsoft
* [[VideoGame/SidMeiersSimGolf Sid Meier's SimGolf]] (2002), Creator/ElectronicArtsInc (Not to be confused with [=SimGolf=] by Maxis.)
* Sid Meier's Civilization III (2001), Infogrames
** Sid Meier's Civilization III: Conquests (2003), Atari, Inc.
* VideoGame/SidMeiersAlphaCentauri (1999), Electronic Arts Inc.
** Sid Meier's Alien Crossfire (1999), Electronic Arts Inc.
** Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri Planetary Pack (2000), Electronic Arts Inc.
* Sid Meier's Antietam! (1998), Electronic Arts Inc.
* Sid Meier's Gettysburg! (1997), Electronic Arts Inc.
* Sid Meier's Civilization II (1996), [=MicroProse=] Software, Inc.
* Vikings: The Strategy of Ultimate Conquest (1996), GT Interactive
* Sid Meier's CivNet (1995), [=MicroProse=] Software, Inc.
* Sid Meier's C.P.U. Bach (1994), [=MicroProse=] Software, Inc.
* Sid Meier's VideoGame/{{Colonization}} (1994), [=MicroProse=] Software, Inc.
* F-15 Strike Eagle III (1993), [=MicroProse=] Software, Inc.
* Pirates! Gold (1993), [=MicroProse=] Software, Inc.
* Return of the Phantom (1993), [=MicroProse=] Software, Inc.
* High Command: Europe 1939-45 (1992), Three-Sixty Pacific
* Gunship 2000 (1991), [=MicroProse=] Software, Inc.
* VideoGame/{{Civilization}} (1991), [=MicroProse=] Software, Inc.
* VideoGame/RailroadTycoon (1990), [=MicroProse=] Software, Inc.
* VideoGame/CovertAction (1990), [=MicroProse=] Software, Inc.
* F-15 Strike Eagle II (1989), [=MicroProse=] Software, Inc.
* M1 Tank Platoon (1989), [=MicroProse=] Software, Inc.
* Literature/RedStormRising (1989), [=MicroProse=] Software, Inc.
* VideoGame/SwordOfTheSamurai (1989), [=MicroProse=] Software, Inc.
* F-19 Stealth Fighter (1988), [=MicroProse=] Software,
* Pirates! (1987), [=MicroProse=] Software, Inc.
* Conflict in Vietnam (1986), [=MicroProse=] Software, Inc.
* Gunship (1986), [=MicroProse=] Software, Inc.
* Crusade in Europe (1985), [=MicroProse=] Software, Inc.
* Decision in the Desert (1985), [=MicroProse=] Software, Inc.
* F-15 Strike Eagle (1985), [=MicroProse=] Software, Inc.
* Silent Service (1985), [=MicroProse=] Software, Inc.
* Solo Flight (1985), [=MicroProse=] Software, Inc.
* NATO Commander (1984), US Gold
* Spitfire Ace (1984), [=MicroProse=] Software, Inc.

(List shamelessly copied from [[http://www.firaxis.com/?/about#legacy-2 his official company bio]])

Note that, in addition to all of the above, he is also a [[GameBreaker mighty psionic]] [[{{VideoGame/XCOMEnemyUnknown}} XCOM]] [[SelfInsert Colonel]].

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!!Tropes Sid Meier's works tend to display as a whole include:

* BilledAboveTheTitle: If it’s his game or even just something tangentially related, you bet Sid Meier’s name will be the first thing slapped in front of the title.
* IdiosyncraticDifficultyLevels: A staple of his games, with probably the most famous example being the “Settler-Deity” difficulty options of the ''VideoGame/{{Civilization}}'' series.
* InCaseYouForgotWhoWroteIt: Gee, [[SarcasmMode I wonder who designed all these games…]]
* ShownTheirWork: The main point of Sid Meier’s games is to offer impressively in-depth and well-thought experiences of various settings and scenarios, both drawing from real history and hard science fiction. Even the more abstraction-heavy ''Civilization'' and ''[[VideoGame/SidMeiersPirates Pirates!]]'' still draw upon even the most granular elements of real history and teach the player about it directly.