Play Sid Meier’s Covert Action Online

Sid Meier's Covert Action is a spy simulation game released in 1990 for MS-DOS. Developed by MPS Labs and published by MicroProse Software, the game combines real-time action with puzzle elements from a top-down perspective. Players assume the role of an elite anti-terror agent tasked with thwarting criminal masterminds.

The player controls agent Maximilian or Maxine Remington, working to prevent crimes by gathering evidence. This involves a cycle of missions where the core objective is to identify and capture a mastermind. Gameplay is structured around several distinct mini-games that represent different espionage activities. These include infiltrating facilities to disable guards and cameras, planting bugs, and photographing evidence. Outside of these operations, players engage in surveillance by tailing suspect vehicles without being detected and must decipher scrambled messages under time pressure to uncover new clues.

Progression requires successfully completing these various tasks to accumulate enough evidence to locate a mastermind's safehouse. The main infiltration sequences play out in real time, where the player must navigate a map to reach an objective while avoiding or neutralizing threats. If the agent is incapacitated during a mission, the player faces a choice between losing valuable time or arranging a prisoner exchange. The game presents increasing complexity as the player advances, with tighter timelines and more difficult puzzles to solve before a final confrontation, which can involve car chases or direct apprehension of the target.