Extract text from Civilization III scenarios (BIQ)
To convert BIQ scenarios to another format, you need Civilization III or other Game software.
To convert other file formats to the "Game Scenario File" file type, you need software like Civilization III or a similar tool.
A .BIQ file is a proprietary binary scenario file used exclusively by Civilization III: Conquests, a classic strategy game published by Take-Two Interactive. These files store custom multiplayer maps, modified civilization attributes, unit statistics, terrain graphics, and overarching gameplay rules. They are typically created and managed using the official Civ3QEdit (Conquests Scenario Editor) software bundled with the game.
The main disadvantage of the .BIQ format is its closed, undocumented structure. These files are usually compressed by default, making the internal data inaccessible outside of the game environment. This forces users to keep legacy 2003 software installed just to read historical texts, extract map logic, or review custom unit statistics. Furthermore, you cannot share this data with anyone who does not own the specific expansion pack, as the file will not open in web browsers, document readers, or standard text editors.
Converting a .BIQ file to open formats like TXT, JSON, or XML is the most practical way to salvage the underlying metadata and civilopedia text, even though the graphical map layers cannot be preserved.
Because the format relies on proprietary binary chunks (such as VER#, BLDG, and PRTO), standard online file converters completely fail to process it. Only the original game engine is designed to interpret this specific data tree. While we cannot reconstruct a fully playable game map into a PDF, our advanced analysis tools can bypass the compression, identify the headers, and extract embedded readable text so your legacy modding data is not permanently lost.
Convert.Guru analyzes your BIQ file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
If you want to convert BIQ file to CSV, JSON, XML, YAML, YML, TOML, INI, CFG, CONF, DAT, DB or SQL, you can use Civilization III or similar software from the "Game Scenario Data Storage" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert DBF, XML, SQLITE, XLSX, SQL, TSV, ACCDB, YAML, MDB, CSV, ODS or JSON files to BIQ, try Civilization III or another comparable tool in the "Game Scenario Data Storage" category.
The history of Convert.Guru began over 25 years ago in California with Tom Simondi’s file-format database. A former contributor to Space Shuttle development and a software pioneer of the 1980s, Simondi established a trusted resource for file type analysis that was even referenced by Microsoft Windows XP. Today, we use modern technology to process and convert thousands of file formats while continually improving our BIQ converter.