diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index 17cf86a0b..bb3ab92cf 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ endif(CMAKE_CONFIGURATION_TYPES)
 OPTION(BUILD_DOCS "Choose whether to build the documentation (requires python and Sphinx)." OFF)
 
 ## some generic CMake magic
-cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 2.8 FATAL_ERROR)
+cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 2.8.12 FATAL_ERROR)
 project(dfhack)
 
 macro(CHECK_GCC COMPILER_PATH)