The Civilization game is one of the best choices of strategy games for your PC or Mac (it also works on Xbox or PS3), requiring fairly little computer resources to run and being highly rewarding in terms of storyline and world feel. It’s not as advanced as a MMORPG in terms of how immersed in its specific universe you can become, but it’s definitely the next best thing after one of those. Considering that it’s also free to play (after you buy it initially, of course) but not as simplistic and repetitive as a browser game, we’d say that the Civilization game has just become our favorite past time, in its latest version, number 5.
The Civilization game was initially designed for DOS in 1991 by Sid Meier, and it’s a turn-based strategy game about building your own world and society. It’s considered by most gamers’ communities to be one of the best civil war games out there, and its first expansion (Civilization 2) definitely propelled it to the top of consumer preferences. The newest expansions, Civilization 3, 4 and 5 were each more successful than the last and although it’s turn-based, it contains plenty of battle, interactive simulation and interesting ideas about history. It starts in the year 4000 BC, but its more recent expansions are set around newer historical events, such as the Apollo mission etc.
There are other similar civil war games popular with some members of the gaming community, such as the Civil War Surgery Game, the Oregon Civil War Game or the Robert E Lee General War Game, but those don’t compare with the Civilization game. We do like a similar game ideal for kids, namely the American Civil War Gettysburg game set during the 1863 event (which you can try online or download in full here).
What we love most about the Civilization game
- We like all the trivia facts about history you can learn after you’ve played it a while. No need to get bored with Jeopardy when you have such a cool game about the Civil War and its generals, about prehistoric times, about how to build an advanced empire by investing in your research and engineering facilities and so on. Indeed, a smart game like this can teach you a lot about how a revolution or new rights are fought for, about the exploration of time and space and how it can win wars, the danger or gains of breaking the rules and much more.
- It’s not a highly advanced game, but the resolution and the 360 camera feel and movement of this virtual world feel just right. You could even play it on an Android system and it would still run smoothly, we bet.
- You are not bullied by the score and the pressure of achievement. There is a score and a finish line to the story, but it’s not the main focus of the Civilization game: you don’t have to survive the longest at great strain or beat your enemies in a flash. You can explore the world at your own pace and finish the game in a week or more; there’s no gain in hurrying.
- When you’re tired to play it, you can keep the feeling by engaging in a round of the Civil War drinking game while at a beer with your buddies. When fatigue or hunger strikes, you can just channel the calm you practiced during the relaxed game-play and switch to a less ardent card or board game (perhaps even the ones based on the Civilization game). We can hardly think of more pleasant ways of hanging out with your football club.
- Last, but not least, even if you think this game isn’t your type, we bet you could change your mind after watching this video here. It’s videos like this that can be a total teaser!
We hope we managed to show you enough of the Civilization game to make you give it a try. Enjoy and let us know what you think after playing it a while. Have fun!
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