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Sid Meier's Civilization VI

SimulatorStrategyTurn-based strategy (TBS)

Time to beat: about 63 hours

Overview

Sid Meier's Civilization VI is a 2016 4X turn-based strategy video game developed by American company Firaxis Games and published by 2K. The mobile and Nintendo Switch ports were published by Aspyr Media. It is the sequel to Civilization V (2010), and was released on Windows and macOS in October 2016, with later ports for Linux in February 2017, iOS in December 2017, Nintendo Switch in November 2018, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in November 2019, and Android in 2020.

Similar to previous installments, the goal for the player is to develop a civilization from an early settlement through many in-game millennia to become a world power and achieve one of several victory conditions, such as through military domination, technological superiority, or cultural influence over the other human and computer-controlled opponents. Players do this by exploring the world, founding new cities, building city improvements, deploying military troops to attack and defend themselves from others, researching new technologies and civic advancements, developing an influential culture, and engaging in trade and negotiations with other world leaders.

The game features several civilizations not featured in previous incarnations of Civilization, while many returning civilizations have new capitals or new leaders. A critical design focus was to avoid having the player follow a pre-set path of improvements towards their civilization which they had observed from earlier games. New to Civilization VI is the use of districts outside the city center to house most of the buildings. For example, a campus district must be built to house science-based buildings. Other new features include research on the game's technology tree based on nearby terrain, a similar technology tree for cultural improvements, and a better government civics structure for those playing on a cultural victory path. There are also new artificial intelligence mechanics for computer-controlled opponents, which include secret goals and randomized engagements to disrupt an otherwise stable game.