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If you feel nostalgic about Sid Meier’s turn-based 4x strategy Civilization VI, here is a list of games like Civilization that might pique your interest.
We have listed 10 video games that are similar to Civilization that pivots completely on strategy and diplomacy.
This list of Civilization type games is from different platforms so that irrespective of your gaming platform you can get the flavor of Civ VI.
Let’s get started.
1. Freeciv
- Supported Platforms: Android, Linux, Windows, macOS
- Release Date: Initial Release 5 January 1996
- Developer Details: The Freeciv Project
While discussing other games like Civilization, you can’t get away without mentioning Freeciv. As the name hints, Freeciv is a free open-source strategy game focussing on empire building.
Its architecture is based on XPilot, an old shooter game, and shares more common grounds with Civilization II than VI.
Since its introduction in 1996, the project evolved into a long-turn format that was introduced in 2004. The game can involve up to 30 players and involves day-long turns.
Once you know your way around Freeciv you can toggle between 2D and 3D graphics rendering.
In Freeciv, players act as tribal leaders in 4000 B.C. You have to start by guiding people through centuries and over time discovering and adopting new technologies to construct city buildings and weapons.
Players can wage war against tribes or opt to form diplomatic ties.
The end goal is to either completely eradicate other civilizations or accomplish space colonization within a certain period.
In case by the end there is more than one civilization, players are judged based on the size of their civilization, scientific and cultural advances, and wealth. Whoever dominates the other in the above categories, wins.
2. Humankind
- Supported Platforms: macOS, Windows
- Release Date: Initial Release 17th August 2021
- Developer Details: Sega
Humankind is one of those games similar to Civilization that can lock horns with Sid Meier’s magnum opus. Humankind comes from the same developers that introduced you to Endless Space and Endless Legend.
The game focuses on creating diplomatic strategies to improve your empire and leveraging tactical gameplan while clashing against large swarms of enemies.
As a player, you will be leading civilization through six eras starting from the nomadic age. You can dictate how the civilization should develop, expand, and control the military and how they interact with other civilizations.
To start off, you have to select one of ten civilization types. Based on your selection you will be awarded bonuses and incur penalties.
In a way, these civilization types act as templates and the game provides you complete control as to how you want your civilization to unfurl.
As you progress in Humankind, you can build and expand cities, claim territories, and slowly inch your way towards urbanization and creating large metropolises.
That’s not all. When engaging in combat with enemies, the game resorts to an RPG approach for detailed resolution of the battles.
You can experience battle in different terrains and also check out the special abilities of your unit.
Battles in Humankind can last for three combat turns and then it returns to the overworld. In such a scenario, wars can last multiple years at an overworld scale
Humankind also introduced a new parameter called Fame which is earned when your civilization discovers any new technology or builds a world wonder.
In a way, Fame can decide a civilization’s relative success.
3. Old World
- Supported Platforms: macOS, Windows
- Release Date: Initial Release 5 May 2020
- Developer Details: Mohawk Games
If you could deconstruct Civilization and add a ton of innovative gameplay, you would have Old World. It is the brainchild of the former lead designer of Civilization IV, Soren Johnson.
Developed by Mohawk Games, Old World features civilizations like Assyria, Rome, and Carthage. The game includes an ‘order’ system, Crusader Kings-style events, and varied character elements.
Old World is one of those Civ-like games where you can incorporate dynasty simulation. In this turn-based strategy game, the nations’ leaders age and you must prepare an heir to step up to the occasion.
Based on their education and choices made while playing the game, the leaders develop traits.
The game also introduced a character management system, wherein the player’s family, ministers, and other ruling families impact the player’s strategy.
This gives the game a personal touch while brushing on a bit of role-playing too.
Old World also features an extensive random events system giving it a much-needed dynamism to bring forth compelling story-telling.
4. Age of Wonders: Planetfall
- Supported Platforms: PS4, Xbox One, Windows, macOS
- Release Date: Initial Release 6 August 2019
- Developer Details: Paradox Interactive, H2 Interactive
Age of Wonders: Planetfall is one of those Civilization type games that has empire management systems, tech trees and spells, armies, and even superhero units.
However, Planetfall has taken a step ahead by featuring fantasy elements and featuring a separate tactical battle mode where you can fight out armies at a more granular level.
This way you get the depth of a strategy game while quenching your blood thrust of an RPG wargame.
Age of Wonders is also filled with other empires, numerous non-playing characters, and quest-like nodes like dungeons and abandoned mines that you can interact with.
The game also has many subterranean levels that can be accessed through tunnels. These subterranean levels are filled with dwarves and have their own forts, cities, and outposts.
The game has six different factions each having its own distinct gameplay.
To start with you have to assume control of a commander of one of these factions and explore the planet, participate in covert operations, engage in diplomacy, and even declare war.
The world map unravels as you make progress in the game. The world map is broken down into different sectors, each having two biomes for research, producing food, and energy.
You can add landmark structures to boost the output of these biomes.
As you progress you will be able to control cities, invade hostile camps, and seize their technologies.
You can make allies in case your armies need an extra hand during combat.
And you can build navy fleets, airforce, and even unlock weapons of mass destruction in order to strengthen your faction’s military power.
Get Age of Wonders: Planetfall here
5. The Battle For Polytopia
- Supported Platforms: Tesla, iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, Linux
- Release Date: Initial Release February 2016
- Developer Details: Midjiwan AB
The Battle For Polytopia is a simpler toned-down version of Civilization. This is one of those games like Civilization that you can play on your iOS and Android smartphone.
It features 12 civilizations with multiple maps generated procedurally. All the major updates of The Battle For Polytopia are available for free while you can purchase various DLC packs.
You can play it in single-player, multiplayer, or online modes. The single-player and local multiplayer modes are free, however, you have to purchase them to enable online multiplayer.
You can choose from 16 characters also referred to as tribes. Some of the paid tribes have special abilities as well.
Each game mode has different conditions for winning with customizable gameplay settings. At the end of the week, a leaderboard is generated that lists the highest scorers.
6. Warlock: Masters of Arcane
- Supported Platforms: Windows
- Release Date: Initial Release 8 May 2012
- Developer Details: Paradox Interactive
Your search for Civ-like games with magic, portals to other dimensions, Warlocks, and other NPC monsters will also result in Warlock: Masters of Arcane.
The cool thing about this game is if you are bored of completing tasks on the main map, you can instruct your armies to find portals that can lead to other maps in a different dimension.
These portals will open new maps with better rewards. However, you have to prove your mettle against tougher monsters.
That’s not all you can even choose to colonize space and trigger a space-faring empire.
You start the game as one of the Great Mages. Each Mage has its own backstory and perks. But, you can also customize your character to get the abilities of your choice.
As a Great Mage, you can represent either the humans, monsters or the undead.
The humans can command warriors, and archers and also utilize clerics and mages. Monsters consist of goblins, trolls, and rat-men. The undead includes vampires, skeletons, and bat creatures.
A player (as a Mage) can access each race’s buildings and units to construct buildings or to capture an opposing city.
Apart from other opponents, you will also face neutral cities that are hostile to other mage players.
The game also features aggressive wildlife such as giant spiders and sea monsters that can topple your gameplay. However, you can loot their nest for resources and gain spawn points.
Get Warlock: Masters of Arcane here
7. Total War: Three Kingdoms
- Supported Platforms: Windows, Linux, macOS
- Release Date: Initial Release 23 May 2019
- Developer Details: Creative Assembly, Feral Interactive
Have you ever wanted to take total control of the world’s most well-known armies in human history? Total War: Three Kingdoms will let you do just that.
Even though Total War deviates from the growth or inward-focused games like Civ 6 it emphasizes entirely on recreating historical wars on a virtual stage.
The gameplay will take you through the Three Kingdoms period (220–280) in China and let you partake in massive real-time battles.
As a player, you will be controlling one of the game’s twelve factions. Your goal is to eliminate other rival factions, unify China, and ultimately become its ruler. Your rival factions are led by warlords.
During siege battles, as a general, you can command both cavalry and infantry units. The battle is won when all rival generals are killed or the center of the city is captured by your faction. After your victory, you can loot the possessions of your rival generals.
You can engage with other generals in a one-on-one duel. Each general has its own unique set of active and passive specialties along with important virtues like trust, reciprocity, and obligations.
If these unique demands (of generals) are not met, their happiness rating drops thus affecting your gameplay performance.
The generals will also form relationships with other characters they meet during the campaign.
This means you have to understand your generals properly to find out their best strategic placement.
The game has two modes, Romance and Records.
In the Romance mode, generals have superhuman strength, while the historically accurate Records version has the generals stripped off their powers and can’t be commanded separately.
Get Total War: Three Kingdoms here
8. Europa Universalis 4
- Supported Platforms: Windows, Linux, macOS
- Release Date: Initial Release 13 August 2013
- Developer Details: Paradox Interactive
Europa Universalis 4 lets you control a nation by conducting trade, diplomacy, administration, warfare and colonization from the Late Middle Ages right up to the early modern age (1444 to 1821 AD).
Even though EU 4 is a typical 4x strategy game, it does deviate slightly from games like Civ 6. EU 4 offers decision-making in much detail due to its diverse management options.
The game is set on an interactive map of the earth divided into different provinces. Each province contributes to a nation and impacts it positively or negatively by providing resources or by being the epicenter of unrest and rebellion.
As you progress, your goal would be to strike a balance between economy, diplomacy, and military strength.
The characteristics of your nation depend on how you utilize available resources. You can conquer nations by leveraging your military might and becoming a colonial superpower.
There is no strict rule to win the game. It gets over when a player’s nation is removed from the map.
Diplomacy is yet another aspect that you can sharpen by creating coalitions and improving opinions with other nations.
You can also use espionage against enemy states to spark rebellion in order to claim their territory.
EU 4 lets you wage war on both land and sea and uses real-world factors like discipline, morale, unit types, and competency of leaders to decide the outcome of any battle.
You can play Europa Universalis 4 in the single-player mode versus AI, over LAN for multiplayer mode, or over the internet against a mix of AI and human opponents from around the globe.
In the single-player mode, you have the option to turn on/ off the Ironman mode. When turned on the game locks several settings like difficult and check-point saves.
That means any mistake in this mode is irreversible. However, this is the only way of earning the game’s achievements.
9. Endless Legend
- Supported Platforms: Windows, macOS
- Release Date: Initial Release 18 September 2014
- Developer Details: Amplitude Studios
Endless Legends is more like a modern Age of Wonders. The game includes both Endless Space I and II.
The behaviors and stats are different for each faction. Also, the battles don’t require any direct intervention.
That means you can plan a strategy at the beginning and the game plays out your demands with minimum intervention.
In Endless Legends, the purpose of the game is to dominate Auriga with one of the fourteen actions. You can use diplomacy, war, develop new technologies, and explore new lands to increase your footprint.
Auriga’s landmass & ecosystem is randomized per game and represented on hexagonal grids on a model map. The gameplay will take you through a variety of terrains, made up of biomes.
Unlike other games like Civilization 6, the map of Endless Legend is segregated into different regions.
Once you have established a city within the borders of a region, the entire region comes under the faction’s control. In the beginning, you start with a settler unit and can only host one city within your borders.
10. Stellaris
- Supported Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Linux, Xbox Series X and Series S, Windows, macOS
- Release Date: Initial Release 9 May 2016
- Developer Details: Paradox Interactive
Stellaris is a deep space grand strategy game that is quite similar to games like Civ 6. The game dwells in fostering diplomacy, waging wars, and expanding your control over the galaxy.
Stellaris also features 11 DLC content packs that can give a whole new dimension to your gameplay.
Players enact the role of a government of a species in the early stages of space exploration.
Depending on your desire you can aim for galactic conquest, technology supremacy, hoarding or mining resources, peaceful coexistence or even complete annihilation of other sentient life.
You get to control ships and how your colony advances in science and engineering. You can engage in ground and space combat or use trade agreements and other alliances to completely avoid wars or conflicts.
Overall Stellaris focuses more on strategy and preparation.
You start the game by picking an existing empire or customizing a species on your own. While creating or choosing a species you have to pick a mixture of positive & negative traits.
Next, you have to choose the ethics and civics of your empire or an ideology. Each ideology has its own set of advantages and restrictions.
At the start, the empire begins with the inhabited planet, several mining stations, a science & construction ship, a starbase, and three small warships.
In the early phase of the game, you will be majorly involved in colonizing and exploring space. Gradually your gameplay will lean towards diplomacy or warfare with other empires.
Advancement in the game is achieved through progression made in traditions and technology.
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