I was hesitant to play this since I mostly enjoyed RTS games like Age of Mythology growing up, but Civ has its own unique appeal. There's several different ways to win, but you can also incorporate other strategies to help your main goals. For instance, you can try for a military victory, but use science and commerce to quickly build and improve your army. Similarly, you can shoot for a diplomatic victory by gaining allies with trading or by taking over smaller city-states. This sort of flexibility is what really makes Civ shine. My main complaint is there is not enough variety in game modes or in who you choose to play as. Every starting leader has different bonuses, but few really have a major impact.



The turn-based style of strategy can take time to get used to. There are turns, especially in the beginning of the game, where you have no real option other than to wait for a research project to finish or a new unit to be trained. The nice thing about this turn-based style is that you feel satisfied playing for a short amount of time. Long-term games can also be fun, especially when playing with friends. This way, the down time is easier passed.



The game has a bit of a learning curve, especially if you want to play against real people, and games can take several hours to finish. There are setting to shorten a match, but unless you are playing against the computer, expect to sink some time into a match. The game is fun, and strategy is more important than how fast you can click and move units around. Civ is a nice change of pace if you are growing tired with RTS games and looking for something a little different.