What is this?
Probably one of the best turn based games out there, but I haven't played Civilization IV so I can't compare.

According to Wikipedia:
Sid Meier's Civilization V (also known as Civilization 5 or Civ 5) is a turn-based strategy, 4X computer game developed by Firaxis, released on Microsoft Windows in September 2010 and on Mac OS X on November 23, 2010. It is the latest game in the Civilization series.

In Civilization V, the player leads a civilization from prehistoric times into the future on a procedurally-generated map, achieving one of a number of different victory conditions through research, diplomacy, expansion, economic development, government and military conquest. The game is based on an entirely new game engine with hexagonal tiles instead of the square tiles of earlier games in the series. Many elements from Civilization IV and its expansion packs have been removed or changed, such as religion and espionage. The combat system has been overhauled, removing stacking of military units and enabling cities to defend themselves by firing directly on nearby enemies. In addition, the maps contain computer-controlled city-states as non-player characters that are available for trade, diplomacy and conquest. A civilization's borders also expand one tile at a time, favoring more productive tiles, and roads now have a maintenance cost, making them much less common.

The game features community, modding, and multiplayer elements.

An expansion pack, Civilization V: Gods & Kings, has been announced for a late Spring 2012 release and will include such past features as religions and espionage as well as 9 new civilizations.
tl;dr A more complex version of chess.

So where can I get it?

Well, you can get it on Steam(which is free and awesome) right here: http://store.steampowered.com/app/8930/ (which is not free... $30). However, if you aren't sure you'll like the game download the demo and check it out. Since the release of Civilization V I've seen a lot of conflict between Civilization IV fans. While I've never played the fourth game, I've heard it is really awesome and that it is probably pretty cheap right now. You can buy the standalone game here http://store.steampowered.com/app/3900/ for $20 or for an additional $10 you can get the other three expansion packs.

If you're barely scraping by then maybe you'll want to try out Freeciv: http://freeciv.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page or the online version of Civilization on Facebook called Civworld: https://www.facebook.com/civworld

Running requirements

  • Minimum:
    • OS: Windows® XP SP3/ Windows® Vista SP2/ Windows® 7
    • Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo 1.8 GHz or AMD Athlon X2 64 2.0 GHz
    • Memory: 2GB RAM
    • Graphics:256 MB ATI HD2600 XT or better, 256 MB nVidia 7900 GS or better, or Core i3 or better integrated graphics
    • DirectX®: DirectX® version 9.0c
    • Hard Drive: 8 GB Free
    • Sound: DirectX 9.0c-compatible sound card



  • Recommended:
    • OS: Windows® Vista SP2/ Windows® 7
    • Processor: 1.8 GHz Quad Core CPU
    • Memory: 4 GB RAM
    • Graphics: 512 MB ATI 4800 series or better, 512 MB nVidia 9800 series or better
    • DirectX®: DirectX® version 11
    • Hard Drive: 8 GB Free
    • Sound: DirectX 9.0c-compatible sound card



Cool, I might buy it but I want to hear your Civilization addiction story.
Well, I'll keep it short. I briefly played Civilization II when I was a kid, but I was too young to really understand what I was doing. I think it was when I got Civilization III that entire afternoons after school and weekends would be consumed with that need to play one more turn. I missed out Civilization IV, which I do regret and ponder upon playing, but now I'm too caught up in Civilization V.

What's next?
What about a quick playthrough of me playing a game? I'll make it in the next post.