Games like Sid Meier's Civilization® IV

Turn-based strategy game where players build and manage a civilization through history. Core loop involves exploration, expansion, exploitation, and extermination.

92% positive from 3,620 · 2006 · Steam Deck Playable · Lowest ever $1.46 (2022-10-05)

StrategyTurn-Based Strategy Turn-Based 4X HistoricalMultiplayer

Six games like Sid Meier's Civilization® IV

Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Colonization

87% positive from 1,543 reviews2008Deck Playable

This is a 4X strategy game where players colonize the New World, manage resources, and fight for independence. It features historical figures and diplomacy with natives and other nations.

What players likedPlayers praise it as a deep experience, akin to a "Colonization II" with the We The People mod, offering a unique take on the Civ IV engine.

The catchPlayers who know the 1994 original find this remake clunkier and less fun.

Both are tagged 4X, Historical and Turn-Based Strategy.

Games like Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Colonization →

Oriental Empires

81% positive from 2,991 reviews20171% finish itDeck Playable

A grand strategy game where players build an empire from a single settlement through development, diplomacy, and large-scale battles on a detailed map. It focuses on historical Chinese civilization building and conquest.

The catchBattles play out on their own with random results no matter how strong your army.

Both are tagged 4X, Historical and Turn-Based.

Games like Oriental Empires →

Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword

96% positive from 2,891 reviews2007Deck Unsupported

This is a turn-based strategy game focused on empire building. Players manage civilizations through history, expanding territory and developing technology.

What players likedPlayers say it's the peak of accessible strategy games, superior to later Civ titles and Paradox games, praised for its deep strategy and balanced gameplay.

The catchFights are lost even when the displayed combat odds are overwhelmingly in your favour.

Both are tagged 4X, Historical and Turn-Based Strategy.

Games like Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword →

Ozymandias: Bronze Age Empire Sim

88% positive from 1,646 reviews2022Deck Playable

A streamlined Bronze Age 4X empire sim with a single-choice objective system and abstracted combat. Players strategically expand, build, and defend across historical maps.

What players likedPlayers praise it as a quicker, smoother 4X strategy game, often compared to a streamlined Civilization or "Beer and Pretzel" wargame.

The catchIt is a shallow board game rather than a 4X, with no exploration or diplomacy.

Both are tagged 4X, Historical and Turn-Based Strategy.

Games like Ozymandias: Bronze Age Empire Sim →

Scythe: Digital Edition

89% positive from 3,801 reviews201839% finish itDeck Unsupported

This is a digital board game of 4X strategy with engine building and area control. Players manage asymmetric factions to expand their territory and build powerful mechs.

What players likedPlayers praise "Scythe: Digital Edition" as a great digital version of one of the best designed board games, capturing the original well.

The catchOnline games regularly desync, crash or drop players, and the devs stopped fixing it.

Both are tagged 4X, Turn-Based and Multiplayer.

Games like Scythe: Digital Edition →

The Battle of Polytopia

95% positive from 3,300 reviews2020Deck Verified

Turn-based civilization-building strategy game. Explore, expand, exploit, and exterminate to conquer a procedurally generated world.

What players likedPlayers praise "The Battle of Polytopia" as a simplified, fast, and accessible "Civilization"-like 4X strategy game with surprising depth.

The catchA few tribes are badly overpowered, and matches against them feel decided in advance.

Both are tagged 4X, Turn-Based Strategy and Turn-Based.

Games like The Battle of Polytopia →

More like this: 4X Turn-Based Turn-Based Strategy Historical

More about Sid Meier's Civilization® IV

What players liked

Players praise Civ IV as a better version of Civ III, with great gameplay, an iconic soundtrack, and addicting fun.

The catch

It crashes constantly on modern Windows and can corrupt saves so they will not load.

Reviews: 92% positive from 3,620
Released: 2006
Steam Deck: Steam Deck Playable
Price: Lowest ever $1.46 (2022-10-05)
Play: Single-playerMulti-player

It is here because it sits in the band this site looks at: well reviewed at 92% positive, but with 3,620 reviews, far fewer than the household names carry.

View Sid Meier's Civilization® IV on Steam

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