Sid Meier's Civilization® V similar games & best alternatives

Sid Meier's Civilization® V - sid-meier-s-civilization-v_1.avif
Sid Meier's Civilization® V - sid-meier-s-civilization-v_2.avif
Sid Meier's Civilization® V - sid-meier-s-civilization-v_3.avif
Sid Meier's Civilization® V - sid-meier-s-civilization-v_4.avif
Sid Meier's Civilization® V - sid-meier-s-civilization-v_5.avif
Sid Meier's Civilization® V - sid-meier-s-civilization-v_6.avif

Sid Meier's Civilization® V

2010

Should you play it?

Create, discover, and download new player-created maps, scenarios, interfaces, and more!

What works

  • Deep and addictive strategic gameplay
  • Multiple victory paths and civilizations
  • High replayability with varied scenarios
  • Engaging diplomacy and warfare systems
  • Strong mod and dlc support

Things to keep in mind

  • Steep learning curve for new players
  • Long game sessions can be time-consuming
  • Ai can be unpredictable or flawed
  • Requires dlc for full content experience
  • Multiplayer can suffer from technical issues

What to play next

Top picks

Games that feels the closest overall

  • Making History II: The War of the World

  • Kingdoms Reborn

  • Age of Wonders: Planetfall

  • Age of Empires II (Retired)

  • Imperiums: Greek Wars

  • Sid Meier's Civilization® IV

More story-driven

Games that feels like Sid Meier's Civilization® V but with deeper narrative immersion

  • Old World

  • NOBUNAGA'S AMBITION: Awakening

  • Crusader Kings II

  • Strategic Command: World War I

  • ENDLESS Legend™

  • Europa Universalis III Complete

Less dominating

Games that feels like Sid Meier's Civilization® V but with less domination over others

  • Order of Battle: World War II

  • Romance of the Three Kingdoms XII with Power Up Kit

  • Line War

  • R.U.S.E.™

  • Knights of Honor II: Sovereign

  • Panzer Corps 2

Choose your own criteria ->

Similarity map

How to use the graph

Similarity map

Each dot is a game placed from its motivation profile relative to this page’s game. Direction shows which motivation differs most; distance along that axis shows how large the gap is.

  • Purple star: this page’s game at the centre — everything is relative to it.
  • Direction: each axis is a main motivational difference vs this game (e.g. more / less competitive).
  • Distance on an axis: how large that difference is (ring scales show +/− points).
  • Coloured chips: click to highlight games that mainly differ on that motivation; click again to reset.
  • Dotted line: link between this page’s game and the one selected for comparison.
  • Hover a dot to preview that game in the panel on the right; click to keep that comparison.
  • Scroll or double-click the chart to zoom.

How to read the map This is a polar difference map: direction = which motivation differs, and distance = how much (same units as the sidebar deltas).

Sid Meier's Civilization® V: Broadly representative of its motivational profile, with a few distinct shifts. Motivations that often define this kind of title include Competition, Status, Fellowship, Domination. Here, the score leans higher than usual among comparable games on Leadership, Domination, Exploration.

Last update: 03/08/2026