Sid Meier’s Civilization® VI similar games & best alternatives

Sid Meier’s Civilization® VI - sid-meiers-civilization-vi_1.avif
Sid Meier’s Civilization® VI - sid-meiers-civilization-vi_2.avif
Sid Meier’s Civilization® VI - sid-meiers-civilization-vi_3.avif
Sid Meier’s Civilization® VI - sid-meiers-civilization-vi_4.avif
Sid Meier’s Civilization® VI - sid-meiers-civilization-vi_5.avif
Sid Meier’s Civilization® VI - sid-meiers-civilization-vi_6.avif

Sid Meier’s Civilization® VI

2016

Should you play it?

Expand your empire, advance your culture and go head-to-head against history’s greatest leaders. Will your civilization stand the test of time?

What works

  • Deep and complex strategic gameplay
  • High replayability with many civilizations and strategies
  • Immersive historical context and rich music
  • Long game sessions with strong player engagement
  • Active modding community and expansions

Things to keep in mind

  • Ai is often criticized as weak or erratic
  • Steep learning curve and high complexity
  • Long game length can be exhausting
  • Some ui and interface usability issues
  • Expensive dlc pricing and fragmented content

What to play next

Top picks

Games that feels the closest overall

  • Europa Universalis IV

  • Civilization IV®: Warlords

  • Making History: The Great War

  • Oriental Empires

  • Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Colonization

  • Sid Meier's Civilization® IV

More fantastical

Games that feels like Sid Meier’s Civilization® VI but with more imaginative fiction

  • Elemental: Reforged

  • ENDLESS Legend™

  • Eador: Genesis

  • Fallen Enchantress: Legendary Heroes

  • Master of Magic Classic

  • Warhammer 40,000: Gladius - Relics of War

Less dominating

Games that feels like Sid Meier’s Civilization® VI but with less domination over others

  • Order of Battle: World War II

  • Romance of the Three Kingdoms XII with Power Up Kit

  • Civil War II

  • NOBUNAGA'S AMBITION: Awakening

  • Strategic Command: World War I

  • Fire & Maneuver

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® VI: 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, Exploration. It leans lower than usual among comparable games on Fantasy.

Last update: 06/08/2026