Let’s Rank The Civilization Games, Worst To Best

How do you separate greatness? You can only try. And remember that hexes > grids.

In this latest instalment of Pecking Order, I’m going to be choosing between some of my favourite, and most-played games of all time. From the original all the way through to Civilization VI’s expansions, I’ve been lucky to enough to experience every Civ game at launch, and I’m going to be pitting my memories of each against one another in this showdown.

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What makes separating these games tough is that when you look at them as a whole, they’re so similar. While nips and tucks have been made, and systems introduced and overhauled, many of the most basic mechanics have remained almost untouched for almost 30 years. This speaks volumes as to how enduring the series core design is, sure, but it also makes picking between games a lot harder than a franchise where, say, the first game has almost nothing in common with the last.

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A few notes before we begin: Only the primary Civilization titles are being included. That explains why the original Colonization is not at the top of the list, and also why Beyond Earth, Alpha Centauri, and Civilization Revolution are also missing. This list was hard enough as it was when only dealing with the six main games.

Note: Anyone viewing this on a desktop can move through the slideshow by clicking the arrows down below. If you’re on mobile, just keep on scrolling!

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