Parents' Guide to Sid Meier's Civilization VI

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Common Sense Media Review

Chris Morris By Chris Morris , based on child development research. How do we rate?

age 11+

Steep price, but adaptation of PC classic is incredible.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 11+?

Any Positive Content?

Parent and Kid Reviews

age 8+

Based on 2 parent reviews

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What's It About?

SID MEIER's CIVILIZATION VI is the latest in a phenomenal series of strategy games, letting players experience all ages of world history and compete against historical figures. The game starts with the player of a nomadic tribe, establishing a single city and then (over the next 500 turns) lets them attempt to achieve global domination via military power, scientific superiority, establishing a dominant religion, or having the most expansive culture. Players build up their cities and expand to control more land, creating districts, such as holy sites, military encampments, neighborhoods, and industrial zones. It's an exact re-creation of the PC game, which in and of itself was a big step forward for the series.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say ( 2 ):
Kids say : Not yet rated

PC gamers often avoid other platforms, especially mobile, but if any game is going to get them to consider gaming on the go, it's this one. Sid Meier's Civilization VI plays as naturally on the iPad as it does on the PC -- and that's an astonishing thing, given the game's many moving parts and very deep gameplay. Everything we loved about the PC version is here: the revamped city-building system, the need to strategically use builder units, the decisions that go into unlocking governments and religions, and the deep, deep technology tree to choose from.

It looks stunning and it plays better than it looks. The "one more turn" hook is just as strong, maybe even stronger since you're able to play on the go. The only warning we can give (and it's hardly a warning) is that you'll need a fairly new system to run the game, along with a lot of free memory. If you've got that, though, it's entirely worth the price, even one that's considerably steeper than most apps.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the game's historical accuracy. Does the creation of wonders in the game make you want to find out more about their real-world equivalents?

  • Talk about victory. You don't always have to fight to beat your opponents, so what works best for you?

App Details

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