Parents' Guide to

Sid Meier’s Civilization VI

By Chad Sapieha, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 11+

Amazing world simulation can teach players about history.

Game Windows 2016
Sid Meier’s Civilization VI Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this game.

  • Sid Meier's Civilization VI game screen shot #1
  • Sid Meier's Civilization VI game screen shot #2
  • Sid Meier's Civilization VI game screen shot #3

Community Reviews

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age 9+

Based on 2 parent reviews

Nebbie Zebbie
Nebbie Zebbie Adult
June 7, 2019
age 10+

Slowly became better than V

It started out a rather barren game compared to V, but the extra DLC and continued updates have made it the superior game; I expect when the third DLC comes out, it will be the best in the series. One thing to note compared to V is that it has much better base mechanics, and makes better use of the new tile system, but there may be concerns with privacy due to 2k. As well, the cultural policies have shifted pretty far into consumerist land compared to V.

This title has:

Great messages
Too much consumerism
Benny6Games
Benny6Games Adult
December 14, 2018
age 7+

Really fun history game!

Fun game that my family love to play together. A bit of violence, as one of the main features is conquering the natives but heh, that's what us Christian folk do! You can farm drugs for "AMENITIES" which is bad and also shoot nuclear weapons at people. However it is very historically accurate and features much better role models than games such as HOI4 that praise barbaric leaders such as Hitler and Stalin. Wait until children are at the right age to play. Depends on the maturity of your child.

This title has:

Great messages
Great role models
Too much violence
See all 2 parent reviews

What’s It About?

SID MEIER'S CIVILIZATION VI builds upon the solid foundation laid by its award-winning predecessors, delivering a familiar but distinctive world-history simulation. The game begins as all Civilization games do, with the selection of a historical leader and the founding of a single city, then progresses through 500 turns where players build more cities, research new technologies, found faiths, spy on their neighbors, and progress through various types of governments and policies, all on their way to achieving a victory through science, culture, religion, or military dominance. But the changes made to this edition will be immediately evident to longtime franchise fans. Cities now include districts, such as holy sites, military encampments, neighborhoods, and industrial zones, and each district takes up its own tile. Different types of units can be embedded in each other to create formations, providing new ways to protect civilian units. A new level of strategy has also been added to technologies and civics by something called "boosts," a means by which the time required to conduct research can be reduced by you performing certain actions. The result is a game that looks a lot like the Civilization of years past but plays quite differently.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (2):
Kids say (11):

There are plenty of games that simulate worlds and empires, but Firaxis' 25-year-old strategy series remains at the head of the class. Sid Meier's Civilization VI improves upon the design of its predecessors by delivering a smoother, more authentic, and even more strategic simulation of world history. The revamped city-building system, for example, forces players to plan ahead when picking a spot to found a city to ensure that it will have access to all the necessary tiles required to grow the city in a desired direction. They'll also need to make strategic use of builder units, who must now be manually controlled and can only improve three tiles before disappearing, making each mine, farm, or pasture they're instructed to create a tactical choice. Just as important are the changes to the way players govern their empires. The means by which governments and policies are unlocked and selected allows for quick shifts in agenda to meet current challenges, and it permits players to easily change paths toward different types of victories as circumstances change. Picking the right policies for the right phases of your empire's growth can be the difference between winning and losing by only a handful of turns.

All this, and it looks absolutely gorgeous -- even played on a standard PC without cutting-edge hardware. Simulated hand-drawn maps imitate those of ancient explorers and cartographers, and the animations accompanying the building of new wonders are a joy to watch. British actor Sean Bean's powerful and dramatic narration is just gravy. There are no obstacles getting in the way of a boisterous recommendation for Sid Meier's Civilization VI -- save that, once you start playing, it can be mighty hard to quit.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about violence in media. Is there a difference in how we interpret violence when we see it presented within historical context as opposed to when it's created purely for entertainment? If so, why might that be?

  • Talk about history. Do you enjoy learning about history? Do you think we are constantly moving forward and making the world a better place? Has humanity ever taken actions that have reversed its progress?

Game Details

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