Sid Meier's Civilization VI

Sid Meier's Civilization VI arrived on mobile as a full-fledged port of the famous turn-based strategy game about building a civilization from a prehistoric tribe all the way to conquests in space. Aspyr Media took on the difficult task of converting a game full of layered menus, technology trees, and diplomatic negotiations to a touchscreen, adapting the controls so that tapping and swiping replace keyboard shortcuts and the mouse, without the game losing its complexity.

The scope of content matches the PC original: civilizations with their own leaders and bonuses, a district system that turns a city into specialized quarters, scientific and cultural victory paths, and dozens of hours of matches in which a single turn can easily take several minutes of thinking. This is precisely why the game is aimed more at players looking for depth on their phone comparable to the PC version, rather than lightweight entertainment for the road – the menus are dense and getting oriented on a smaller screen takes some getting used to.

It's a paid title without ads or microtransactions, though the price reflects the scope of content and any expansions, which can be purchased separately. For many players, this is their first encounter with a turn-based strategy game of this caliber outside a PC, and even years after release, mobile Civilization VI remains proof that a serious strategy genre can be brought to a touch device without losing its essence, albeit at the cost of a longer learning curve.

Why play it: Worth it for turn-based strategy fans who want dozens of hours of depth on their phone comparable to the PC version and don't mind denser controls and a higher price.