# Civilization V

12 Hacker News commenters recommended Civilization V and 5 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 6 of 13 months. It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** Deep, replayable turn-based strategy that many play for hundreds of hours, extended by mods. Critics say strategic depth runs out after about 100 hours.

## Why people recommend it

- Long-lasting replay value (2 comments): "Both are timeless and I still play them a few times a year." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48294794)) "I put over 1000 hours into Civ 5 alone" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47559182))
- Widely seen as the reference version (2 comments): "To this day, 5 remains the reference version, as evidenced by Steam numbers." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46232451)) "It is a great game, and the Vox Populi mod has given it so much more life." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46922386))
- Enjoyable and strategically rich gameplay (2 comments): "It is a great game, and the Vox Populi mod has given it so much more life." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46922386)) "Are they more enjoyable and enriching than a MOBA? Yes on all counts." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48033049))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Battle for Wesnoth](https://hackerapproved.com/p/battle-for-wesnoth.md): 39 recommend
- [Sid Meier's Civilization](https://hackerapproved.com/p/civilization.md): 25 recommend
- [Sid Meier's Civilization III](https://hackerapproved.com/p/civilization-iii.md): 20 recommend
- [Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri](https://hackerapproved.com/p/alpha-centauri.md): 16 recommend
- [Heroes of Might and Magic III](https://hackerapproved.com/p/heroes-of-might-and-magic-iii.md): 16 recommend

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Civilization V", https://hackerapproved.com/p/civilization-v/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).