One of the best turn-based strategy games of all time

The game really revolutionized the franchise; it's highly addicting, has a lot of interesting mechanics, and requires a ton of time and patience when playing with friends lol. You win the game by guiding one of many historical nations from the ancient era into the far future. You can achieve victory through military conquest, scientific space travel, global diplomacy, or cultural dominance. The sky is the limit with revisionist possibilities; for example, you could win the game with Ghengis Khan focusing hard on science to leave Earth or Gandhi being a warmonger lol. It initially feels overwhelming, but once you dedicate time to just to learn the basics, you'll get hooked on that "one more turn" loop. As the game progressed, catching onto all of the systems is something that just clicks. The other thing that makes Civ 5 goated is how flexible and open it is for mods, and that the modding community is still very active.