Pic relevant. I’ve tried playing the new Civ games several times, and quickly end up quitting because I find them too overwhelming and find it hard to want to deal with the learning curve.
It occurred to me that part of the problem might be that I was jumping into a very old franchise that has been getting increasingly complicated over the years. Had a hunch I would have better luck with the original, so I went onto one of those play-dos-in-your-browser sites, dove in, and sure enough I am hooked!
Do I know what I’m doing? Not really, but stuff is happening and my civilization is growing, and it’s a good time.
I’m late to the party, but if you’re new to Civ and looking for which game to start on, ignore the people who say that you need the DLCs for the “complete” experience.
I started on Civ 6, and fell for this, getting a complete edition (at a deep discount). When I tried to play it, I was quickly overwhelmed by the complexity. Now, 80 hours in, I realized I can play with just the base game rules, and that’s what I’ve been doing, and now I yearn for one more turn. I’ll eventually start playing with the DLC rules, but not before I get a good grasp on the base game.
I started the tutorial for Civ 6 recently, will probably play more. Been bouncing between various Civs off and on, and seems I’ve been playing UnCiv the most at this point - considering it’s right there on my phone all the time.