Note: UnCiv is a free, open-source clone of the mechanics and other public domain concepts of Civilization V. It shares no code, assets, or other trademarked material with the Civilization series, nor does have any official tie to that series. It does have its own analogs to the stock Civilization V content and its Gods and Kings expansion as of the time of this writing. It is advised to compare this game review to our Civilization V review for more information on the differences between these two titles. Finally, it may be legally acquired via itch.io and various distribution packages on Linux as well as Google Play and fdroid.



Some games are great but require powerful gaming computers. Fans, who wish to have the same fun albeit on lower-end devices, sometimes try "demakes", or the same games as if they were designed for a much older system, which works well on lower-end gaming devices (such as the Android, the original target for UnCiv) and often has a "retro" aesthetic. UnCiv is a generally successful attempt at applying this design philosophy to its free and open-source clone of Civilization V's basic premise.


Like the Civilization titles (specifically the fifth one), UnCiv is a 4X genre title (an acronym for eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, and eXterminate), a subgenre of the simulation genre typically involving the simulation of cultures and leadership of the same. Taking control of a real-world civilization, whether current or defunct, the player must help it prosper and flourish. These civilization choices can range from the United States to the peoples of Polynesia, ancient cultures like Assyria, the Ethiopians, and so on.

Many features specific to Civilization V are emulated in UnCiv. The City-States, or NPC independent nations that can serve as trade partners, military allies, and diplomatic comrades, are implemented similarly. UnCiv has its own counterpart to the Civilization V "Gods and Kings" expansion, which includes religion as a gameplay element and enhanced combat AI. At the time of this writing, the other major expansion (Brave New World) is not emulated, but that is intended by the developer at a later date.

Graphically, owing to the "accessible to low-end gaming devices" aesthetic, the game graphics are simple 2D hand-drawn art, similar to Civilization II. There are a few different styles of art for the units and map tiles, but most of them are colorful and clean in varying styles to account for different tastes. Game map tiles can be hexagonal or squared, with some changes to the appearance of tiles and unit movement depending on player choice.

The sounds and music are very sparse and entirely optional. If installed, there are a few basic MIDI-style soundtracks and sound effects, but there isn't much of note at present. Having tested this game on Windows and Linux, it is generally playable with keyboard and mouse control. It can work with controllers to an extent and on the Steam Deck but will require limited access to a keyboard for text input at present.

Game stability is generally solid. It does have modding support, albeit since the game itself is still in active development there are no published mods of wide use available and any modifications may degrade stability. This title runs natively on Windows, Linux, macOS, and Android. Being natively playable on Linux means it will work on the Steam Deck but may require some configuration. Like the Civilization game this emulates in concept, it supports AI and human play via online linkup. It is worth noting that Android users WILL have stability issues with certain features like world-wrapping maps.

It is worth noting, at the time of this writing, that this game is far from feature complete. It currently has all the basic features of the stock Civilization V game and its Gods and Kings expansion implemented, with the Brave New World expansion content not included as of yet. It is constantly being updated to fix bugs and regressions. The game code is fully open source and may be studied, forked, or reused according to its licensing terms. The developer has confirmed this project is limited to a strict emulation of Civilization V's mechanics only and there is no current support for iOS planned or intended. Finally, the game AI is likely not going to be as satisfying as a human opponent at present in some regards due to the fact the game developer's roadmap confirms aspects of this are still being worked on.

Morally, UnCiv doesn't have too many problems. Violence is of the turn-based RPG style “give orders and watch it happen” variety should the player have to engage in combat for any reason. This is depicted free of blood and gore and certain violent situations can be reduced or eliminated via customizing the game settings, such as disabling random barbarians or even enforcing a total ban on wars of aggression.

Language in-game is not a concern. At most, they may reference a d*mn or h*ll, typically when referring to a quote from a religious text or allusion to such. Sexual content is also nonexistent.

Religion is depicted more for its historical and demographical value to the rise of culture, lacking any explicit display of practices, so for the most part the religion mechanic is simply a generic gameplay element that has interchangeable effects for all playable cultures. Custom names and symbols are also available for those wanting to avoid even using the name and heraldry associated with a real-world faith. Civilization V does, however, introduce a “Pantheon” sub-belief, to reflect the proto-religious beliefs of early cultures before adopting an organized religious culture. This is historically accurate, even the faiths of Judaism, Islam, and Christianity all have evidence of such (especially as depicted early in Genesis and Exodus), but may concern the devout of such beliefs. In practice, however, this is depicted absent any depiction of practices and serves as yet another game modifier with interchangeable effects for all player civilizations.

Morally and ethically, you are portrayed as a world leader, and you may either practice war only for defensive purposes and good-faith diplomacy, or you may practice aggressive war and break diplomatic agreements whenever you so choose, both are left open as viable styles of play. Otherwise, there are no outstanding moral issues of any major concern.

For a free and open-source "demake" clone of Civilization V, I would consider this a very competent free alternative to Civilization V. It's got some technical issues to be worked on, but it's a remarkably solid game that is still being improved on regardless. Morally, it's somewhat less objectionable in some regards to the already mild Civilization V. As someone who enjoyed Civilization V, I found UnCiv provided the same amount of fun for free, and would heavily recommend it.