Aspyr Media said today that Sid Meier’s Civilization VI for iPad is now available on App Store.

If you’re a fan of strategy games and Sid Meier’s work, do yourself a favor and claim your free copy of Civilization VI right now because the game is free to try for the first 60 turns.

As noted by TouchArcade, that’s more than enough “for a fabulous introduction to the game series and this port.” I couldn’t agree more.

The iPad-only title offers plenty of features that will keep you busy expanding your empire across the map, advancing your culture and competing against history’s greatest leaders.

According to Aspyr:

Cities now physically expand across the map, active research in technology and culture unlocks new potential, and competing leaders will pursue their own agendas based on their historical traits as you race for one of five ways to achieve victory in the game.

You can play as one of 20 historical leaders.

Rebuilt with touch controls, it’s the first flagship entry in the popular turn-based strategy franchise (originally created by game designer Sid Meier) to be playable on the iOS platform.

Just tap units to select them, then drag a unit to a tile to move and attack.

You can also use the familiar pinch gesture to zoom the map, quickly close any menu with a three-finger tap or view tooltips by tapping and holding anywhere on the screen.

MFi controllers are not supported.

Here’s an overview of the game’s key features:

• Expansive empires—See the marvels of your empire spread across the map like never before. Each city spans multiple tiles so you can custom build your cities to take full advantage of the local terrain.

• Active research—Unlock boosts that speed your civilization’s progress through history. To advance more quickly, use your units to actively explore, develop your environment and discover new cultures.

• Dynamic diplomacy—Interactions with other civilizations change over the course of the game, from primitive first interactions where conflict is a fact of life to late game alliances and negotiations.

• Combined arms—Expanding on the “one unit per tile” design, support units can now be embedded with other units, like anti-tank support with infantry or a warrior with settlers. Similar units can also be combined to form powerful “Corps” units.

• Local multiplayer—In addition to traditional multiplayer modes, you can cooperate and compete with your friends in a wide variety of situations all designed to be easily completed in a single session.

• A Civ for all players—Civilization VI provides veteran players new ways to build and tune their civilization for the greatest chance of success. New tutorial systems introduce new players to the underlying concepts so they can easily get started.

Civilization VI supports any iOS 11-powered iPad model from the fifth-generation iPad or iPad Air 2 onward. iPhones are not supported. Keep in mind that the download includes the base game without additional downloadable content or the Rise and Fall expansion.

“We hope to support DLC and expansions in the future, but cannot confirm timing or availability at this time,” Aspyr said. You also cannot play on an iPad against friends who are on a Mac/PC.

Source: iDB