Seconding: I view "Through the Ages" as the spiritual incarnation of Civ in board-game form; it produces the vibe one seeks from Civ, although the mechanics are

Seconding: I view "Through the Ages" as the spiritual incarnation of Civ in board-game form; it produces the vibe one seeks from Civ, although the mechanics are hugely different. The designer, Vlada Chvatil, makes amazing games. Others to check out are "Dungeon Lords" (which is to Dungeon Keeper what TTA is to Civ) and "Original War" (a fascinatingly different RTS). The mobile game for TTA is solid, and has a set of variant challenge modes for single-player play that are pretty fun.