Freeciv, the free civilisation strategy game that draws a lot of inspiration from the not-so-free Civilization series of games, is now available in HTML5. That means that you can play the game – for free – on any internet-connected device that supports HTML5 browsers like the latest versions of Chrome and Firefox.
All you need to do to play Freeciv on your smartphone, tablet, or good old-fashioned desktop PC or laptop is to go into your browser on the device and head to the Freeciv site. You can start a basic single-player game, which will set you up against several AI players, or opt for multiplayer, in which case you need at least one other human person available before the game can begin. You can also play a scenario game, which lets you play under contrived conditions to make things a little more interesting. The site recommends that you start with the tutorial, which will teach you the basics of this web version of Freeciv.
Freeciv began back in 1996, but various people have continually updated the game since then. It is open source, so if you want to check out the code you can just look it up on GitHub. The game is closest in appearance and functionality to Civilization II at this stage, so it looks basic compared to modern games like Civilization V, but it is definitely a full game despite its lack of a price tag. Head over to the Freeciv website to try it out, and let us know what you think.
