Microcivilization - a review

Microcivilization is an interesting game. My friends know I love a good simulation game, especially if I get to build something, perhaps a city, colony, or civilization.

In the case of Microcivilization, the name implies we'll build a tiny civilization. The reality, though, is that the game has significant replayability. however, that comes with a huge dose of repetition.

The game starts simple enough. You have one person and need to click to make some more people. Then click to have them build homes. Then click to make soldiers. All this while researching what looks like the best part of the game to me - the technology tree.

If you're not familiar with this category of video game, the tech tree controls your progression and sometimes direction in the game. Games like Sid Meyer's Civilization series give you hundreds of thousands of unique directions as you choose branches based on various in-game dynamics.

In contrast, Microcivilization is very linear. You can't achieve the ultimate objective (ascension) without researching everything you've unlocked.

As you unlock more of the available tech tree, you're faced with upgrades to existing things you have delivered. This requires no real effort beyond repetitive clicking. And when I say that, I mean Microcivilization is basically a little click simulator. It will absolutely give your left mouse button a workout.

As you progress in clicking and creating more people and homes and unlocking technology, you will face various quests, also called crises, in the game. Some of these crises will be triggered on purpose, and others will be driven by mismanagement on the player's part.

For example, having too much empty housing will increase the risk of fire, a crisis like any other that you have to fight with your military and defensive assets. Another example is clicking too much on the main button. As you click, the temperature rises, and the button will eventually catch fire, requiring a cooldown period.

You will earn leader cards with specific bonuses and associated risks as you overcome these challenges or achieve certain milestones.

Some associated perks are very nice, such as automated building, military defense, or tech tree selection, which are otherwise manual tasks. This adds a nice dimension to the game, whereby the perks and risks provide some balance to the click-hell nature of the game.

Also, I'm being oddly specific when I say "available" tech tree. Once you have ascended, you're faced with an opportunity to choose from a much broader civilization tree. Here, you can choose bonuses for the current age or unlock the next age's tech tree, previously unavailable during the game.

Once you've selected, you start over. With your one person, no homes, no soldiers, nada. But, these ascension perks are permanent. Whether you choose a bonus to start resources or the next age of progression, you will carry that through every ascension in the future.

I think Microcivilization is a nice game you can lose yourself in for hours. Its primary drawback is the repetitive clicking you have to do. Even when balanced with automation and the worker mechanic, which I didn't cover, the game requires significant clicking effort and less strategy than I might like.

I'd give this game a measured 6/10. It's worth playing and is often on sale with Steam's seasonal sales. If you're a fan of builders and strategy games, you might enjoy this one as I have.