Life & fun · alternatives · 2026

24 alternatives to FreeCiv

Open source empire-building game inspired by Civilization

Below are 24 products that do a similar job, ranked by how close each is in meaning and then by launch-day votes. FreeCiv launched in 2015; newer entries below may have overtaken it.

1. 1
   Full Freeciv client running on WebAssembly▲97

   Play Freeciv online! Freeciv is an empire-building strategy game starting at the dawn of time. Can you survive to dominate a modern world?

   2022 · freecivweb.com · its alternatives →

2. 2FW
   Freeciv-Web▲212

   2019 · freecivweb.org · its alternatives →

3. 3
   FreeCol▲63

   Open source 4X game inspired by Colonisation

   2015 · its alternatives →

4. 4OR
   OpenRA – RTS project that recreates Command and Conquer games▲131

   2014 · openra.res0l.net · its alternatives →

5. 5
   Mars Colonies▲67

   A free old-school RTS... on Mars

   2015 · its alternatives →

6. 6FE
   Freeciv-Earth play anywhere on earth▲63

   2016 · play.freeciv.org · its alternatives →

7. 7FH
   Freeciv, HTML5 open source version▲197

   2014 · play.freeciv.org · its alternatives →

8. 8
   Civilization VI▲120

   The next entry in the long running Civ franchise

   2016 · its alternatives →

9. 9
   Playing LongTurn FreeCiv with Friends▲88

   Contribute to ndroo/freeciv.andrewmcgrath.info development by creating an account on GitHub.

   Mar 2026 · github.com · its alternatives →

10. 10
    0 A. D.▲99

    A free, open-source game of ancient warfare

    2015 · its alternatives →

11. 11CA
    Crown – A flexible game engine written from scratch in C++▲193

    2017 · github.com · its alternatives →

12. 12FW
    Freeciv-web HTML5 strategy game updated today▲21

    2014 · play.freeciv.org · its alternatives →

13. 13
    Slam City Oracles▲74

    A rambunctious Katamari-meets-Grand Theft Auto physics game

    2015 · its alternatives →

14. 14
    Open Red Alert▲78

    Free RTS game that recreates the classic Command & Conquer

    2015 · its alternatives →

15. 15
    Artificial Superintelligence▲106

    Build the world’s first sentient supercomputer

    2017 · its alternatives →

16. 16LE
    Lumix Engine – Open source C++ 3D game engine▲260

    2017 · github.com · its alternatives →

17. 17
    Empire of Code▲63

    A space game with a mix of strategy, tactics and coding.

    2015 · its alternatives →

18. 18TA
    Toy – A thin C++ game engine▲180

    2018 · hugoam.github.io · its alternatives →

19. 19IM
    I made a browser-based RTS game▲212

    I've posted this game here before, hopefully a repost is fine as the game has changed quite a bit (improved AI, improved mapeditor, much quicker gameplay, etc). Game is based on JavaScript/Canvas and WebSockets. On the browser side the map is pre-rendered (as a background image), just the mobile units/buildings and animations are dynamically rendered. The lobby server is made in node.js, but the game server is C++ for performance reasons (mainly the pathfinding). I found the C++ WebSocket libraries out there to be too difficult to use so I made my own based on the rfc. Overall I…

    2022 · battle-of-flags.com · its alternatives →

20. 20
    Tharsis▲66

    A turn-based space strategy game.

    2016 · its alternatives →

21. 21
    Nuclear Throne▲63

    A brutal, yet adorable, roguelike shooter

    2015 · its alternatives →

22. 22
    Crown and Council▲60

    Mojang made a free casual strategy game

    2016 · its alternatives →

23. 23
    Impossible Creatures▲60

    The classic gene-splicing RTS is re-released on Steam.

    2015 · its alternatives →

24. 24OS
    Open-source Advance Wars-like game▲9

    2024 · github.com · its alternatives →

Ranked by how close each launch is in meaning, then by votes. Prices were read from each product’s own site when checked and can change. Refine with your own description →