In Civilization: Revolution, you take on the role of a benevolent dictator, leading your citizens through the various ages of history, starting from their days as a tribal nation and progressing all the way to modern day.
Unlike its predecessors, the complexity and difficulty in CivRev has been significantly toned down in favour of more cartoony graphics and a simpler game mechanic. According to Sid Meier, the creator of the series, 'this is the game I always wanted to create.'
Your civilization will face challenges in the form of neighbouring and rivalling civilizations controlled by the computer. At first, every new nation is friendly to you, but as time progresses, the battle for world domination by each civilization forces the player to defend their borders and make strategic diplomatic decisions. There are 4 ways to achieve victory: Domination (capture all enemy civilization capital cities), Technological (launch a space station destined for Alpha Centauri and colonize it), Economic (aquire 20,000 gold pieces, then build the world bank), and cultural (combine for a total of 20 cultural achievements, then build the United Nations).
The game is highly addictive. You'll find yourself playing a game from start to end without wanting to pull yourself away. When you KNOW you should pull yourself away, you'll find yourself saying 'just one more turn... okay, just ONE more turn...'
Finally, from an educational standpoint, the game also includes a game-specific encyclopedia (the Civilopedia) which contains a brief summary on every aspect of the game, so if you ever have a curious fascination with who Charles Babbage was, or the significance of the Alphabet as a technology, the game has it right there for you. A great mix of education and fun.