(pronounced “zero-ey-dee”) is a free, open-source, historical Real Time Strategy (RTS) game currently under development by Wildfire Games, a global group of volunteer game developers. As the leader of an ancient civilization, you must gather the resources you need to raise a military force and dominate your enemies.' Mar 20, 2020  As you check them out, we only have two requests for you. First, be sure to tell us about any great Mac free games we missed. And second, if you can, send some financial love to the developers. Game development is a hard road to.

Civilization 6 on Mac can’t be considered new anymore, yet this turn-based strategy game is still one of the best strategy games for Mac available today.

Civilization games are famous for their deep strategy. Looks have never been their forte and you might be wondering why even bother asking if you can run it. After all, turn-based games have simple graphics and are easy to run, right? Not so fast…

Civilization 6 has beautiful graphics and while it might not be as sophisticated as Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, it still requires a ton of horsepower to run.

In this review:

So let’s see how demanding this game is and whether your Mac has what it takes to run it.

What’s new with Civilizations 6 on Mac?

Civilization 6 received its newest Expansion, Gathering Storm, on February 14, 2019. As well as the expected additions (such as new civilizations and units), the game also received a completely new gameplay feature: Global Warming.

You can read more about it below.

First things first, is the game any good?

Released in late 2016, Civilization 6 has more than proven itself to be a safe purchase. The reviews all agree: Civilization 6 is a beast.

PC Gamer, for example, didn’t spare any compliments and gave it 93/100 score, concluding:

Sight, sound, and systems harmonize to make Civilization 6 the liveliest, most engrossing, most rewarding, most challenging 4X in any corner of the earth.

With an 88 Metascore, Civ 6 gets dangerously close to the Masterpiece status, usually reserved for games with a 90 Metascore or more:

As usual, users were, on the other hand, more critical. The game has 70% Positive reviews, which isn’t bad, but not great either. I don’t want to downplay the opinion of the average gamer, but always take Steam reviews with a grain of salt.

For instance, among the game’s more than 37,200 user reviews (which is huge by the huge), there are people with over 145 hours of playtime that still don’t recommend it because it has paid DLC…

A new Expansion: Gathering Storm

Rise and Fall, the game’s first major Expansion, dared to make significant changes and enhancements. Most notably, it introduced the Loyalty system, Golden and Dark ages, improved Alliances and more.

Essentially, it made Civ 6 more rich and complex.

Now Gathering Storm, the game’s second Expansion, takes Civ 6 to the next level. With the introduction of a new World Congress and a World Climate system, the game delivers a more dynamic and rich experience, especially when you reach the end game and start seeing the real consequences of your earlier choices.

While expensive for an Expansion ($40), Gathering Storm makes a great game even better.

Cross-platform multiplayer

For a while, Civ 6 on Mac suffered from receiving late updates, disabling cross-platform Multiplayer with Windows users.

The situation is much better now, as Aspyr finally made cross-platform multiplayer possiblein 2018:

Cross-platform multiplayer is now available between Mac and Windows on Steam. That’s right! Download the latest update of Sid Meier’s Civilization VI and conquer together online now!

Bottom line

I used to think Civ 5 was perfection. I even wondered how Firaxis could make it any better. Well, they did. Civilization 6 feels familiar, yet both gameplay and graphcis are superior.

This is one of the best strategy games you can play on your Mac.

Civilization 6 Mac requirements

We like testing the waters and see if unsupported machines can run a game, but you shouldn’t. Before going any further, you should make sure your Mac meets the game’s minimum system requirements:

• OS: macOS 10.11 (El Capitan) and 10.12 (Sierra)
• Processor: 2.7 GHz Intel Core i5 (4 cores)
• RAM: 6GB
• Hard Disk: 15 GB
• Graphics: 1GB Radeon HD 6790, GeForce 775M, Iris Pro or better

Civ 6 officially supports the following graphics cards:

• NVIDIA GeForce 650M, 675MX, 680MX, 750M, 755M
• ATI Radeon HD 5750, HD 5770, HD 5870, HD 6750, HD 6770
• Intel HD Graphics 4000, 5000, 5300, 6000, Iris, 515

If you don’t have one of these cards, I’m afraid this game isn’t for you…

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The Test: Can you play Civilization 6 on Mac?

So the game is great and all but can your Mac run it? To give you a proper answer, we did what we do best and tested the game on as many Macs as possible:

• MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2017): 3.1 GHz Intel Core i7, 16 GB RAM, Intel Radeon Pro 560 (4GB)
• MacBook Pro (13-inch, Late 2016): 2.0 GHz Intel Core i5, 8 GB RAM, Intel Iris Graphics 540 (1.5GB)
• iMac (5K, 27-inch, Late 2014): 3.5 GHz Intel Core i5, 8 GB RAM, AMD Radeon R9 M290X (2GB)
• Mac Mini (Late 2014): 2.5 GHz Intel Core i5, 8 GB RAM, Intel Iris 5100 (1.5GB)
• MacBook Pro (13-inch, Mid 2012): 5.5 GHz Intel Core i5, 4 GB RAM, Intel HD Graphics 4000 (1.5GB)

Notice the 2016 MacBook Pro, 2014 Mac Mini and 2012 MacBook Pro do not meet the recommended system requirements, but more on that below.

Why these machines?

The purpose of these reviews is to help as many of you as we can which is why we test our games on machines as different from each other as possible.

Hopefully, one of these Macs will be close enough to yours to provide results you can use really at home.

These are the settings we used to run Civilization 6’s internal benchmark :

• 1280×800 (or equivalent 1344×756) resolution
• Medium Preset
• Anti Aliasing: MSAA 2X

Using the in-game benchmark tool, we tested the game on all Macs using the same settings.

The Results: Civ 6 shouldn’t be this demanding

The results were much lower than expected, but there’s more than meets the eye here:

Keeping in mind that we aim for 30 frames per second (FPS) or more, most of the results here are poor and suggest that Civilization 6 is unplayable on anything other than a high-end Mac. But things are a little more complicated. 10-15 FPS is unacceptable for a racing game or a shooter, but for a turn-based strategy game?

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Also, the in-game benchmark is particularly demanding because it takes place very late in the game when lots of units are on screen. Let’s look at the different scenarios and see what can be realistically expected from the game.

As a reminder, this is how we describe the different levels of performance:

• Below 20 FPS: Unplayable: Laggy gameplay, full of stutters and slowdowns.
• 20-30 FPS: Borderline: Can be OK in slow-paced games. Still, not optimal.
• 30-45 FPS: Playable: Acceptable for most (most gaming consoles do this).
• 45-60 FPS: Smooth: Fluid gameplay, with no perceivable stutters.
• 60+ FPS: Very Smooth: For hardcore and professional players, a luxury for most.

Can my Mac run Civilization 6?

If you have a recent Mac with a dedicated graphics card, Civilization 6 will run just fine: smoothly and with no perceivable stutters. In fact, even older models can handle it, provided they have a powerful graphics card.

That said, getting barely 30 FPS on our high-end 27-inch iMac is disappointing. After all, I can easily play Rise of the Tomb Raider on it. How can it barely run Civ 6?

The issue is most certainly coming from the fact Civilization 6 does not support Metal and has to run on the aging OpenGL graphics engine. This explains why we’re seeing similar performance compared to Deus Ex: Mankind Divided’s, a much more graphically intensive game that runs on Metal.

But luckily, Civ 6’s gameplay is much more forgiving (and acceptable at 20-30 FPS) than Mankind Divided’s. More on that below.

Can you play Civilization 6 on a MacBook Pro?

If you have a MBP with dedicated graphics, you should be fine. Our test 15-inch MBP runs the game at a decent 27.75 FPS.

But what if you have a MBP with only integrated graphics? This is where it gets tricky. If we look simply at the results from our 2016 13-inch MacBook Pro, I would seem Civ 6 in unplayable on a 13-inch MBP (13 FPS on average). But Civ 6 benefits from a very particular type of gameplay: turn-based strategy. This means you don’t need super-fast frames to enjoy it.

I played this game for a few hours while on a trip and had a great time. You can have fun playing it on a similar Mac too, but you’ll have to compromise.

Running the game at the same 1280×800 resolution as before, but with settings set to Minimum and Anti-Aliasing off, it ran at an average 22.70 FPS.

While playing the game around turn 137 (with a decent quantity of units on screen) we got 26.3 FPS. Still low, but more than enough to enjoy such a game. This is far from ideal and I would not recommend it to those who need 60 FPS at 4K to enjoy a game, but this is decent enough to play this baby on the road.

But what if you have an older Mac?

Unlike Mankind Divided, you can still launch the game on machines that do not meet the system requirements, such as our 2012 MacBook Pro.

But running at barely 9 FPS on a 2014 Mac Mini and 6 FPS on a 13-inch 2012 MBP, you should stay away from this game unless you meet the system requirements.

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You can always test the always popular and slightly less demanding Civilization 5 or the excellent Into the Breach.

PS: These are our favorite accessories for playing/testing games on Mac!

Download Civilization 6 for Mac

Civilization 6 is available from most digital stores and prices are stable across the board. You can really get it from your store of choice.

The real question is what version you should get and whether or not you should get the Expansions separately or as part of a bundle or special Edition. In the end, it will depend on how bad you want extra content such as previous Expansions, Packs, new Civs, etc.

Civilization 6 Mac Review

Civilization 6 is, without a doubt, one of the finest strategy games available. It looks great, plays great and is easily the best Civ game to date. Too bad the game's performance requirements are so high... You will need a surprisingly powerful machine to properly run this turn-based game.

Disclaimer: Some of the links above are affiliate links, which means that if you choose to make a purchase, I will earn a commission (this is how we pay the bills). This commission comes at no additional cost to you.

Myst is an adventurous puzzle game where players take control of the main character in the Myst Island. It is all about revealing mysterious books that open up new worlds and eras. Gradually along with your journey in the island, you explore several things and get to know the entire story. The article here is to describe you the games like Myst that fulfill your gameplay desire that remain same as Myst.

Gameplay in the Myst offers a first-person perspective with the point and click mechanism. The Game offers multiple endings, so your actions here describe the ending. Now, let’s know more about these fifteen alternative games.

Myst Game Details:

Platforms: Mac OS, Saturn, PlayStation, 3DO, Microsoft Windows, Atari Jaguar CD, CD-i, AmigaOS, PlayStation Portable, Nintendo DS, iOS, Nintendo 3DS, Android
Genres: Graphic adventure, puzzle
Modes: Single-player

Myst IV Revelation System Requirements (minimum)

• RAM: 128 MB (256 MB required if running Win XP)
• CPUSPEED: 700 mhz
• CPU: Pentium III or Athlon
• OS: Windows 98/ME/2000/XP (95 & NT not supported)
• DIRECTXVERSION: 9.0 (included)
• VIDEOCARD: 32 MB DirectX 9 compliant video card(GeForce2+ /Radeon 7000+ /Intel 865G+)
• FREEDISK SPACE: 3 GB for minimum install
• SOUND CARD: Yes
• DVD-ROM: Yes

15 Games like Myst

Check out our 2018 collections of free games like Myst for Android, PC, PS4, Xbox, on Steam with System Requirements.

#1 Obduction

The game world offers an alien environment where you as a human gets dropped in a strange place. This place looks like the alien land so the landscapes seem a combination of earth and alien world. Here your journey starts with finding the path back to home, so exploration takes place that gets you several puzzles to solve and step forward.

Gameplay offers the first person perspective that is a point and click system just like Myst, so you are not going to feel the same experience. A unique ability is that you can test the elements to solve the puzzle and this all happens in a 3D environment.

Platforms: PlayStation 4, Microsoft Windows, Mac

#2 XON Episode One

Another inspiration for Myst that seems appealing with the beautiful landscapes. A very fine background music always runs along and adds a perfect aura with the spectacular environments.

XON Episode One is an open world game where you feel almost no restrictions and explores wherever you want. The atmosphere contains an alien-like land, so it’s like a mixture of land and alien earth regarding technology and other objects.

Gameplay depends on puzzle solving genre where adventure follows you along. The blend of human and alien elements makes it a unique aspect to play. All in all, you are not going to miss Myst after getting into the world of XON.

Platforms: Android

#3 Timelapse

Here the player is on the role of an adventurer who gets a call from the Professor Alexander Nichols. You get an invitation to reach Easter Island but when you reach you find nothing except professor’s journal and camera. The entire puzzle-solving scenario is based on the lost city of Atlantis.

From here the gameplay begins that take you to explore several strange lands of Egypt, Maya, and Anasazi. Your mission is to reach Atlantis to get your friend Nichols and for this player must establish a series of several tasks and puzzles. Additionally, gameplay allows you to read that left journal to get help on the adventure.

Platforms: Microsoft Windows, Mac

#4 Ether One

One of the Myst alternatives and in the game you play the role of a memory restorer. You reconstruct the memory of a lady who has been suffering from a mental illness. So the entire storyline depends on getting the memory of patient from their childhood to current and sort them using the proper technology.

The gameplay depends on puzzle solving where you solve several mysteries while restoring the memories. Gameplay takes you in the town of Pinwheel where you start performing tasks. The puzzle solving begins with the most straightforward puzzle and with the time it gets deep and somewhat difficult.

Platforms: PlayStation 4, Microsoft Windows

#5 XING: The Land Beyond

The game drops you in the land called XING where your adventure starts after your death, so you work as a ghost in the puzzle solving genre. As your journey begins, you start solving all the mysteries and stories to experience how life seems after death.

So being an afterlife environment, the world of XING always attracts players to try the puzzle based game. The gameplay in Xing offers a first-person perspective where it all depends on your logical and creative mind. There are several environments to explore such as jungle, desert, mountain, and island and all these look so beautiful.

Platforms: PlayStation 4, Microsoft Windows

#6 Dream

Here you are in the role of Howard Phillips who is at the young age and spending a boring life that seems stuck. But the adventure begins when you as a character get communicative dreams.

Your journey starts with solving the meaning of these dreams in the form of puzzles and find out more about your future with every solved mystery. The gameplay offers a 3D environment where you discover paths to get the meaning of your life. A unique feature also keeps you from repeating the same environment again and again, and the gameplay offers you three endings based on your actions.

Platform: Steam

#7 The Witness

The game sets you on an island that is a large open world to explore. It is like a classic form of Myst where you solve each puzzles using the visuals and audios on the track. The character is like roaming on an island which has no memory at all land collecting puzzles to find the existence. This entire journey takes you more than 500 puzzles that you solve and finds clues to discover yourself.

Best Games Like Civilization

Gameplay seems like making use of puzzle-based genre very intelligently. The game is full of uniqueness that makes you addicted to the gameplay where all the environments seem spectacular to explore regularly.

Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360, iOS, Android, Mac

#8 Machinarium

A game that offers you the point and click style just like Myst. The adventure is full of colorful aura but features no audio. The overall gameplay is based on puzzle solving that sets your path to find those Easter eggs and get collect every part of the story one by one. The dual-tier hint system that gets you, even more, help when you feel lost or stuck.

The gameplay is very engaging as you almost find yourself busy in playing and forget that it’s a puzzle-solving scenario. So the game deserves begins here among the Myst alternatives.

Platforms: Windows, OS X, Linux, PlayStation 3,4, Vita, Android

#9 Atlantis: The Lost Tales

Just like its name, the game takes you to the puzzle solving adventure that is oriented to the lost city of Atlantis. Here you take the role of Seth who is a personal protector of the Queen of Atlantis. Now, after the queen is missing so, you go on the journey of investigating things and finding your queen.

The gameplay is a first-person perspective with 3D graphics that are amazingly decorated within the game world. There are several environments to explore and collect the cures that take you forward to find the queen. As the puzzle goes on you, find a bit difficulty in every phase, and that’s what keeps you engaged.

Platforms: Windows, PlayStation, Mac, Sega Saturn, DOS, MS-DOS, IBM PC compatible

#10 The Whispered World

The game adds up a clown based fantasy world where you join as Sadwick, a sad clown, getting all weird dreams. The clown feels disturbed with these dreams and decides to take a walk in the nearby forest. There he meets characters and starts getting the meaning of his dreams. So the journey takes you forward solving the mysteries of Chadwick’s life.

The gameplay offers you a classic mechanic that is point and click to continue your adventure.

The spectacular aura and the unique mechanisms make it all worth to play. The gameplay brings out the 2D side-scrolling mechanism in the single-player mode with the NPC characters.

Platforms: Windows, Mac

#11 Gray Matter

The world takes you around Oxford, London where you join the character of Samantha who is a magician and performs on the street. Sam’s life seems fine until she gets her bike broken and takes shelter in David’s mansion. This is where the adventure begins when she finds several types of research of David. Slowly she starts solving them and knows more about the mansion.

Gameplay is point and click where you take up new puzzle via the NPCs where you also sometimes play as the professor David. The puzzle things bring you several types such as visual puzzles, word games, riddles, and some magic tricks too.

Platforms: Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows

#12 Hiversaires

Hiversaires justifies the same genre that is puzzle solving and brings you the point and click, this way it is here as one of the Myst like games. The fantastic thing is the availability of the smartphone platforms for giving you the mysterious play. Another great thing is that Hiversaires doesn’t make it too difficult to play. Hence it’s like the simplest form of the puzzle solving genre.

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Gameplay offers you proper tutorials, so you understand the game world easily. The challenges solving mechanics are satisfying enough, so you believe in your creativity and apply logic.

The soundtrack makes the journey enjoyable, and it is really a mood booster.

#13 The Longest Journey

The Longest Journey is more like a complex system for solving puzzles, so you keep scratching your brain to get going in the mesmerizing world. The game world takes you in the parallel universes where being the character April Ryan you can switch between these universes.

There are several objects you get to interact while solving puzzles about the game world. The long length dialogues make it more enjoyable and understandable, and it’s a unique aspect too. Other than that, gameplay also brings you several locations that are wid to explore, amazing characters, and a deep amount of content to make the journey long.

Platforms: Windows, iOS

#14 Real Myst

If you really miss playing Myst and Real Myst is another game that you must try to experience even more improved gameplay. It is like another form of Myst but with extra features that you can get on IOS or just PC. The game world is huge, so it gives you free roaming in that 3D world. A weather system is activated too so players can feel being in different atmospheres like rain, sunsets, and thunderstorm while moving out puzzles.

The gameplay remains same as the original one where you will feel improved soundtrack, environments, navigation, interaction to the objects, and other exciting features. This way, the game is such a perfect one among the Myst like games.

Platforms: Microsoft Windows, iOS, Macintosh operating systems, Android

#15 Syberia

A mix up of elements that promotes innovative features plus historical settings too. It is the unique thing about the game that anyone can easily feel while playing. This is the role of Kate Walker who has been regularly making attempts to sell the law firm and maintaining a not so good relationship with her fiancé.

The gameplay requires the puzzles to be solved in a remote village using the third person perspective. Using the mouse controls you can interact to the objects, solve puzzles, and move forward. The game has wide content to offer, and there is no chance of getting stuck with any decision you make.

Platforms: Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, Xbox, Windows Mobile, Nintendo DS, Android, OS X, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, iOS, Nintendo Switch

Conclusion

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All the games like Myst follow the puzzle solving genre and each of them features some new and unique. So I am sure you can’t go wrong with any of them while finding a Myst alternative.

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So keep enjoying playing the alternatives and share your opinions here.