Civ is a game not for everyone but it is fun. You got to commandeer a nation from stone club warriors to giant death robots which is an actual unit. You have the nation's economy, culture, religion, tourism, and militarism to worry about along with other countries opinion of you so you can ally yourself with them or decimate their empire.
By being a vey complicated, long and involved game does have it's disadvantages such as a short game takes about 4 hours and a long on can take a lifetime if dragged on like monopoly. My friend called it "Extremely complicated Risk," which it is. I think you should play it though to find out. If you want a cheaper version got Civilization Revolution on the phone which is less complicated and more militaristic. Peace!