Civilisation V free to play this weekend

Looking for something to do this holiday weekend? How about a free trial of Civilization V? Steam is offering free access to the full Civilization V experience until 4pm Eastern on Sunday, May 27. Players must have Steam installed in order to access the game; click here to download. If you miss the free window, Steam is also offering a steep discount for those who want to purchase Sid Meier's Civilization V: Game of the Year. From now until noon Eastern on Monday, gamers can snap up the game for $12.49, a 75 percent discount from the original $49.99 price tag. Civilization 5, the PC strategy game, made its debut in Sept. 2010. At the time, PCMag's Matt Murray found that the game "remains the computer gaming equivalent of crack cocaine," but said that "it's ultimately more a reboot than a revelation." Last year saw the release of CivWorld, a social version of the game for Facebook users. That came several months after a three-map expansion pack and a low-cost scenario pack were introduced, which added the Polynesian civilization and its ruler Kamehameha.