In the run up to Civilization: Beyond Earth’s release this Friday, Civilization V is free to play on Steam until the 23rd of October. Warm up before you jet off into space or try your hand at Civ for the first time, this offer allows everyone to try their hand at nation building before the latest edition of the Civilization franchise is released.

Note that this offer only gives you access to the base game, and does not allow you to play Brave New World, the expansion pack which reforms many of the core mechanics of Civilization V.

Are you excited for Beyond Earth? Does this offer give you the chance to finally try Civilization without having to buy the full game? Tell us your thoughts and look out for our review of Civilization: Beyond Earth in the near future.