Best Value 4X Games Under $20

The 4X games on Steam games under $20 that deliver the most playtime per dollar: median reviewer hours divided by current price.

All Indie Action Adventure Simulation RPG Strategy Co-op Open World Story Rich Casual Funny Survival Difficult Pixel Graphics PvP Horror Anime Puzzle Rogue-like Relaxing Turn-Based Strategy Local Co-Op Psychological Horror Hack and Slash Platformer MMO RTS Immersive Sim Post-apocalyptic Action Roguelike City Builder Life Sim Zombies Sports Racing Survival Horror Stealth Bullet Hell Dungeon Crawler Visual Novel JRPG Deckbuilding Grand Strategy Cyberpunk Tower Defense Clicker Fighting Open World Survival Craft Boomer Shooter Colony Sim Farming Sim Cozy Auto Battler Cooking Twin Stick Shooter Metroidvania 4X Souls-like Dating Sim MMORPG

By price

Any priceUnder $5Under $10Under $20Under $40
Median reviewer playtime divided by price. Reviewers tend to sink more hours in than the average owner, so treat this as an optimistic estimate. Free games are excluded because there's no price to divide by.
  1. 1Sid Meier's Civilization III Complete12 h/$
  2. 2Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword9.9 h/$
  3. 3ENDLESS Space 26.4 h/$
  4. 4HUMANKIND4.0 h/$
  5. 5The Battle of Polytopia3.6 h/$
  6. 6Fantasy General II3.3 h/$
  7. 7ENDLESS Legend3.3 h/$
  8. 8STAR WARS Empire at War - Gold Pack3.0 h/$
  9. 9Microcivilization2.6 h/$
  10. 10NEBULOUS: Fleet Command2.3 h/$
  11. 11Hero's Hour1.8 h/$
  12. 12Songs of Conquest1.6 h/$
  13. 13Heart of the Machine1.5 h/$
  14. 14Ara History Untold: Anniversary Edition 1.4 h/$
  15. 15Breachway1.4 h/$
  16. 16Hexarchy0.6 h/$

How the math works: we sample each game’s Steam reviewers, take the median of their total recorded playtime (lifetime hours, not hours at the time of review), and divide it by the game’s current price in your selected currency. Reviewers usually sink more hours in than the average owner, so the numbers run generous. Free games aren’t listed because there’s no price to divide by, and a game needs playtime data from at least 20 reviewers before it qualifies. All prices are Steam’s own regional prices, never exchange-rate conversions.