I love Civ 5, but after playing it so much I can't help but feel burned out. Still, I'd like to play more like it. Tried playing 4 once a long time ago, but didn't click with me. I played 6 on a free weekend and it was strange, maybe it could grow on me, but it and the DLC are still pretty expensive.

I have never been able to get into an RTS game ever, despite many attempts, the gameplay just makes my eyes glaze over; so turn-based is a must. On the other hand, grand strategy like Crusader Kings feel like taking a second job.

Is Civilization 5 the only 4X game out there that is both great and accessible?

Not if you count slightly older ones, nah. There are a bunch if you can handle a fantasy setting. Age of Wonders 2 and Shadow Magic; Warlock 2, Disciples 2 (more of a 2.5X, honestly, but I'd feel badly if I didn't mention it), Fallen Enchantress, Endless Legend. Sci fi work? Alpha Centauri's real good, Galactic Civilizations 2 is justifiably a classic. Stellaris. There are a bunch more but I'm drawing blanks right now :/

EDIT: I should add, if you really like the 1UPT style, most of those suggestions won't amaze you. Warlock is 1UPT, but that may be it. I forget Stellaris but I seem to have left it a positive review :P

Kind of OT here but I am an RTS junky and I DO NOT consider Crusader Kings RTS.
Starcraft, Warcraft, Command & Conquer, Empire Earth, THOSE ARE RTS.
Just looking at Crusader Kings, I think I'd fall asleep too. :P

And ON Topic, kind of, the best and most accessible 4X (IMHO) is virtually unplayable now, STARS!
I am AWFUL at the genre but STARS! (yes the exclamation is part of the title) was as simple or complicated as you wanted, and everything was really streamlined so the basics of learning it were simple. Being good at it was the hard part.

Alas, now a days I think you'd need a virtual machine to get it running.

To be fair, he does (correctly, I think?) call CK "Grand strategy" instead of lumping it in with RTS

Did I miss that?
Shit.

Sorry DaCosta. I can't read. :P

I'm not sure if Sins of a Solar Empire counts as 4X, considering the really heavy emphasis on massive fleet battles, but there is enough of maintaining an empire of planets on the side.
Stars In Shadow, though, is great stuff, and one of the more streamlined empire building games.

This was just on sale. Do you have it?

https://www.gog.com/game/star_wars_empire_at_war_gold_pack

It really depends what kind of thing you're looking for... And what you're willing to put up with.

For example Colonization (the original one on here, not the remake add on for Civ 4} is very fun and I would say quite easy to get into, but it's also very dated.

Stellaris is completely awesome, but it's very much Grand Strategy (though more interesting than Crusader Kings) so may not be up your alley.

I've just been playing through all the Endless series (Endless Space, Endless Legends and Endless Space 2) and would recommend all of them. The original Endless Space I would say is a good bet for streamlined and easy to get into, though the second is superior but far more complex.

I played Sins of a Solar Empire but actually found it more RTS like than 4X and was put off. Fallen Enchantress is alright but a bit rough around the edges (Endless Legends does a similar thing ten times better IMO).

Warlock is good fun, a little rough but very like Civ with magic added.

Why does everyone overlook Beyond Earth? Get it with Rising Tide, it's pretty damn good. BE is like Civ 5, underwhelming state on launch but after many patches and an expansion, it's well worth playing.

I remember looking at Endless Legends at some point and being turned off by the different versions and all the DLC available. Some of it seemed to introduce entirely new gameplay mechanics, like espionage. I don't think I saw a Complete version among them, or if I did the jump in price might have been what scared me away.

What is the version you would recommend I'd get? How important is the DLC? In Civ the expansions at least are vital to the experience. Sorry, I should've mentioned Beyond Earth, which I imagine I would sooner dedicate my time to before maybe moving on to Alpha Centauri. I do have it. I was in the middle of a playthrough, not quite feeling it. Rushing to claim land early on, and some of the environmental hazards and whatnot. I got a bit distracted playing something else, when I tried coming back to it the game simply wouldn't run. It'd crash on startup even though it had been fine before. I didn't manage to fix it, so I just uninstalled it and never got around to re-downloading it with my slow internet speed. I should probably give it another shot.

Age of Wonders (3? I think that's the one I had) didn't quite click with me right off the bat, but I admit I put very little time on it. It's another one I could stand to give another shot.

Stellaris looks a bit too RTS for my liking, but Galactic Civilizations seems to be turn-based, I had no idea. I do think I prefer the 1UPT (had to look that up :P) style though. No, I do not have it, but that's an RTS. I edited the OP to make it more clear that I really don't go for RTS games. I can't quite explain why. I tried playing Starcraft, Age of Empires 3, some Total War, I just find it real boring all those tiny units, clicking around, watching the animations play out. Weirdly though, I love Turn-based RPGs/SRPGs. I think the scale is smaller, there's less of an emphasis on crafting units, if at all, and the turn-based nature makes it feel more suspenseful perhaps, what with hoping your unit will survive or dodge an attack, or land a critical, etc.

I've played many of them, and, oddly, Master of Magic stays my favorite, the one I replay most often, even more than Civ3 and 4.

And it's no nostalgia either, as I discovered this game after most others, on GOG.

I know i played the original Civilization. Never got into the later ones, mostly because when i was 13 the move from 2D to isotropic was annoying, especially when i wasn't ready to use the mouse as much or memorize which directions meant what since everything is turned at a 45 degree angle for.... reasons?

MOO2 is good, although getting a guide of what to research in what order is suggested.

Other 4X games.... The Last Federation maybe.

I am not that huge on 4X games anymore....

*Technically*, Paradox Games are RTS (as in, players take actions at the same time), but the feel is totally different. You probably spend more time in pause than with the clock running.

A less extreme example would be Rise of Nations, which is clearly RTS (basically Age of Empires at Civilization scale), but allows to give orders with the game paused (and I paused a lot). I have even seen people consider it a different genre, "RTS with pause".

Can't really argue with that, as you have only 1 ship and can't 'expand'...

Although AI wars comes to mind as well, which i still haven't gotten past that song...