A new week, a new chance to conquer some planets. That’s right readers, 4X space strategy game Galactic Civilizations III is free to keep on the Epic Games Store for the next week. Definitely one to consider if the idea of colonising an entire galaxy for precisely zero pounds appeals to you.

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OK, I know this is my second Have You Played…? to find an excuse to start by talking about Age Of Empires 2, and I imagine Alice Bee is making a proper wolf noise out of frustration as she edits this. I am almost sorry. But like a smug schoolboy proclaiming he’s “home” in a game of “it” by touching a tree, I’ve got a cast iron excuse here. Because Offworld Trading Company‘s lead developer Soren Johnson told me himself that this cracking solar-system economics-’em-up was directly inspired by the simple yet robust supply/demand modelling behind the market building in AoE2.

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Everyone loves a good space game, but sometimes it can feel like there are more space games to play than there are stars in the sky. Fortunately, we’re here to help with our list of all the best space games you can play on PC. Whether you’re a budding space cruiser captain, a wannabe space conqueror or an intrepid space-faring explorer, there’s a space game here for you.

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Economic space strategy game Offworld Trading Company will be far easier to play with friends soon – as of February 28th, the game’s multiplayer will be available as a free, standalone game. Mohawk Games’s extraterrestrial number-cruncher is still expanding, with more DLC due along with the multiplayer client, but the chance to play for free against other humans strikes me as the bigger deal here. With any luck it’ll help put the game back on the radar for folks looking for a new kind of RTS – destroying your foes without building any tanks is a hard sell, admittedly.

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Here’s a double giveaway to snap up now before it disappears early tomorrow. Available until 2pm GMT on Wednesday are a pair of good games that couldn’t be more different – Sins Of A Solar Empire: Rebellion by Ironclad Games is – depending on how you look at it – a mega-scale space RTS or a small, real-time 4X strategy game. Geneshift by Nik Nak Studios is a multiplayer (with bots) bit of knockabout fun inspired by the rather cyberpunk Grand Theft Auto 2. Both are free and if you snag them on Steam here and here now, you can keep them forever.

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If you go on Twitter, where every second image is of a dog being cuddled, rated, or dressed up as a Star Wars character, it’s a reasonable assumption that every> year is the year of the dog – however Valve, not to mention the ancient Chinese zodiac, are here to tell you that’s not the case. As of today, it legitimately is> the year of the dog, which is why Valve’s latest sale is adorned with images of famous game pups including Okami’s Amaterasu, Half-Life 2’s DOG, and I, er, don’t recognise any of the other doggos.

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Space games have experienced a rebirth over the past few years, particularly space sims, but as many in the comments pointed out, you don’t need to be sitting in a cockpit to enjoy the stars. This updated list broadens our search for the best space games on PC, throwing strategy games, roguelikes and at least one RPG into the mix.

Read on to see what the top picks are.

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Galactic Civilizations III [official site], the excellent space strategy game, has just received its biggest expansion yet.

The Crusade expansion pack adds new factions, spies, and powerful individual citizens that can take starring roles in your colonies. … [visit site to read more]

Following a few wee DLC packs, Offworld Trading Company [official site] is getting its first proper expansion. Named Jupiter’s Forge, it’s due later in spring. The swell sci-fi economic strategy game’s expansion will visit the harsh Jovian moon of Io, where Martian rules of business don’t apply. Players will get to eke out a spaceliving with new factions, a new campaign, a new challenge mode, new events, new buildings, and no water. That’s the perils of spacecapitalism for you. Here, check out how much Io sucks in the Jupiter’s Forge announcement trailer: … [visit site to read more]

Stardock and Ironclad Games have launched a surprise update for Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion [official site], their sparefaring RTS from 2012. The update brings engine improvements to let the game use more memory so it can crash less, it reduces stuttering in large battles, fixes AI bugs, supports modern high resolutions, adds options for higher-quality textures and shadows, and it generally makes Rebellion better. Not bad for a game that’s almost five years old. Rebellion is on sale for a few days too, with a hefty 75% discount. … [visit site to read more]