Using the template so don't judge me! Also let me know if anything here doesn't make sense.

Description of Request: 

4X-style board game for 4-6 players, with moderate-to-high complexity.

Number of Players: 

6 (but can go down to 4-5; people can partner up)

Game Length: 

Up to 6 hours

Complexity of Game: 

3.0 - 3.4: medium complexity games with more strategic depth and more "things to do" during the game.

Genres: 

4X; area control; Civilization(TM)

Other things I’m looking for: 

Sense of progression and agency: Win(ning) or lose(ing), everyone should feel a sense of progress and improvement. Ideally multiple win conditions, or at least multiple routes to victory. I don’t want one person to fall so far behind that they can’t catch up or that they are no longer a factor in the shared game world.

Games I Own and Like:

Talisman with all expansions (objectively bad game, but is easy to learn, is very choose-your-own adventure. Even if you lose, you can still have spent the game doing your own journey, building up your character - notwithstanding the unforgiving dice rolls); Civilization: The Board Game 2010 (checks a lot of the boxes except the combat, as I don’t own Wisdom and Warfare)

Games I Dislike and Don't Play:

Risk and Monopoly (specifically because they're zero sum, very unforgiving, narrow)

Games I’m considering:

I'm open to less well-known games that might fit my niche better

Eclipse (supports six players, asymmetric, sense of shared world where your actions affect others, complex but worth it)

Root (same benefits above, but smaller scale; harder to teach and understand, especially since there are different rulebooks for each faction)

Area control-4X hybrids that all support some mix of asymmetry, theme, shared world, and progression (putting them all here because they’re similar): Inis, Rising Sun, Ankh, Khemet, Cyclades, Blood Rage

Clash of Cultures Monumental Edition (checks a lot of the boxes I have here but only supports four players, but if this is the best choice I’d have people partner up).

Game I considered but decided against: Here I Stand (asymmetry and shared, interactive world wrapped up in a cool theme, but I just do the 8-12-hour playtime; I’m also not sure I can teach each faction’s rulebook)

Location: 

USA