Some people are addicted to chocolate, other people are addicted to playing online poker, and others still are addicted to black tar heroin. While I do confess to have a sweet tooth, my true addiction is the the Civilization game series. The venerable 4X strategy game from the brilliant brain of Sid Meier is celebrating its twenty-fifth anniversary this year with the release of Civilization VI. Published by 2K and developed by Firaxis Games, Civilization VI represents the culmination of a quarter-century of gameplay innovation and looks to push the envelope even further — which is saying something considering the ways in which Civilization has loomed large over the 4X landscape.

Recently, I hosted the official Firaxis Games Civilization VI panel at PAX West in Seattle, WA where art director Brian Busatti, designer/gameplay programmer Brian Feldges, and associate producer Sarah Darney joined me on stage to talk about the game’s impressive new mechanics. In addition to discussing unstacking cities and active research,  we also touched on returning features like espionage and religion, and a brand new fan-requested civilization. Although our wide-ranging conversation went on for an hour, we have condensed the panel into a handy-dandy highlight reel so you can relive the experience of being there even if you were stuck at home.

Civilization VI comes to PC on October 21, 2016. Coincidentally, I would like to formally request off October 21 for totally unrelated reasons.

Will you be playing Civilization VI? What do you think of the new gameplay mechanics? Let us know in the comments below.

Image: 2K/Firaxis

Dan Casey is the senior editor of Nerdist and the author of books about Star Wars and the Avengers. Follow him on Twitter (@Osteoferocious).