Can't wait to play your Steam copy of Civilization 5?

EDIT: I get a lot of hits to this entry when any Steam game is released in the states, but not in Europe.

To clarify, this method will work with any Steam game that you've got preloaded, but not released yet - as long as it's released in the states.

Also, I've discovered from using this method many times, that you don't need to do anything to the VPN/Steam once in game. What happens is, the VPN will disconnect, and steam will automatically reconnect using your real IP address - hence you can just keep on playing :) Unfortunately, you'll still need to do the VPN trick each time you run the game. Until it's released officially, that is ;)

Well you've come to the right place!

Follow these simple instructions, and get your Civ Crack fix TODAY!

1\ Make sure you've preloaded Civ V, and that Steam is OFF

2\ Download this file (it's a free demo from VPN company usaip.eu)

3\ Double click the file. You will see a window like this:

4\ Choose any USA PPTP connection (I chose California), and click Connect

5\ For the username and password, use "demo" (without quotations)

6\ Once connected, run Steam and decrypt the game!

Important
The proxy isn't the fastest, be patient.

Once the game is running, the VPN isn't needed any more. This demo VPN autodisconnects after 7 minutes. Put Steam in offline mode, or alt-tab to disconnect the VPN manually.

Unfortunately, each time you want to play the game you have to connect to the VPN then run Steam, as it seems that it keeps checking your IP each time it runs. If you don't do this, you'll be greeted with the "this game is preloaded and ready to play when released" message.

Enjoy.