Way back in the day there was Emperor of the Fading Suns, a turn-based game you could play with friends (via email in this case). You take your turn, then the next player takes his, and so on until it's your turn again. Something like this would work well for my friends and I because of our varying schedules and timezones; key is that no one has to be online at the same time as anyone else.
We were involved in the recent playtest of EFS, but rather than continue to play that we'd much rather play something else.
Strategy would probably be best, 4x would be fine. I suppose we might consider other genres. Any recommendations? Thanks.
https://www.matrixgames.com/game/shadow-empire (https://www.matrixgames.com/game/shadow-empire)
I've not the patience or brain power (to be frank) to play this myself, but have heard lots of good things about the game linked above.