These Tips and Tricks for Civ Vi will lead you to Victory!

It's time to take over the world with Civilization VI!

I've been playing Civilization VI since it launched on PC in 2016, and with more than 700 hours logged I've got strong feelings on just about every kind of start, civilization and play style. During that time I've beaten the game a handful of times with Culture and Science victories and have restarted the game more times than I want to count — seriously. So with that in mind, I've put together some tips and tricks for those diving into Civilization VI on Nintendo Switch. These tips will help you get started, and ensure that like me when it's time for bed you keep telling yourself "one more turn".

One More Turn

Civilization VI

$60 at Amazon

Endless strategy options with so many ways to win.

The original turn-based conquest board game in digital form has made its way to the most portable game console you can buy. Plan every move, form your ideal government, and either build a lasting peace across the world or force everyone to tremble under your might.

Play to your Strengths

When it comes to Civ Vi you play as the Civilization of your choice. This is your avatar for the game, and it will give you specific perks. These include things like France's boost to wonder production, England's extra military unit when founding cities off their home continent and Amanitore's boost to production of Archers. Each Civilization also has certain biases when it comes to what kind of land you'll found on.

In Civ Vi you win via one of several methods. Domination, Science, Culture, Religious or Score. If you know what kind of victory you're aiming for, then it's easy to choose a Civilization that is tailored for that sort of Victory. For instance, if you want a Culture Victory, then Gorgo's bonuses will make it easier for you. By aligning your goals, with the type of Civilization you're playing you can dominate starting early.

Pick the right place to found your city

Each city will grow at its own pace depending on what is within its borders. You need to weigh the production of the various aspects of play if you want a city that does its job without a lot of prodding from you. This includes the production of industry, food, science, and culture. By utilizing the different resources a city has access to you can increase these stats and help your city to grow faster. Rivers and hills give you boosts to production, Mountains deliver boosts to science, and improvements like plantations will increase your culture yield.

Each city starts with 6 tiles. The city itself, and the 6 tiles that surround it. As your city grows in population, it's size will also expand. This means that ideally, you want a city that has access to multiple different resources within your starting area and within the 3 tiles that you'll eventually expand out to.

Decide what to focus on

Once you found a city, you'll want to figure out which yields are most important to that city. If you're surrounded by Mountains, then focusing on Science is a good call. Alternatively, if you're near multiple cities from City-States or other Civilizations, then trade might be your best bet. Each city should have a focus on a specific yield, that way it's easier to hit bonuses, grow that yield and build specific Wonders there down the line. By focusing the yields of your city, you can ensure that you never are falling behind in Culture, or Science when you need it.

In earlier Eras, having cities with a specific focus is less important. That's because the first 100 turns or so is spent getting your foundations built. Your early cities may work as jack-of-all-trades while you try to expand your territory, scoop up the best resources, and ensure that you don't have gaps in your border big enough for other Civilizations to encroach on. However, once you get past those initial eras, you'll want to decide what is most important for each city.

Find City States Fast

In the early game, you want to grab a hold of every bonus you possibly can. To that end, your best bet is to find as many City-States as possible before any other major Civs manage to do it. City-States grant you an envoy if you are the first major Civilization to discover them. This first envoy gives you a bonus like extra gold, science, culture, money or religion. Having a +2 bonus to any of these yields in the first 50 turns can make things much, much easier for you down the line.

While you'll still get bonuses from them down the line by sending envoys you earn, the free envoy is a great bonus to your early game. Additionally, when you discover a City-State they are going to give you a request. These requests are generally things like destroying barbarian encampments, building a specific unit or district, or earning a eureka towards a specific technology. If you fulfill this request you are granted a free envoy which means it's easy to build up some serious influence just by paying attention to what they want from you when you meet them. Throughout the game City-States can be great allies and spending the time to fulfill requests and send envoys is a great way to keep them on your side.

Tech and Culture Boosts

In order to discover new Technologies and Culture, you have access to a tree. Each item on the tree requires you to research it in order to unlock it. Generally, this can take anywhere from 3 to 50 turns depending on how far along the tech tree it is. There is an easy way to make different technologies and cultures easier to acquire though. Every single one has a Eureka. Specific actions you can take in game to get closer to discovering what you need.

Different eureka's include things like killing a unit with a slinger to help unlock archery or settling a city on the coast to unlock a eureka for sailing. Eureka's can make it easier to unlock important technologies faster, especially in the early game where you want every last advantage you can get your hands on.

Your Best Civilization Vi Tips and Tricks?

These are the tips that I've found help you to succeed whether you're just getting started with Civilization or you're like me with 700+ hours sunk into the newest game in the franchise. Do you have a tip that I should know about, or is there a trick that should absolutely be on this list? Drop them in the comments below!

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