Sid Meier’s Civilization 7is a grand strategy game that requires a lot of time and commitment to fully understand all the nitty-gritty details of the game. And even though there have been multipleCivilizationgames over the years,Civ 7’sreimagined gameplay is sure to bring new players to the franchise. Whether this is your very first 4X strategy game or if you are finally taking the plunge intoCivilization, there are some pointers for beginners that will help you get oriented withCiv 7and its various systems and rules.
TheseCiv 7gameplay tips are essential if it’s your very first time ever playing aCivilizationgame, and the recommendations are focused on getting players familiar withCiv 7’srules and systems. More importantly, they aim to help you avoid getting overwhelmed with everything going on during gameplay.
10Don’t Skip The Tutorials
Civ 7’s Tutorials And Advisors Are Very Helpful
Civilization 7has a built-in tutorial thatwalks you through gameplay elements step by step. It’s an extremely useful tool in learning the various concepts, and it’s worth taking the time to read these tutorials carefully to get fully oriented with how things work. Tutorials will help you with the basic concepts, such as establishing and growing settlements, how to collect resources, Technologies & Civics, etc. All the general concepts inCivilization 7are covered in these tutorial pop-ups, so don’t skip them.
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Further,Civ 7’sadvisors will help steer you in a particular direction and keep you on trackthroughout the game. Be sure to follow the general guidance from advisors and keep an eye out for their associated icons: purple music note for Cultural advisor, red sword for Military advisor, green-gold coins for Economic advisor, and blue beakers for Scientific advisor.
9Setting Up Your First Civ 7 Campaign
There’s No Shame In Playing On Scribe
If you have never played aCivgame, the initial setup forCiv 7is going to feel a bit disorienting. For now, it’s best tostart with a favorite leader, even if their particular abilities don’t make sense just yet. Next,start in the Antiquity Age and choose one of the recommended starting civilizations for that leader, e.g., if you choose Catherine the Great, the game recommends either Greece or Rome.
Turning off Crises is only recommended for beginners playing through their first few campaigns, but after players are more familiar with how things work, Crises add an extra layer of strategy as each Age comes to a close.
For difficulty,first-timers should consider Scribe or Governor, at least until they are more familiar with how things work. Next, start out with a standard or quick game, andchoose Continents or Continents Plus on a small or tiny size map. Under Advanced Options,make sure Disaster Intensity is set to Light, and consider turning off Crisesfor the first campaign. Crises add a layer of difficulty at the end of an Age that may be unnecessarily frustrating for beginners.
8Think In Chapters & Learn The Ages
Civ 7 Is Divided Into Three Distinct Parts
Civilization 7is designed with a three-part Ages structure, where each Age acts as a “chapter” of the game: the Antiquity, Exploration, and Modern Ages.Each Age has its own unique civilization choices, mechanics, and gameplay features, so learning the basics in every chapter is extremely helpful when starting to think about what to expect and how to plan ahead.
Further, transitions between the Ages are an important part of setting a civilization up for Victory. This is where you choose your next civilization and the Legacy bonuses that will give you a huge boost in the next Age.Only certain things carry over across the Ages, and a lot will “reset” at the beginning of each Age, so pay close attention to these transitions and what the empire looks like at the start of each Age.
7Use The Civilopedia
Civilization Games Include A Built-In Reference Tool
One staple of theCivilizationfranchise is the Civilopedia, a built-in encyclopedia that can be referenced at any time throughout a campaign if you have questions or need clarification on certain mechanics.Civ 7’sCivilopedia is an excellent tool for beginnersand veterans alike, as there are hundreds of entries that cover just about everything in the game.
Civilopedia entries are Age-specific. Players will not be able to see certain entries for later Ages, but are able to look backward at entries for the previous Ages.
There are some limitations to the Civilopedia, however, as you will need touse specific search termsto find what you’re looking for, or will have to navigate through the various category tabs to find the exact entry you need. For example, a general search for “Science Buildings” won’t pull up all the Science buildings in the game, but searching for the “Library” will give a breakdown of the Library’s Science bonuses.
6Follow A Legacy Path
Legacy Paths Guide You Toward Victory
Legacy Paths inCiv 7fall into four distinct categories:Science, Culture, Economic, and Military. Leaders and Civs all have a certain affinity with at least one of these paths, and it’s a good idea tohone in on a path that lines up with the chosen leader or civilization(e.g., a Scientific path for Confucius). Reaching milestones along a Legacy Path awards Legacy Points which are spent at the beginning of the next Age.
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These Legacy Pathsguide players toward an ultimate Victory Conditionin the Modern Age, which are special projects that players will have to complete to secure a win. Advisors for each path will guide you through each Age, and provide specific objectives to check off as you progress.
5How To Win: Victory Conditions
Each Legacy Path Leads To A Unique Project
One of the first questions most players will ask inCiv 7is how they win. The game is won bycompleting a Victory Condition at the end of a Legacy Path. What this means is that, in the Modern Age, after players complete a Legacy Path,a special project will need to be completed before any other players are able to complete one themselves.
For example, the Scientific Legacy Path in the Modern Age will require you to complete Space Race Projects, launching satellites and setting up your civilization for the First Staffed Space Flight. This is a special project that can be completed in a given city, and once completed, that player wins the game. However, all other civilizations in the game will be racing to complete one of the various Victory Conditions as well.
4Get Familiar With Commander Units
Engaging In Combat Is Much Better With Commanders
You are inevitably going to find yourself at war during a game ofCivilization, especially if you aren’t yet familiar with Diplomacy and Influence or how to keep things peaceful with opponents. For that reason,Civ 7’s Commander units are essential to gameplay, especially if you are pursuing a Military Victory.Commanders can be packed up with combat unitsand provide powerful bonuses to units in their command radius (i.e., the tiles surrounding the Commander).
Civ 7’s combat systemhas a ton of nuances, but Commander units are integral, andthey persist across the Agesand cannot ever be completely lost. If a Commander perishes in battle, it will respawn after a set amount of time, though in a weakened state. Commander units can also be used to boost yields in cities if they are not at war.
3Balance Your Cities & Towns
Towns Feed Cities And Boost The Economy
When you establish a Settlement, it starts out as a town (other than the Founder unit, which creates the Capital City). Towns are essential to balancing a civilization’s economy because they convert their Production to Gold. The Civilopedia recommendsa balance of one town per city,or a one-to-one ratio across the Ages. Civilizations have a soft Settlement cap, and players start with a three-settlement limit which increases over time. If you exceed the cap, you take a Happiness penalty for each Settlement over the limit.
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Towns can be upgraded to cities using Gold, but it’s important to maintain a balance and make sure you have enough Gold reserves to pay for building maintenance in cities, unit costs, and other expenses that accrue during gameplay.Income and expenses can be viewed from the Global Yields Breakdownby clicking any of the resource counters at the top of the screen.
Legacy Paths Won’t Always Work Out
Even if you make it to the Modern Age after following and completing Legacy Paths across the Ages, it’s entirely possible to lose in the end to the opposing civilizations. This is far less likely on easier difficulty settings, butit’s important to pay attention to other civilizations' progress, especially during the Modern Age where Victory Conditions are at play. Keep an eye on the Rankings page of the Age Progress menu to see where other Civs are in their pursuit of certain Legacy Paths.
If you make a mistake or want to rethink a strategy, you can always reload a previous save, or choose from one of the auto-save options that lets you go back up to 10 previous turns.
Ultimately, players are probably going to lose at some point, but this is part of the learning experience withCivilizationgames. The game can be overwhelming, and at higher difficulties, decisions matter that much more, so it’s important for beginners toease their way into the more challenging aspectsof the game.
1Trial & Error
Making Mistakes Is Part Of The Civ Experience
There are a ton of surprises in store for anyone picking upCiv 7for the first time, whether it’s their firstCivilizationgame or not.Making mistakes during a campaign is how players learn the more nuanced systemsin the game and how they work. It’s also difficult to know what to expect without having played through each Age yet, and what might initially seem like a good idea could end up being less than ideal once more of the map is revealed or as you discover what your opponents have been up to.
Trial and error is a tried-and-true method for learning the ins and outs of anyCivilizationgame, andCiv 7is no exception. It is among the top recommendations for beginners because there’s simply no way to fully master every aspect of the game without making a few mistakes.Civilization 7is packed full of exciting elements, but these can be extremely overwhelming for beginners, and the above gameplay tips are essential in getting players familiar with the game.
