Civilization VI — How to Play
What it is
Civilization VI (2016) "unstacks" cities: specialized districts — Campus, Holy Site, Commercial Hub, Encampment and more — are built on the tiles around a city, so where you settle decides what a city can become. Rise and Fall (2018) added Golden and Dark Ages, loyalty and governors; Gathering Storm (2019) added climate, natural disasters, the World Congress and a diplomatic victory.
Getting the game
- On Steam and the Epic Games Store, Mac and Linux, PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch and mobile.
- Most of the community plays with both expansions; the New Frontier Pass and Leader Pass added game modes and many more leaders.
The basics
- Builders improve tiles with a limited number of charges.
- Completing goals gives Eurekas (technologies) and Inspirations (civics), a large head start on research.
- Districts gain adjacency bonuses from terrain and other districts.
- Victory by science, culture, religion, domination, diplomacy, or score.
Starting out
- Play the tutorial, then a game at Prince difficulty on a standard map.
- Build several cities before districts in each — more cities beat bigger ones early.