Civilization I, II & III — First Principles
Expand early
- Your first settlers decide the game. Found cities near rivers, coast and food, close enough together to defend.
- Build more settlers before wonders. A wonder in one city rarely beats a whole new city.
Grow and improve
- Workers (settlers in Civilization I) build roads, irrigation and mines — keep them busy.
- Watch city happiness: temples, marketplaces and luxuries keep big cities from rioting.
- Roads between your cities speed trade and defense.
Research with a plan
- Aim for Monarchy early to leave Despotism behind, then Writing, Currency and the road to the Republic for science and gold.
- In Civilization III, strategic resources such as iron and horses decide which units you can build — claim them.
Defend, then strike
- Keep a defender in every city and walls on the border.
- Attack with a stack of units, not one at a time, and bring something to take the city once its defenders fall.
Strategy and balance change with patches and mods. For current tier lists, guides and the Better Balanced Game rules, see the Civilization tab of our Useful Links page.