10 Essential Gameplay Tips For Civ 7 If It's Your First Civilization Game

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 multiple Civilization games over the years, Civ 7's reimagined 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 into Civilization, there are some pointers for beginners that will help you get oriented with Civ 7 and its various systems and rules.

These Civ 7 gameplay tips are essential if it's your very first time ever playing a Civilization game, and the recommendations are focused on getting players familiar with Civ 7's rules and systems. More importantly, they aim to help you avoid getting overwhelmed with everything going on during gameplay.

10 Don't Skip The Tutorials

Civ 7's Tutorials And Advisors Are Very Helpful

Civilization 7 has a built-in tutorial that walks 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 in Civilization 7 are covered in these tutorial pop-ups, so don't skip them.

Further, Civ 7'sadvisors will help steer you in a particular direction and keep you on track throughout 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.

9 Setting Up Your First Civ 7 Campaign

There's No Shame In Playing On Scribe

If you have never played a Civ game, the initial setup for Civ 7 is going to feel a bit disorienting. For now, it's best to start 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, and choose 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 Crises for the first campaign. Crises add a layer of difficulty at the end of an Age that may be unnecessarily frustrating for beginners.

8 Think In Chapters & Learn The Ages

Civ 7 Is Divided Into Three Distinct Parts

Civilization 7 is 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.

7 Use The Civilopedia

Civilization Games Include A Built-In Reference Tool

One staple of the Civilization franchise 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's Civilopedia is an excellent tool for beginners and 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 to use specific search terms to 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.

6 Follow A Legacy Path

Legacy Paths Guide You Toward Victory

Legacy Paths in Civ 7 fall 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 to hone 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.

These Legacy Paths guide players toward an ultimate Victory Condition in the Modern Age, which are special projects that players will have to complete in order to secure a win. Advisors for each path will guide you through each Age, and provide specific objectives to check off as you progress.

5 How To Win: Victory Conditions

Each Legacy Path Leads To A Unique Project

One of the first questions most players will ask in Civ 7 is how they win. The game is won by completing 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.

4 Get Familiar With Commander Units

Engaging In Combat Is Much Better With Commanders

You are inevitably going to find yourself at war during a game of Civilization, 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 units and provide powerful bonuses to units in their command radius (i.e., the tiles surrounding the Commander).

Civ 7's combat system has a ton of nuances, but Commander units are integral, and they persist across the Ages and 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.

3 Balance 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 recommends a 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.

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 Breakdown by clicking any of the resource counters at the top of the screen.

2 It's Okay To Lose

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, but it'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 with Civilization games. The game can be overwhelming, and at higher difficulties, decisions matter that much more, so it's important for beginners to ease their way into the more challenging aspects of the game.

1 Trial & Error

Making Mistakes Is Part Of The Civ Experience

There are a ton of surprises in store for anyone picking up Civ 7 for the first time, whether it's their first Civilization game or not. Making mistakes during a campaign is how players learn the more nuanced systems in 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 any Civilization game, and Civ 7 is 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 7 is 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.

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