Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution Tactics Guide Written by Loughi the Boy Wonder ----------------Conent---------------- 1. [Intd]: Introduction to guide. 2. [Civs]: The Civilizations a. [arb] Arabs b. [amr] Americans c. [atc] Aztecs d. [chn] Chinese e. [egt] Egyptians f. [egl] English g. [frn] French h. [gmn] Germans i. [gce] Greeks j. [idi] Indians k. [jpn] Japanese l. [mng] Mongolians m. [rme] Romans n. [rsn] Russians o. [spn] Spanish p. [Zlu] Zulu 3. [Cabd]: Cities and Buildings a. [typc] Type of Cities b. [ctym] City Managment c. [ctyl] City Locations d. [wndr] Wonders e. [gpep] Great People 3. [Tcts]: Tactics and guides a. [domT] Domination Tactics -[dCRSt] Crusader Tactic b. [ecoT] Economic Tactics c. [tecT] Technology Tactics -[tTRTt] Turtle Tactic d. [cltT] Cultural Tactics -[cPSAt] Passively Aggressive Tactic e. [civt] Civilization-Specific Tactics 4. [Askf]: FAQs 5. [Cntc]: Contact Information and Submission --------------------------------[Intd]-------------------------------- -----------------------------Introduction----------------------------- This guide is for those either new to the game, or having a slow start. Civilization has always had a lot of unused or misused items that, when used correctly can pull you from 4th place, to 1st. Tactics may be submitted to me, scroll down to the contact information and all submissions will be credited to the person who sent me the guide. --------------------------------[Civs]-------------------------------- -----------------------------Civilizations---------------------------- -What Civilization suits you? This is the key question to ask yourself everytime you play the game. With the right Civilization in your hand, you can win with a strong victory. Now what does a strong victory mean? A strong victory is one where you stand out far above the other civilizations. This guide is here to help you accomplish that. -Tips to choosing your cilivization. Pay attention to the bonuses that each civilization recieves. You don't want to go for a fast economic victory and choose a faction based on technology. Now I know this is common sense, but you'd be surprised how many people I've seen using someone like the Romans to beat the Chinese in a technology victory. I'm not saying it's not possible, but if the Chinese play their cards right they have a much larger technology advantage. --------------- A. [arb] ARABS Starting Bonus: Knowledge of Religion Ancient Bonus: Caravans Recieve an extra 50% in gold Medieval Bonus: Knowledge of the Mathematics technology Industrial Bonus: Calvary get a +1 to attack Modern Bonus: Gold reserves receive a 2% interest rate every turn --------------- B. [amr] AMERICANS Starting Bonus: Begin game with a great person Ancient Bonus: 2% interest on gold reserves Medieval Bonus: Rushing units cost 1/2 price Industrial Bonus: +1 food from Plains Modern Bonus: Triple Production from Factiories --------------- B. [atc] AZTECS Starting Bonus: Begin game with extra gold Ancient Bonus: Units automatically heal upon a battle victory Medieval Bonus: Temples produce 3 science Industrial Bonus: 1/2 cost of roads Modern Bonus: 150% Gold production in cities --------------- C. [chn] CHINESE Starting bonus: Knowledge of Writing Ancient Bonus: New cities gain +1 population Medieval Bonus: Knowledge of Literacy Industrial Bonus: 1/2 cost of Library Modern Bonus: Cities not affected by Anarchy --------------- e. [egt] EGYPTIANS Starting Bonus: Gain a random Ancient Wonder Ancient Bonus: +1 trade and food on desert tiles Medieval Bonus: Knowledge of Irrigation Industrial Bonus: Rifleman movement increased by 1 Modern Bonus: 50% Caravan money increase --------------- f. [egl] ENGLISH Starting Bonus: Knowledge of Monarchy Ancient Bonus: Longbow Archers gain a +1 to defense Medieval Bonus: Naval units gain +1 to defense/attack Industrial Bonus: Add 1 Production from Hills Modern Bonus: 2x effect from naval support --------------- g. [frn] French Starting Bonus: Cathedral in capital Ancient Bonus: Knowledge of Pottery Medieval Bonus: 1/2 price of roads Industrial Bonus: Cannons gain a +2 to attack Modern Bonus: Riflemen movement increased by 1 --------------- h. [gmn] Germans Starting Bonus: Units with an elite upgrade get upgraded with the technology Ancient Bonus: New warriors start as veterans Medieval Bonus: Forest Squares recieve 1 extra production Industrial Bonus: 1/2 cost of Barracks Modern Bonus: 2% interest on gold reserves --------------- i. [gce] Greeks Starting Bonus: Capital starts with a Courthouse Ancient Bonus: Knowledge of Democracy Medival Bonus: Gain great people faster Industrial Bonus: 1/2 Cost of libraries Modern Bonus: +1 food to sea squares --------------- j. [idi] Indians Starting Bonus: All resources are available to be harvested Ancient Bonus: Cities unaffected by Anarchy Medieval Bonus: Knowledge of Religion Industrial Bonus: 1/2 cost of settlers Modern Bonus: 1/2 cost of courthouses --------------- k. [jpn] Japanese Starting Bonus: Knowledge of Ceremonial Burial Ancient Bonus: +1 food to sea squares Medieval Bonus: Samurai Knights gain a +1 to attack Industrial Bonus: Cities unaffected by Anarchy Modern Bonus: New defensive units start off with the Loyalty upgrade --------------- l. [mng] Mongolians Starting Bonus: Captured cities gain 150% trade Ancient Bonus: Barbarian Villages join your civilization instead of giving a bonus Medieval Bonus: Calvary movement increased by 1 Industrial Bonus: Mountain squares recieve an extra 2 production Modern Bonus: Knowledge of Communism --------------- m. [rme] Romans Starting Bonus: Begin as a republic and knowledge of Code of Laws Ancient Bonus: 1/2 price of roads Medieval Bonus: 1/2 wonders' cost Industrial Bonus: Gain great people faster Modern Bonus: New cities gain +1 population --------------- n. [rsn] Russians Starting Bonus: Begin game with map of surrounding area Ancient Bonus: +1 food to plain squares Medieval Bonus: New defensive units start off with the Loyalty upgrade Industrial Bonus: 1/2 Riflemen cost Modern Bonus: 1/2 Spy cost --------------- o. [spn] Spanish Starting Bonus: Knowledge of Navigation Ancient Bonus: 2x Cash from exploring Medieval Bonus: Naval units gain +1 to defense/attack Industrial Bonus: 150% Gold production in cities Modern Bonus: Hill squares recieve an extra 1 production --------------- p. [Zlu] Zulu Starting Bonus: Overrun Advatage is lessed to 4 times stronger instead of 7 Ancient Bonus: Warrior movement increased by 1 Medieval Bonus: City Populations Grow Industrial Bonus: 150% Gold production in cities Modern Bonus: 1/2 Riflemen cost --------------- --------------------------------[Cabd]-------------------------------- -------------------------Cities and Buldings-------------------------- The purpose of this section is explain the buildings, wonders, and types of cities you should look to build. City placement and management are important in making your civilization the top of the crop. ---------------[typc]--------------- ---------- Types of Cities --------- One thing you need to know other than how you plan to win is what kind of cities you plan to build. This part of the guide will explain the types of cities you can build to help your city. By planning your cities well enough you can benefit from a strong support system. __ Construction Sites __ (aka the production cities) Construction sites are your wonder builders. These cities are usually best built in mountainous/hilly areas. Early game they might do as well but later on buildings such as iron mines make these cities produce even the most expensive wonders in a single turn. These cities should also be your primary form of military production. A well-placed Construction Site can create multiple units every turn, which allows you to heavily fortify your cities, and build your forts to their strongest. __ Forts __ (Choke Points and Blockades) Forts are your defense-based land blockade cities. Building Forts on choke points to block off enemies from getting into your other cities by land allows you to place all of your defensive focus on a single spot, allowing your other cities to focus on their purposes. Forts become less effective as time passes because of more advanced ships and air units, but in early game these cities are your prime form of keeping enemies at your front door. Forts can also help you reach enemy cities easier by building roads and placing the cities near the enemies'. After a while of the enemies beat on your fort, they should get a lot of bonuses, which can help you get some engineer units for your other cities. If you're lucky enough to get a choke point with a river around it you have one of the best possible fort positions as rivers give a -50% penalty to attackers. __ Labs and Goldmines __ (aka the trade cities) Labs and Goldmines are your cities that provide a significant supply of science or money. Most people prefer to make goldmines and let all of their other cities provide the science. But if you're going for an economic victory it's also ok to do the reverse. Good spots for these trade cities are usually lone islands. The Japanese have a real easy time with these cities becuase they start off with the ability to get food from water. __ Palaces __ (also known as your capital) You have to have a palace, in fact you start with one or you start with settlers to build one. Your palace is your central building so make sure you pick a good spot for management. A good palace spot has at least 2 spots for production and 2 spots for food. ---------------[ctym]--------------- ---------- City Management --------- Your city management depends on your type of city. When a city begins, it's a good idea to and build your population up. When you want to build something, or make unit, you obviously choose the production squares. I probably don't have to say it, but for your trade cities, you obivously want to maximize the amount of trade square use. In the early game it's easy to manage your city squares, but as the city population grows it gets a little more difficult to choose the squares manually, which is why they made the ability for you to choose what you want the city to focus on. Don't take the ability to change the production of your cities lightly, they let you do it for a reason. The buildings in your city help with certain land and materials. Try to choose the best buildings for your city. if you have one tile of desert and 3 plains, build a granary before a trade post. ---------------[ctyl]--------------- ---------- City Locations ---------- You obviously want to pay attention to the landscape before placing a city, don't just place it in a random spot because you need a city. Place it where you need a city. In otherwords if you have a fort, you have a production city, and your palace, then you will need a trade city. Don't place it in the first possible place you see, instead, look for a nearby island to explore. You might find an artifact and a perfect place for a trade city, it's a win-win. ---------------[wndr]--------------- -------------- WONDERS ------------- The 21 wonders of the Civilization world can help you in many ways. There are many common misuses of wonders and this part of the guide should help you figure out when and where you should build your wonders. __ ANCIENT TIMES __ Colossus of Rhodes (Bronze Working)- Doubles trade sqaures' efficiency Strategy: The Colossus is very helpful not only to your trade cities but your regular cities as well. It's best to build it in a production city because in the ancient times you will want your focus more on building up your civilization. --------------- Great Library (Writing)- Gain knowledge of technologies researched by at least two other civilizations Strategy: This isn't that good of a wonder for the ancient times. Unless you're having a horrible start you probably won't have to worry about other civilizations technology, chances are if you're not #1 in technology you're probably 2 or 3 because NPC's seems to study technology to a certain point then their research slows down. In the case you do fall far behind, this wonder can help you catch back up. --------------- Great Pyramid (Ceremonial Burial)- Gain access to all governments Strategy: This wonder could be a waste of time, unless you have a very good Construction Site. Democracy early on can be an extremely helpful boost. Not to mention you would have access to Fundamentalism when you need to go to war. This eventually becomes obsolete, but in an early game, gaining this wonder could help you jump ahead of the other civilizations. --------------- Great Wall (Masonry)- Forces all other Civilizations to be at peace with you Strategy: This wonder, as most ancient wonders should only be built in production cities, and if you can afford the time it takes to make it. It doesn't last very long but the effect can give you enough time to build an army, an economy, or just give you time to do whatever you need to get your civilization to the top of the list. --------------- Hanging Gardens (Pottery)- Increase a city's population by 50% Strategy: The problem with this wonder is that it only requires you to have pottery. It may not sound bad to you, but it doesn't sound that bad to your enemey either. The longer you wait to build this wonder, the bigger growth you will have, but the less chance you will have to build it. You can hold off as long as you want, but hope that your enemey doesn't gain it before you. --------------- Oracle (Alphabet)- This wonder warns you when you will loose a battle Strategy: Unless you have nothing left to build, don't bother with this wonder. It becomes obsolete extremely fast and it's powers only help if you're going for an early domination. --------------- Stonehenge- Temples produce an extra 50% more culture Strategy: If you're going for a cultural victory, this wonder can obviously help you a lot, but it's powers are limited to only help your cities for a few turns before someone makes it ineffective. --------------- East India Trading Company (Navigation)- 1 Extra trade for sea squares Strategy: The East India Trading Company can extremely help your trade cities, especially after they gain a courthouse. Don't feel like you have to build it, like all wonders, only build it when you have a chance, don't let it waste too much of your production time. Though if you have a well-placed Construction site you can make this wonder build quite fast. --------------- Himeji Samurai Castle (Monarchy)- Adds 1 damage per unit Strategy: Soem misunderstood effects of this wonder, and effects of Fundamentalism are this. They add +1 damage to units, not armies. Since armies are made of 3 units, the army as a whole gains a +3 to damage. Combinding this wonder with the power of Fundamentalism, a person can easily dominate enemy cities. This wonder puts the wonder in wonderful. You also have to watch out for your enemies building it before you have the chance to. --------------- Leonardo's Workshop (Invention)- Upgrade all units to their modern versions Strategy: A great wonder, Leonardo's Workshop. But the problem is, I've seen many people build it way too early. Granted it does prevent the most technologically advanced from upgrading their units. I have always waited until I at least gain the Mass production technology until I build this wonder so I know a great portion of my units and not to mention my defensive unit will all be updraded to their best. It's always good to save a great builder for this wonder if you manage to get one. Also if you have built a lot of cannons/catapaults it wouldn't hurt to wait until you research the automobile. --------------- Magna Carta (Democracy)- Your Courthouses provide culture Strategy: Save this for later in the game when you have a good amount of cities. Saving it for just the right moment can give you a good amount of great people fast. Make sure your cities have courthouses though, I would not know why they wouldn't though considering their great usefulness. --------------- Oxford University (University)- You recieve an advanced technology Strategy: The Oxford University picks a random technology from the list of ones you haven't discovered yet. This could be good or bad, depending on the one it chooses. A good idea is to save this for when you need Space Flight and Globilization, that way you knock out one of the last few technologies you need, and either gain an extra 500 gold (that is if you discover it first) or work your way for SDI defense if you don't have the nuke. --------------- Shakespeare's Theater (Literacy)- Double cultural production in a city Strategy: This is obviously a wonder that will boost your culture for a cultural victory. It's up to you on whther you want to build it or not. This wonder can help you gain a cultural advantage, or prevent someone who has that advantage from getting a much bigger one. --------------- Trade Fair (Currency)- Doubles a city's gold production Strategy: It's obvious where you should build this wonder. You heaviest gold mines will double their wealth. This wonder has made me many money from a single city, some go up to 2000, even 5000 to 6000 gold a turn. Of course that's mixed with a lot of other gold producing buildings and great people, but still this wonder helps a great amount. --------------- Apollo Program (Space Flight)- Research all remaining technologies Strategy: This wonder helps to a certain point. If you are going for a technological victory then chances are your cities are producing enough technology to get the few remaining technologies fast enough. Building this would probably only stall the building of other wonders. This wonder comes from one of the final technologies so you'll probably only have one or two more to research, which in the time or money it would take to make this you could have a much better wonder. --------------- Hollywood (Mass Media) City walls no longer prevent a cultural takeover of cities Strategy: If you can get way ahead of everyone, this wonder can allow you to takeover enemies without leaving the comfort of your own palace. This wonder is a good way to not only get some culture, but also to capture those enemey cities your land has consumed but been unable to convert. Only build it if it will help you really. If the enemy is more advanced in culture, then stay away from it. --------------- Internet (Networking) Wealth gained per turn is doubled Strategy: This wonder is not only a good economic victory tool, but even if you're going for another type of victory the internet can help tremenously. Nothing really more needs to be said, the effect alone speaks for itself. --------------- Manhattan Project (Atomic Theory) Gain a nuclear Weapon Strategy: This wonder not only helps prevent other civilizations from gaining a victory, but it strikes fear within your enemies. That is if you're online, NPC's feel no fear. The nuclear weapon is one frustrating tool though. A Democracy won't let you launch it, and if you wait too long it'll be ineffective because of SDI defenses. The best time to use it is to etiher completely destroy an enemy city that has been bothering you or when going in to dominate a captial. Be careful that you do not have any units on the outskirts of the city you bomb, or they will die as well. --------------- Military-Industrial Complex (Corporation) Reduce the cost of military units Strategy: Build this in a very productive construction site. Not because it only effects one city, but because it has a pretty high cost. I've been able to build it in a single turn, and it helps an extreme amount, not only do you produce units faster, but the cost of rushing goes down as well. --------------- United Nations Strategy: If your enemy has a nuke, either build an SDI defense in your most productive city, or attempt to build it in your weakest city. When your enemey recieves the city's name, this will allow you to keep your better cities and hopefully your enemy will fall for the bait. You cannot use a great builder contrary to what you might think to build this building faster, unless they are settled within your city. --------------- World Bank Strategy: If your enemy has a nuke, either build an SDI defense in your most productive city, or attempt to build it in your weakest city. When your enemey recieves the city's name, this will allow you to keep your better cities and hopefully your enemy will fall for the bait. You cannot use a great builder contrary to what you might think to build this building faster, unless they are settled within your city. ---------------[gpep]--------------- ----------- Great People ----------- When building great people always keep in mind that spies can steal settled great people. Always build spies where your great people are. If you get a Great Leader, build like 2 or 3 rings of spies because they're an invalueable asset to your military. --- Great Builders --- INSTANT- Great Builders can instantly produce one thing in a city. SETTLE- When settled Great Builders can reduce the production cost of future items in a city. Great builders are obviously great to be settled in your construction sites. Sometimes you may need something to be built before someone else, such as the Apollo Program. You can pretty much use these to rush any building except the United Nations or the World Bank. --- Great Sceintists --- INSTANT- Great Scientists can instantly research a technology. SETTLE- Great Scientists can increase a city's science trade output by 50%. Great Scientists should be used according to your situation. If you're going for a technology or even a cultural victory, always settle before using instant power. If you're looking for defense and that democracy power is 11 turns away, well you don't need me to tell you what you should do. --- Great Humanitarians --- INSTANT- Great Humanitarians can instantly add 1 population to each of your cities. SETTLE- Great Humanitarians can be settled in a city to increase it's growth rate by 50%. Like great scientists, great humanitarians should used according to your situation. If you have 2 cities, a +2 population isn't going to help you much. But if you have 8 cities, it can really increase your productivity all around by using the instant power. --- Great Thinkers --- INSTANT- Great Thinkers can instantly convert an enemy city. SETTLE- Great Thinkers can be settled to provide an extra 50% to culture. Converting an enemy city is a risk. This could anger your enemy into attacking you and you usually convert their worst city, which means a poorly made, poorly defended city surrounded by them. A settled Great Thinker can also help converting cities through the land your civilization's culture would consume. If you need the city and feel you can defend it quick enough, don't think it a bad idea. On the other hand if the city is surrounded by the enemy, it would probably not be wise to take the city, or it would just be a waste of a great person. --- Great Explorers --- INSTANT- Great Explorers can instantly supply some money. SETTLE- Great Explorers can be settled to provide an extra 50% gold production to a city. It's obvious you would make a lot more money with a settled explorer, but this doesn't mean that an advance on cash is a bad thing. The instant power can help early in game, but later on you might find that in a single turn you can earn more wtih the 50% bonus. Most people don't have many gold producing cities, but these are a definite aid whether you're going for an economic victory or not. --- Great Leaders --- INSTANT- Great Leaders can instantly upgrade all units to a verteran status. SETTLE- Great Leaders can be settled to provide an upgrade to all units created in that city. If you get one of these, NEVER use the instant power. The settled power is possibly the best bonus you can recieve for your units. Think of it like an advanced barracks. When building defensive units, always build them in the city with a leader, defensive bonuses can provide you with an invincible city. --------------------------------[Tcts]-------------------------------- --------------------------Tactics and Guides-------------------------- Once again, this section is open to submissions, look at the contact section for more information. ---------------[domT]--------------- --------- Domination Tactics ------- <<<<<<<<<<<<[dCRSt]>>>>>>>>>>>> <<<<<<<<CRUSADER TACTIC>>>>>>>> Submitted by: Loughi Boy Wonder This tactic is a very powerful and quick way to a domination victory. When I refer to an "Early Domination" this is a tactic that will help you achieve that. Two technologies you need to focus on are monarchy and religion. Monarchy allows you to build the Himeji Samurai Castle Wonder, and religion gives you the Fundamentalism government. These two combind gives all of your units a +6 to attack. While working for those two technologies, build at least 3 cities, one for producing units, one for producing science, and a third for producing gold. With these three cities you should have enough production to get you a steady supply of units. If you have enough room, build a fourth city for more unit production. Worry less on defenses, I'm not saying ignore your defense, but focus less on them since you will be pushing the enemy back. You bonuses from both Fundamentalism and the Samurai Castle will give you a big enough offense to push in multiple directions if you seem to be surrounded by enemies. Once you start getting naval technologies, use naval units to get around faster and as a support for land units sieging cities. Since most people build near water for trade squares, you can usually have an extra attack bonus by placing your boats in the right spots. A good way to practice is to go against the computer and stay at war with everyone possible. It forces you to build up your offense. Anytime they offer peace, reject and stay at war. Suggested Civilizations: **-Arabs-** Arabs are the prime choice for this plan. Not only do you start with Fundamentalism, but you also get Mathmatics in the medieval age. Go straight for monarchy as soon as you can so you can build the Samurai Castle wonder right off the bat. The 50% caravan bonus helps with the caravans you recieve from the villages and barbarians. -Aztecs- Aztecs start with 25 gold and this allows them to rush a single unit of warriors while everyone else has to wait. This is also an easy way to capture a nearby enemy capital right off the bat. They also have an auto-heal bonus which allows the units to continue fighting without delay. -Germans- Germany warriors are automatically built as veterans. This lets you waste less time with a barracks, and focus more on spamming out warriors in the begining. When those units become elite, they get upgraded to legions when you get the iron tech. This lets you worry less about getting new legion units to the bases faster. -Japanese- Calavry is a bit underused. With Samurai Knights gaining a +1 per unit, that all adds to a +9bonus with Fundamentalism and the Samurai Castle Wonder. Calvary move around fast and get to enemy cities before catapaults can. With their higher defense they can also survive a better than catapaults can. -Mongolians- Cities are created by killing barbarians, this is a significant way to build up a good empire for producing units. Calvary recieving + movement means much faster domination. This lets you get to enemy cities before they can research defensive technologies. -Zulu- The Zulu have the ability to move warriors around quickly so you can get behind the enemy warriors and head straight to their defenseless capitals. A good Zulu trap is to fake peace until you reach their city and then attack them. Their overrun advantage works well with the Fundamentalism and castle wonder power to allow faster takeover of enemies. ---------------[ecoT]--------------- ---------- Economy Tactics --------- <<<None for the time being>>> ---------------[tecT]--------------- -------- Technology Tactics -------- <<<<<<<<<<<[tTRTt]>>>>>>>>>>> <<<<<<<<TURTLE TACTIC>>>>>>>> Submitted by: SpectralEssence908 This is a very common and very basic tactic. This tactic utilizes civilizations that can build cities fast to create a defensive- based win. Technology is a time based win, the faster you can research, the faster you can win. Depending on your starting position depends on how effective the tactic will be. I will give a basic idea. You want to try and work in a square/rectangular area. |Brrrrrrr rrrrrrrB| | r r | | rr rr | | C | | rr rr | | r r | |Brrrrrrr rrrrrrrB| B- Base C- Capital r- Road This is an example setup of a defensive setup. You have your Capital in the middle with 4 other bases. This is a setup if you happen to have a lot of space to work with. But sometimes you won't be so lucky. Sometimes you start on narrow land. | B | | r | | r | | r | | C | | r | | r | | r | | B | B- Base C- Capital r- Road This is an example of a narrow land setup. I'll explain further as to how you want your cities set up. Your bases should be trade-based and defensive cities. Build building based to increase science trade.Your capital should be your production city. Place buildings based on production and make this your main form of producing units. Since walls usually take a long time to build, your capital should be your place to dish out archers, pikeman, riflemen, etc. Try and build your bases on spot where your enemy can't pass through. This further protects your Capital so you won't have to worry too much about trying to defend your capital. If you have enough space you can build more than 5 cities. Don't feel limited to what I'm providing. This is your base plan. I've won using this strategy with just 3 bases. It all depends on how well you can work. Using this defensive strategy should keep enemies at bay and allow your bases to produce enough science to gain a huge advantage over the enemy. Your Capital can also help you provide culture. Since culture can help you gain great people, this can provide a good bonus to other parts of your civilization, especially if you gain a leader or some scientists. Reccomended civilizations for this are the China, Greece, Japan, Rome, or Russia. ---------------[cltT]--------------- ---------- Culture Tactics --------- <<<<<<<<<<<[cPSAt]>>>>>>>>>>> <<<<Passively Aggressive >>>> Submitted by: PlatinumFox The key is to use your capital for science (library and university) and production (workshop, iron mine, factory, oak, etc....) and to set up other cities nearby that focus on gold and/or culture, depending on what you want to go for. Cultural: 1. Capital should be used for Science and Production of defensive units build library and university as soon as possible, and be sure to utilize your hammer resources well 2. Build bases as close to your enemies as possible without crippling your city or theirs. The idea is that you will build up your culture with temples, cathedrals, and the Magna Carta/Courthouse. This will flip their nearby cities. You must be prepared for the city flip though, be sure to have your cities (all but the capital) making gold so that you can rush a wall or at least a temple in the city you flip. After all, its no good to flip a city if you lose two turns later. I recommend rushing a wall as this will also help defend it from units. 3. Resist the urge to use a monarchy, the boost to culture is nice, but democracy is the way to go, the big part of this strategy is that you are crippling your enemies by taking their cities, remember that a flipped city is worth just as much as a wonder or a great person, and a city with a temple and cathedral is going to bring in more culture than a boost to your palace culture; so why democracy? so you get more gold (the added science is great too) and rush walls in the cities you flip, that is huge! 4. Techs to research are: masonry (try to get it first so you get a bonus wall in your capital, this is way more valuable in the beginning than an archer. then bronze, so you can get veteran archers, alphabet, a library in your capital is worth a lot early in the game. Obviously ceremonial burial is key here, but dont worry about having it right away, all the culture in the world wont save a city from a legion army, Then go for democracy as soon as you can, this is really important as it gives you pikeman and the right govt. type Dont worry about reasearching currency, I know that it sounds crazy, but by the time you've got your walls built and your workshops and granaries and courthouses, and everything else you need your cities to have just to stay alive you will have gotten currency as a bonus from economic production, (250 gold I believe, and that may be a lot in the beginiing of the game, but resist the earge to rush everything and you'll get it soon enough. 5. Hollywood is an awesome wonder, but really its usually not worth it, if you are close enough to flip a city with a wall, usually you are close enough to destroy thier walls with a couple of spies; I usually just make a ring of spies and two single spy units, go up to the city with some defensive units and the spies and once the spy ring has cleared out thier defensive spies you "leave quetly" with the ring and use the much more cost effective single spies to go and do the dirty work, after all you dont want to waste a whole ring to destroy a granary. 6. Spies!!!!! the fastest way to boost your number of great people is to steal them. Its easy, just do what was just described for the destruction of walls, only kidnap a great person. The top cities screen is a great way to quickly see who's got a lot of people without even exploring. Keep in mind that it works both ways! Keep a spy or spy ring in any city you have with a great person in it. If I have more than two in a city I have two spy rings defending it. Also, spies get the bonus from fortification and great generals so keep that in mind. 7. The last part of the strategy may be the most important. It can mean the difference between watching some jerk's space station arrive at Butthole Centauri while you build the UN or sweet victory. This strategy is not a fast one, I dont know of a fast Cultural vicory, but with the right deffenses (keep in mind that all the offensive units you would have wasted on attacking and seiging can now be deffensive instead) no one can beat you with a domination. Furthermore, if you are stealling all the great people (and gold if someone is too near an economic win) no one else can beat you to the cultural or economic victory, so you simply have to beat the guy who is going for the tech victory. The best way I know to shave a lot of time off of this win is to rush the UN; you cant rush it with gold, but you can do some math. Just add up how many people/wonders/flips you need to win if your culture production looks like it will get you the UN go ahead in 15 turns pick a city with high production and good defenses (probably your capital) and start building a high cost wonder (500 or higher) then adjust your tiles to get this build complete in around 15 turns. So if you think you will be able to get the UN in 15 turns I aim my place holder wonder for 17 or 18 just in case, and then as soon as I can build the UN I just switch to it in that city, all the production will transfer and you can usually up the production in that city by reasigning tiles. If done correctly and no one messes you up, you will win in a couple of turns instead of 15. Makes a big difference! If you are going for the Economic win instead do the exact same thing with just a few changes. Build your cities with trade in mind as a priority instead of proximity to enemy cities you want to flip. focus less on temples and cathedrals and build markets and banks first, though a high culture city with high gold production is awesome anyway; flipped cities produce gold just as shiney as the ones you build. build up your navy if you are able, keep it near your city, this will help defend it with a naval bonus, and it will allow you to keep your enemy ships from blocking your trade tiles; nothing is worse than a city with a market/bank and three of its sea squares are blocked up with enemy ships! Last difference is that you should focus your spy attacks on kidnapping explorers (look at enemy city flags to tell you the type of great person they have) and stealing gold. The key to stealing a lot of gold is to be patient. Dont waste a spy on 100 gold, wait until you're close to the end of the game and bring a boat with some spies and some defensive units to the next richest civ's capital. The ideal drop off is a hill that is two squares away from the capital, and keep the boat nearby so it can provide naval support. Then after the inital turn waiting for them to recover, you bring the spies in (two squares is just far enough for the spies, but too far for a lot of units to get to your landing party before they are active) to the capital, ring first of course, and steal gold, I have seen this yeald over 8000 gold in one turn (3000, 2500, 2000, 1500 per spy!!!!) from an enemy who thought they were close to economic victory! And the best part is that you get the gold instantly, so even if they manage to kill off the rest of the landing party its not that big of a deal! Suggested Civilizations: It depends on if you are going for econ or cultural, anyone with high gold, culture, defense, or democray works just fine ---------------[civT]--------------- ----Civilization-Specific Tactics--- <<<None for the time being>>> --------------------------------[Askf]-------------------------------- -----------------------Frequently Asked Questions--------------------- --- Q: What is the best Civilization? A: There is no "best" civilization. The civilizations are very balanced. The civilization you should choose should be based on what kind of victory you want to shoot for. --- --- Q: Why are my cities falling behind everyone else's? A: Well there are multiple reasons for this. Make sure you always build the right buildings in the right cities. You don't want to build a bank in a city made just for science. Make sure that you also keep an eye on your city management. If you don't keep an eye on it your cities might not pick the right tiles for the best city output. --- --------------------------------[Ctnc]-------------------------------- -------------------Contact Information and Submission----------------- To send questions email me at [email protected] For tactic submissions please follow the following template to make my job easier. Name: Your name here (this will go under the "Submitted by") Name of Tactic: Guide: Suggested Civilizations: Please provide a clear and accurate description of the tactic. I won't accept anything under 100 words.