First thoughts on Civilization VI

I have had a three games of Civilization VI - twice on warlord level to learn the system and once at prince level to get more challenge. In summary, it is a much easier game to win at but very entertaining all the way to the end.

Easier to win at because I won each game. However, each victory was a cultural victory. At the easier levels, you get more wonders and all the culture from them pushes you over the line. In the chart below you can see I am leading on all metrics except religion - I failed to prioritise founding a religion early enough - but cuulture is half way full while the rest are fingernails (see how much the Sumerian circle is filled in from the bottom on each case.

While a victory is a victory, you do not get a high score for a cultural victory.

Taking cities remains super tricky in this invocation of Civilization. However, as none of the AI opponents bother to upgrade their armies, it becomes straight-forwards from the Napoleonic era onwards.

What makes the game quite captivating is how many things you can do. Unlike previous Civ game, not every city builds the same enhancements. You tweak you city towards what you want to achieve: Arts and Culture in the centre near you capital, and Industry and Military towards the border, where you need them. Notice below my capital is far from the border so has a Colosseum, a Forbidden palace, and Entertainment district and the Theatre district, but the obligatory Ziggurat (cos I'm Sumerian).

There are now two research charts - civics and science, but they cross over a lot. What is super cool is that to get a step up on a research project, you get a practical exercise. if you can do that, you cut the research time in half. Force example, if you win a battle with a slinger, you get a leg up on archer. If you build three musket armies, you get a leg up on rifling. You can't possibly get all the leg ups, but you find yourself desperately looking for iron to mine, or a space port to build at certain times of the game. These sub-projects are fun, and often get you into trouble, which make things interesting.

Tip for new players: If you enter a village, you can get a bonus leg up. The Sumerians treat every barbarian encampment as a village, and there are no shortage of those, so Sumerians are a good power for your first game. You build a mobile army early and wander around the map hunting barbarians to get leg ups!

Also note down the bottom you can see where you are relative to everyone else. The English (Victoria) are trailing badly, but me taking their capital did not help!

There are also other project you can get into. You can collect books, art, relics and curios for your libraries and museums. I did not do much this last game as I did not want to win a cultural victory too quickly.

I was annoyed at not having a religion, so took the capital of someone who did and proselytised for them, but the game did not pay that. I think it should. After all, who owns Jerusalem!

The end comes suddenly (for a cultural victory). You are just about to make you next attack when a movie starts. (One of many nice animated sequences in the game. I paricularly love the "construction of a wonder" sequence.)

The chart shows that I pretty much lead from the Medieval period. Time to try a higher level of difficulty. I don't need to sleep!

Comments

[PythonMagus]

There are water wheels, but then tend to speed you up, not slow you down.

Note my first sentence:
"I have had a three games of Civilization VI - twice on warlord level to learn the system and once at prince level to get more challenge."

I think that answer's Paul's question.

[Paul]

I can't wait to give it a go. What level of difficulty were you.

[Thygocanberra]

does it have pumps ;-)