Below, you’ll find a rundown of the unique elements of each leader and civilization along with tips on how to play as them, as well as what to watch out for if you’re playing against them. Bear in mind that the ‘Agenda’ described in each leader’s tips section details their consistent likes and dislikes based on their personality. In addition to this, each leader will have a hidden agenda that is randomly assigned at the beginning of each game; to unearth that hidden agenda, you’ll need to gain their trust and improve your relationship with them through delegations, trade deals and by adhering to their known likes. Or you could just send a spy to do some snooping. But remember, if you get caught, you didn’t get these tips from us, okay? A quick note: we’ve refreshed out Civ 6 guides for the game’s launch on Nintendo Switch, but just be aware that they contain information regarding the Rise and Fall DLC as well as the base game, which means some things only apply if you have that DLC! Otherwise… crack on! Civilization: Poland Leader: Jadwiga Pland Unique Ability - Golden Liberty: When Poland completes an Encampment or Fort inside friendly territory, it gains adjacent tiles, even if they belong to another Civ. Also, one of Poland’s Military Policy slots is converted to a Wildcard Policy slot. Poland Unique Unit - Winged Hussar: Medieval era cavalry unit. When attacking, if it does more damage than the defending enemy, it pushes them back one tile. If they can’t move back, it does additional damage. Poland Unique Infrastructure - Sukiennice: Replaces the Market. +3 Gold, +1 Citizen, +1 Great Merchant Point-per-turn, +4 Gold from domestic Trade Routes, +2 Production from international Trade Routes. Jadwiga Unique Ability - Lithuanian Union: When using the Golden Liberty ‘culture bomb’ to gain territory from another Civ’s city, it will convert that city to her Religion. Relics also produce +4 Gold, +2 Culture, +2 Faith, and Holy Site districts gain additional adjacency bonuses. Jadwiga Tips:
When playing as Jadwiga: Although there’s seemingly an emphasis on Faith generation with Poland and Jadwiga, they’re actually surprisingly flexible. Additional Gold and Production from various sources means that playing a ‘wide’ game - with lots of cities spread out early on - is made far more easy, whilst the conversion of a Military Policy to a Wildcard Policy can be very helpful for adapting to the game at hand. Couple that with the displacement abilities of both the Winged Hussar and the return of the ‘culture bomb’, and Jadwiga’s Poland is all about expansion. When playing against Jadwiga: Generate lots of Faith to avoid getting into a conflict with her - or at least delay the inevitable. Her agenda, Saint, sees her try to build up lots of Faith herself, and look favourably on others who do the same. Regardless, against an AI Jadwiga you’ll likely soon find available land disappearing, and a rival Civ with a huge population at their disposal thanks to her ability to expand. Make sure you have enough resources and diversified cities as soon as possible to counter her, and keep a strong military to hand to deal with those mid-game Winged Hussars.
Civilization: America Leader: Teddy Roosevelt America Unique Ability - Founding Fathers: Earn all government legacy bonuses in half the usual time. America Unique Unit - P-51 Mustang: Modern era air unit. Gains +5 attack against fighter aircraft, has +2 flight range, and gains +50% experience Replaces the Fighter. America Unique Infrastructure - Film Studio: +100% Tourism pressure from this city towards other civilizations in the Modern era. Replaces Broadcast Centre. Roosevelt Unique Ability - Roosevelt Corollary: Units receive a +5 Combat Strength on their home continent. +1 Appeal to all tiles in a city with a National Park. Gain the Rough Rider unique unit when they research the Rifling technology. Roosevelt Unique Unit - Rough Rider: Modern era unit. Culture is earned from kills on their Capital’s continent. +10 Combat Strength when fighting on Hills. Lower maintenance cost. Teddy Roosevelt Tips:
When playing as Roosevelt: While lacking any spectacular bonuses in the early game, Roosevelt excels at peaceful, long-term Cultural strategies. His government-based bonus can be used to powerful effect if maintaining government types for extended periods or can be used to gain weaker, but more varied bonuses by changing government types more frequently. Roosevelt comes into his own in the late game, with his two Modern era unique units being used to help keep the peace while the Film Studio and National Park bonuses propel him toward a Cultural victory. When playing against Roosevelt, be aware of his agenda: Big Stick Policy. Roosevelt likes peaceful civilizations that have a city on his home continent and hates civilizations starting wars against a city-state or other civilization based on his continent. Roosevelt’s preferred religion is Protestantism.
Civilization: England Leader: Victoria England Unique Ability - British Museum: Each Archaeological Museum holds 6 Artifacts instead of 3 and can support 2 Archaeologists at once. Archaeological Museums are automatically themed when they have 6 Artifacts. England Unique Unit - Sea Dog: Renaissance era naval unit. Can capture enemy ships. Cannot be seen unless adjacent to it. Replaces Privateer. England Unique Infrastructure - Royal Naval Dockyard: Removes the Movement penalty for embarking and disembarking to and from this tile. +1 Movement for all naval units built in the Dockyard. +2 Gold when built on a foreign continent. +1 Trade Route capacity. Replaces Harbour district. Victoria Unique Ability - Pax Britannica: All found or conquered cities on a continent other than your home continent receive a free melee unit. Gain the Redcoat unique unit when the Military Science technology is researched. Victoria Unique Unit - Redcoat: Industrial era unit. +10 Combat Strength when fighting on a continent other than your Capital’s. No disembark cost. Victoria Tips:
When playing as Victoria: Expansion is key for Victoria, peaceful or otherwise. Make use of the Royal Dockyard and Sea Dog in the mid-game period to control the seas and expand your fleet. In the later game, the Redcoats can be used to defend overseas territory or push home the advantage with further, aggressive expansion. Those wishing to take the peaceful route can use the excellent British Museum to quickly gather up artifacts and put them on display, providing powerful, themed cultural bonuses that can be used to make up Victoria’s potential early game cultural deficit brought about through all of that expansion. When playing against Victoria, be aware of her Agenda: Sun Never Sets. Victoria likes civilizations from her home continent. She wants to expand to all continents and this leads her to take a dislike to civilizations on continents where England has no city. Victoria’s preferred religion is Protestantism.
Civilization: Germany Leader: Frederic Barbarossa Germany Unique Ability - Free Imperial Cities: Each city can build one more district than usual (exceeding the normal limit based on population). Germany Unique Unit - U-Boat: Modern Era naval unit that replaces the Submarine. Cheaper to produce, +1 Sight, +10 Combat Strength when fighting on Ocean tiles. Able to reveal other stealthed units. Germany Unique Infrastructure - Hansa: Replaces the Industrial Zone district. +1 Production from every 2 adjacent district tiles. +2 Production from each adjacent Commercial Hub. +1 Production from each adjacent resource. Barbarossa Unique Ability - Holy Roman Emperor: Additional Military Policy slot. +7 Combat Strength when attacking city-states. Frederic Barbarossa tips:
When playing as Barbarossa: With his additional Military Policy slot and the combat bonus he enjoys against city-states, early domination of them is a useful Barbarossa tactic. His aggressive perks and powerful U-Boat suggest a Domination victory might be the most obvious route to victory. However, his ability to expand cities with an additional district over that of other civilizations, along with his production-boosting Hansa district, which enjoys some generous adjacent bonuses, means he’s well placed to for more peaceful victory types, too. When playing against Frederic Barbarossa, be aware of his Agenda: Iron Crown. Barbarossa likes civilizations who do not associate with city-states, which makes him a tough man to get along with if you’re intending to go looking for city-state alliances. Barbarossa particularly dislikes Suzerains of city-states (the player with the closest relationship to a city-state) and civilizations that conquer city-states, preventing him from doing so. Barbarossa’s preferred religion is Catholicism.
Civilization: Greece Leader: Pericles Greece Unique Ability - Plato’s Republic: One extra Wildcard policy slot in any government Greece Unique Unit - Hoplite: Ancient era unit. +10 Combat Strength if there is at least one adjacent Hoplite unit. Replaces Spearman. Greece Unique Infrastructure - Acropolis: +1 Culture from each adjacent Wonder. +1 Culture from each adjacent district. +1 Culture from each adjacent City Centre. Replaces Theatre Square district. Pericles Unique Ability - Surrounded by Glory: +5% Culture per city-state you are the Suzerain of. Pericles Tips:
When playing as Pericles: He looks like a sure bet for a Cultural victory, but Pericles’ bonuses are actually more flexible than they first appear. His ability to retain an additional government Wildcard Policy slot regardless of the government type that you opt for combines very well with the Cultural benefits provided by his city-state bonus and the Acropolis. More culture means more civics researched more quickly, which can then be used to form a solid foundation upon which to build almost any victory type. He also has a very impressive beard. When playing against Pericles, be aware of his Agenda: Delian League. Pericles likes civilizations that aren’t competing for the same city-state allegiance and so, unsurprisingly, he dislikes civilizations that are directly competing for the same city-state allegiance as him.
Civilization: Japan Leader: Hojo Tokimune Japan Unique Ability - Meiji Restoration: All districts receive an additional standard adjacency bonus for being adjacent to another district. Japan Unique Unit - Samurai: Medieval era unit. Does not suffer combat penalties when damaged. Japan Unique Infrastructure - Electronics Factory: +4 Production to all cities within 6 tiles. After researching the Electricity technology this building provides an additional +4 Culture to its city. Replaces Factory. Tokimune Unique Ability - Divine Wind: Land units receive +5 Combat Strength in land tiles adjacent to Coast; naval units receive +5 Combat Strength in shallow water tiles. Builds Encampment, Holy Site and Theatre Square districts in half the time. Hojo Tokimune tips:
When playing as Tokimune: Particularly adapt at leveraging the adjacency bonuses of districts, and of creating Military, Faith and Culture-based districts in half the usual time, Tokimune is an early to mid game powerhouse. His Samurai can fight to the bitter end at full strength, allowing for a handful of noble warriors to further the cause of their emperor in the name of Japanese expansion; fighting near the coast boosts them further still. Tokimune’s incredibly powerful Electronic’s factory provides a late game boost to production and, for those Tokimune players who have grown weary of the earlier mass slaughter, a great way to pursue a Cultural victory. When playing against Tokimune, be aware of his Agenda: Bushido. Tokimune has a very specific set of likes and dislikes. He likes civilizations that have strong Military, Faith, and Culture output and he dislikes civilizations that are strong in Military but weak in Faith and Culture output. Good luck staying on the right side of him.
Civilization: Kongo Leader: Mvemba a Nzinga Kongo Unique Ability- Nkisi: +2 Food, +2 Production, and +4 Gold from each Relic, Artifact, and Sculpture Great Work of Art in addition to the usual Culture. Receive double Great Writer, Great Artist, Great Musician and Great Merchant points. Palace has slots for 5 Great Works. Kongo Unique Unit - Ngao Mbeba: Classical era unit. +10 Combat Strength when defending against ranged attacks. Can move and see through Woods and Rainforest. Replaces Swordsman. Kongo Unique Infrastructure - Mbanza: Unique district that can only be constructed in Rainforest or Woods. Replaces the Neighbourhood district but is available earlier. Provides +5 Housing, +2 Food, and +4 Gold, regardless of Appeal. Nzinga Unique Ability - Religious Convert: May not build Holy Site districts, gain Great Prophets, or found Religions. Gains all Beliefs of any Religion that has established itself in a majority of his cities. Receives an Apostle each time he finishes a Mbanza or Theatre Square district (of that city’s majority Religion). Mvemba a Nzinga tips:
When playing as Nzinga: While many leaders balk at seeing large swathes of Rainforest or Woods; Nzinga loves it. Use such terrain to your advantage by racing to the creation of the Mbanza district from the Medieval era onwards. Then, create large cities with burgeoning populations and actively welcome the spread of other religions in order to gain their most powerful benefits without having to generate Faith of your own. Use the flexible Great Works slots in the Palace to house the output of the many Great People that you are capable of attracting to your lands. When playing against Nzinga, be aware of his Agenda: Enthusiastic Disciple. If you plan on founding a religion, keep in mind that Nzinga likes civilizations that bring Religion to the Kongo. By extension, he dislikes civilizations that have founded a Religion but not seen fit to spread it to a Kongolese city. Nzinga likes any religion but his favourite is Catholicism.
Civilization: Norway Leader: Harald Hardrada Norway Unique Bonus - Knarr: Units gain the ability to enter Ocean tiles after researching the Shipbuilding technology. Naval melee units heal in neutral territory. Units ignore additional Movement costs from embarking and disembarking. Norway Unique Unit - Berserker: Medieval era unit. 4 Movement if this unit starts in enemy territory. +7 Combat Strength when attacking and -7 Combat Strength when defending. Norway Unique Infrastructure - Stave Church: Required to train Apostles. Holy Site districts get an additional standard adjacency bonus from Woods. Replaces Temple. Hardrada Unique Ability - Thunderbolt of the North: Allows coastal raiding for all naval melee units Hardrada Unique Unit - Viking Longship: Ancient era naval unit. Can pillage enemy coastal lands and capture civilians using its coastal raiding ability. 4 movement while in coastal waters. Harald Hardrada tips:
When playing as Hardrada: Bloodthirsty and proud of it, Hardrada is fun to play in a straight-up ‘menace of the seas’ kind of way. With early access to ocean tiles, you should seek to establish a commanding naval presence with your Viking Longships and then set to raiding coastal towns with both it and the Medieval Berserker units, both of which have bonus movement for swift hit and run raids. His Stave Church building can be used to pursue a religious route to victory or, more likely, to boost Hardrada’s military campaign with beliefs that enhance his combat prowess. When playing against Hardrada, be aware of his Agenda: Last Viking King. Hardrada builds big boats and a big naval force. Curiously, he likes civilizations that do the same, despite the potential threat this poses to his control of the seas. He has little time for civilizations with a weak navy. If you’ve ever been seasick, Hardrada probably doesn’t like you. Hardrada’s preferred religion is Protestantism. His favourite colour is sea-green, closely followed by blood-red.
Civilization: Rome Leader: Trajan Rome Unique Ability - All Roads Lead to Rome: All cities you found or conquer start with a Trading Post. If in Trade Route range of your Capital, they also start with a road to it. Your Trade Routes earn +1 Gold for passing through Trading Posts in your own cities. Rome Unique Unit - Legion: Classical era unit. Can build a Roman Fort. Replaces Swordsman and has +5 additional Combat Strength. Rome Unique Infrastructure - Bath: Replaces the Aqueduct district and provides an additional bonus of +2 Housing and +1 Amenity. Trajan Unique Ability - Trajan’s Column: All cities start with an additional City Centre building (starts with a Monument building in the Ancient era). Trajan tips:
When playing as Trajan: Here is a man who is into ‘blue sky thinking’, in that he thinks he is rightfully placed to control all of the land beneath the blue sky. Trajan is well-primed for rapid expansion with bonuses to trade and a free building in every city. Rush towards the Engineering technology and you’ll have access to his unique Bath district that further boosts to both housing capacity and happiness. Legions are a powerful Medieval defensive force, capable of building a fort and holding the ground they’ve won through all of that rapid expansion. When playing against Trajan, be aware of his Agenda: Optimus Princeps. Trajan will try to include as much territory as he can in his empire through rapid expansion. He does not like civilizations who control little territory, which is odd because it actually leaves more for him.
Civilization: Scythia Leader: Tomyris Scythia Unique Ability - People of the Steppe: Receive a second cavalry unit or Saka Horse Archer each time you train a light cavalry unit or Saka Horse Archer. Scythia Unique Unit - Saka Horse Archer: Classical era unit. Ranged unit with 4 Movement with an Attack Range of 1. Scythia Unique Infrastructure - Kurgan: Unlocks the builder ability to construct a Kurgan, unique to Scythia. +1 Faith, +1 Gold, +1 Faith for each adjacent Pasture. Cannot be built on Hills. Tomyris Unique Ability - Killer of Cyrus: All units receive +5 Combat Strength when attacking wounded units. When they eliminate a unit, they heal up to 50 hit points. Tomyris tips:
When playing as Tomyris: With a powerful, and plentiful, mounted military force, Tomyris hunts down her enemies, enjoying a bonus to the combat strength of her units and the ability to heal when defeating enemy troops. Found a religion and grow it via the unique abilities of her builders, then worship the gods to receive further combat bonuses and smite your enemies. Conscientious objectors need not apply to fill Tomyris’ boots. When playing against Tomyris, be aware of her Agenda: Backstab Averse. While ferocious, Tomyris is also loyal and so likes civilizations who make public declarations of friendship towards her. She hates civilizations who break their promises, not only to her but to other leaders and woe betide anyone that declares a surprise wars on a neighbour.
If your lust for Civilization 6 knowledge is still going strong, expansion owners should take a look at our Civ 6 Rise and Fall guide hub which takes you through the basics of everything new, whilst we have dedicated pages on Governors and Loyalty, along with how to earn Golden Ages, Era Points and Era Score through Historic Moments, and a full list of new Civs in Civ 6 Rise and Fall and other DLC. Otherwise, our Civilization 6 guide, tips and tricks covers the essentials before you master early game, mid-game and late-game strategies. We also have tips on the new Districts feature, a Leaders list with their Traits and Agendas, plus the best ways to get Gold, Science, and Faith, how to win by Religious Victory, and how to earn the elusive Science Victory and Military domination victory. Finally, here’s the Culture Victory, Foreign Tourism, and Domestic Tourism explained in depth. Civilization: Spain Leader: Philip II Spain Unique Ability - Treasure Fleet: May build Fleets and Armadas earlier than usual (Mercantilism). Trade Routes between multiple continents receive bonus Gold for routes to other civilizations, and bonus Food and Production for routes between your own cities. Spain Unique Unit - Conquistador: Renaissance era unit. +10 Combat Strength when there is a Missionary, Inquisitor, or Apostle in the same hex. If this unit captures a city or is adjacent to a city when it is captured, the city will automatically adopt the Conquistador player’s Religion as the dominant Religion. Spain Unique Infrastructure - Mission: Unlocks the builder ability to construct a Mission, unique to Spain. +1 Faith, +2 Faith if on a different continent than your Capital. +1 Science if built next to a Campus district. Philip II Unique Ability - El Escorial: Inquisitors can Remove Heresy one extra time. Combat units have a bonus of +4 Combat Strength against players following other Religions. Philip II tips:
When playing as Philip II: It’s simple, really. Build a powerful naval fleet and then send your religious units out to spread the word of your chosen belief system. The bonus to cross-continent trade routes and the rapid adoption of religion by conquered cities brought about by his Conquistadors make expansion and holy conversion a very effective and wicked pact, indeed. When playing against Philip II, be aware of his Agenda: Counter Reformer. As a man of the church, Philip II likes civilizations that follow the same religion as him, and wants all of his cities to all follow one religion. As such, he hates anyone trying to spread their religion into his empire. His preferred religion is Catholicism. His luxurious mustache may or may not be a sacred relic.
Civilization: Arabia Leader: Saladin Arabia Unique Ability - The Last Prophet: Automatically receive the final Great Prophet when the penultimate one is claimed (if you have not earned a Great Prophet already). +1 Science for each foreign city following Arabia’s Religion Arabia Unique Unit - Mamluk: Medieval era mounted unit. Heals at the end of every turn, even after moving or attacking. Replaces the Knight. Arabia Unique Infrastructure - Madrasa: Bonus Faith equal to the adjacency bonus of the Campus district. Replaces University. Saladin Unique Ability - Righteousness of the Faith: The worship building for their Religion can be purchased by any player for just one-tenth of the usual Faith cost. This worship building is enhanced to add 10% to the Science, Faith and Culture output of Arabian cities. Saladin Tips:
When playing as Saladin: Using Religion as a foundation, Saladin can excel on a number of fronts. He needn’t concentrate too much on attaining the Great Prophet required to start his religion as he will receive the final Great Prophet available no matter what. Once established, look to push Saladin’s Religion into as many cities as possible to gain boosts to Science. Adding a Holy Site district to most cities is also a smart move in order to access the boost to Science, Culture and Faith provided by Saladin’s Worship building. The cheap cost of his Worship building for other civilizations means a steadily increasing boost should accumulate over time, giving Saladin options to move forward as he chooses. When playing against Saladin, be aware of his agenda: Ayyubid Dynasty. Saladin likes to have his Worship building in many cities, and likes other civilizations that have it. He dislikes civilizations following other Religions and also civilizations waging war on followers of his Religion. Saladin’s preferred religion is Islam.
Civilization: Aztec Leader: Montezuma Aztec Unique Ability- Legend of the Five Suns: Spend Builder charges to complete 20% of the original district charge. Aztec Unique Unit - Eagle Warrior: Ancient era melee unit. Has a chance to capture other civilization’s military units by turning them into builders. Replaces the Warrior. Aztec Unique Infrastructure - Tlachtli: +2 Faith, +1 Amenity from entertainment, +1 Great General point per turn. Replaces Arena. Montezuma Unique Ability - Gifts for the Tlatoani: Luxury resources in his territory provide an Amenity to 2 extra cities. Military units receive +1 Combat Strength for each different Luxury resource improved in Aztec lands. Montezuma Tips:
When playing as Montezuma: Bigger is better when playing as Montezuma. Expand territory in order to claim as many luxury resources as possible for the boost they provide to both Amenities and unit Combat Strength. Use Eagle Warrirors as much as possible in the early game to capture enemy units and turn them into Builders to harvest those luxury resources and also speed the production of districts. If such expansion requires war, so be it. Montezuma is well equipped for war in the early game and the additional Amenities provided by luxury resources will not only boost Combat Strength but also offset any population unrest of the war waging around their ears. When playing against Montezuma, be aware of his agenda: Tlatoani. Montezuma likes civilizations that have the same luxury resources as he does, so that he doesn’t feel like he’s missing out. He dislikes civilizations that have luxury resources that he doesn’t have.
Civilization: Brazil Leader: Pedro II Pedro II Tips:
When playing as Pedro II: Forward planning is a key part of Pedro II’s strategy. Keeping some Rainforest tiles around for the bonuses they confer to several of Brazil’s districts is a crucial consideration. These bonuses will help fuel the drive towards multiple Great People, as will holding Carnivals, which are unlocked via the Street Carnival district. Pedro II has a leaning towards a Cultural Victory due to an emphasis on Great Artists and the cultural bonuses they provide, but his ability to reliably attract Great People of all types makes any victory condition attainable. When playing against Pedro II, be aware of his agenda: Patron of the Arts. Pedro II likes civilizations that are not competing for Great People and will recruit Great People whenever possible. Dislikes losing a Great Person to another civilization. Pedro II’s preferred religion is Catholicism.
Civilization: China Leader: Qin Shi Huang China Unique Ability - Dynastic Cycle: Eureka moments and Inspirations provide 60% of civics and technologies instead of 50%. China Unique Unit - Crouching Tiger: Medieval era ranged unit. Range of 1 and high combat strength (30 melee strength and 50 ranged strength). China Unique Infrastructure - Great Wall: Unlocks the Builder ability to construct the Great Wall. Provides an increase to Defence. Bonus to Gold if adjacent to other segments. Additional Culture and Tourism as you advance through the Technology Tree for adjacent segments. Must be built in a line along the borders of your empire. Qin Shi Huang Unique Ability - The First Emperor: When building Ancient and Classical wonders you may spend Builder charges to complete 15% of the original wonder cost. Builders receive an additional charge. Qin Shi Huang Tips:
When playing as Qin Shi Huang: Coveting Wonders above all else, Qin Shi Huang has the Builder ability to achieve an intimidating collection of early game Wonders so use it widely and often. In turn, these Wonders help boost progress through the eras necessary grant access to the military units and Great Wall useful for defending himself from the envious glances of rival leaders. Substantial increases in boosts to both tech and civic research help progress along both trees and feed into any number of victory types. When playing against Qin Shi Huang, be aware of his agenda: Wall of 10,000 Li. Qin Shi Huang likes civilizations that are not competing with him for wonders and he’ll build wonders whenever possible. Unsurprisingly, he dislikes losing a wonder to another civilization. Qin Shi Huang’s preferred religion is Taoism.
Civilization: Egypt Leader: Cleopatra Egypt Unique Ability - Iteru: +15% Production towards districts and wonders if placed next to a River. Floodplains do not block placement of districts and wonders. Egypt Unique Unit - Maryannu Chariot Archer: Ancient era ranged unit. Has 4 movement when starting in open terrain. Replaces the Heavy Chariot (melee). Egypt Unique Infrastructure - Sphinx: Unlocks the Builder ability to construct a Sphinx. +1 Faith and +1 Culture +2 Faith if next to a wonder. Can be built on Floodplains. Cleopatra Unique Ability - Mediterranean’s Bride: Your Trade Routes to other civilizations provide +4 Gold for Egypt. Other civilizations’ Trade Routes to Egypt provide +2 Food for them and +2 Gold for Egypt. Cleopatra Tips:
When playing as Cleopatra: Making the most of favourable starting placement, Cleopatra can establish a strong start to the game and begin building Wonders and Sphinxes alongside them. Establishing favourable relationships with other leaders through trade, particularly with militaristic leaders, will help turn their attentions away from her and toward any enemies who take exception to her empire building. With canny play throughout the eras, as the late-game comes into view, a Cultural Victory should start to look particularly achievable. When playing against Cleopatra, be aware of her agenda: Queen of the Nile. Cleopatra likes civilizations with powerful militaries and will try to ally with them to avoid damaging military conflicts. She dislikes civilizations with weak militaries.
Civilization: France Leader: Catherine de Medici France Unique Ability - Grand Tour: +20% Production toward Medieval, Renaissance and Industrial era wonders. Tourism from wonders of any era is doubled. France Unique Unit - Garde Impériale: Industrial era melee unit. +10 Combat Strength when fighting on your capital’s continent. Great General points are earned for killing units. France Unique Infrastructure - Château: Unlocks the Builder ability to construct a Chateau. +1 Culture. +2 Culture if next to a wonder. +1 Gold if next to a Luxury resource. Can only be built adjacent to Rivers. Catherine de Medici Unique Ability - Catherine’s Flying Squadron: Has 1 level of Diplomatic Visibility greater than normal with every civilization that she’s met. Receives capacity to build an extra Spy with the Castles technology. Catherine de Medici Tips:
When playing as Catherine de Medici: Knowledge is power, and having a jump on her rivals when it comes to knowing who is focusing on what priorities is a major boon when playing as Catherine de Medici. She’s keen to build wonders, but if both Qin Shi Huang and Cleopatra are gobbling up all of those, her level of intel will enable her to focus on those Wonders that she knows she can get to first. A well placed château (or several) will further bolster the Culture benefits of Wonders and quickly progress her through the Civic Tree. Catherine de Medici’s Garde Impériale are excellent defenders of the continent on which she begins and so expansion close to home should be favoured over that across continents. When playing against Catherine de Medici, be aware of her agenda: Black Queen. Catherine de Medici will gain as many spies and as much diplomatic access as possible. She’s nosey like that. She does not line civilizations that ignore espionage activities. Catherine de Medici’s preferred religion is Catholicism.
Civilization: Greece Leader: Gorgo Greece Unique Ability - Plato’s Republic: One extra Wildcard policy slot in any government Greece Unique Unit - Hoplite: Ancient era unit. +10 Combat Strength if there is at least one adjacent Hoplite unit. Replaces Spearman. Greece Unique Infrastructure - Acropolis: +1 Culture from each adjacent Wonder. +1 Culture from each adjacent district. +1 Culture from each adjacent City Centre. Replaces Theatre Square district. Gorgo Unique Ability - Thermopylae: Combat victories provide Culture equal to 50% of the Combat Strength of the defeated unit. Gorgo Tips:
When playing as Gorgo: Like her Greek counterpart, Pericles, Gorgo is an early-game Culture power-player and a long-term benefactor of a flexible government. Unlike Pericles, however, Gorgo is well-suited to going out and beating Culture points out of enemy units like candy out of a piñata. Her Thermopylae ability makes her particularly troublesome to more peaceful leaders that might also be pursuing a Culture Victory as attacking them with a well prepared force in the late-game can force them to panic. While they are scrambling to counter Gorgo’s powerful military, bolstered by a strong government system, she can be collecting up Culture as she caves in heads. Lovely. When playing against Gorgo, be aware of her agenda: With Your Shield Or On It. Gorgo will never give up items during peace negotiations and she likes civilizations that follow suit. She dislikes civilizations that take the opposite approach or that have never gone to war.
Civilization: India Leader: Gandhi India Unique Ability - Dharma: Receives Follower Belief bonuses in a city from each Religion that has at least 1 follower. India Unique Unit - Varu: Classical era mounted unit. Replaces Horseman, has 2 movement and 40 melee attack. Inflicts -5 Combat Strength on all adjacent enemy units. India Unique Infrastructure - Stepwell: Unlocks the Builder ability to construct a Stepwell. Bestows 1 Food and +1 Housing. +1 Faith is adjacent to a Holy Site (with Feudalism). +1 additional Food if adjacent to a Farm (with Professional Sports). Cannot be built on Hills or adjacent to another Stepwell. Gandhi Unique Ability - Satyagraha: +5 Faith for each civilization (including India) they have met that has founded a Religion and is that is not currently at war. Opposing civilizations receive double the war weariness for fighting against Gandhi. Gandhi Tips:
When playing as Gandhi: The beneficial spread of Religion throughout his empire, both that of his own and other civilizations’, makes Gandhi a powerful Religion player. Capitalising on the placement of Holy Site districts with Stepwells provides a steadily accumulating bonus to both Religion and city growth. Maintaining peace is a key consideration for Gandhi and the Faith bonus he receives for other civilizations also being at peace can make him a useful mediator. If attacked, his Varu unit is useful for nerfing attacking units. While a Religion Victory is most likely, a Science or Culture Victory is also within his grasp. Do not be tempted to the Dark Side by the Big Red Button attached to a Nuke. When playing against Gandhi, be aware of his agenda: Peacekeeper. A peace-loving man, Gandhi never declares wars for which he can be branded a warmonger, and will try to befriend those who maintain the peace. He doesn’t hate a lot in life, but he hates warmongers. Gandhi’s preferred religion is Hinduism.
Civilization: Russia Leader: Peter Russia Unique Ability - Mother Russia: Extra territory upon founding cities. +1 Faith and +1 Production from Tundra. Russia Unique Unit - Cossack: Industrial era unit. Replaces Cavalry and is stronger than Cavalry. Gains +5 Combat Strength when fighting in or adjacent to its home territory. Can move after attacking if Movement points remain. Russia Unique Infrastructure - Lavra: Your city border grows by one tile each time a Great Person is expended in this city. Replaces Holy Site district. Peter Unique Ability - The Grand Embassy: Receives Science or Culture from Trade Routes to civilizations that are more advanced than Russia (+1 per 3 technologies or civics ahead) Peter Tips:
When playing as Peter: The great expansionist, Peter’s spread is generally peaceful and largely effortless. The larger starting territory surrounding his cities is bolstered by his ability to expand his territory whenever he expends a Great Person. This gives Peter plenty of options for building and resource gathering, which he can use to strengthen his position with other leaders through trade. Similarly, if he does find himself behind other leaders then beneficial trade deals can reap the benefit of his ability to absorb Science and Culture from other civilizations, eventually catapulting him to the head of the pack in the race to multiple Victory Conditions. When playing against Peter, be aware of his agenda: Westerniser. Peter is friendly to those civilizations that are ahead of him in Science and Culture. He dislikes civilizations that are lacking Science and Culture. Peter’s preferred religion is Eastern Orthodoxy.
Civilization: Sumeria Leader: Gilgamesh Sumeria Unique Ability - Epic Quests: When you capture a Barbarian Outpost, receive a Tribal Village reward in addition to the usual Gold. Pay half the usual cost to levy the units of city-states. Sumeria Unique Unit - War-Cart: Ancient era unit. Stronger than all other starting units. No penalties against anti-cavalry units. 4 Movement if this unit starts in open terrain. Sumeria Unique Infrastructure - Ziggurat: Unlocks the Builder ability to construct a Ziggurat. +2 Science. +1 Culture if next to a River (requires Natural History). Cannot be built on Hills. Gilgamesh Unique Ability - Adeventures of Enkidu: May declare war on anyone at war with their allies without warmonger penalties. When at war with a common foe, they and their allies share pillage rewards and share combat experience gains if within 5 tiles. Gilgamesh Tips:
When playing as Gilgamesh: The Man Mountain whom everyone wants to be friends with, Gilgamesh benefits from incredibly powerful early game bonuses. Sending War-Carts out in all directions, he can reap huge benefits through exploration and barbarian decimation with these fast-moving units. Gaining extra goody huts are always fun, but Gilgamesh’s more serious side is seen in his unbeatable value as an ally, particularly in times of war. A strong start is almost guaranteed and, with clever play and by maintaining beneficial long-term relationships with other leaders, he’s well placed to claim one of numerous victory conditions. When playing against Gilgamesh, be aware of his agenda: Ally of Enkidu. Gilgamesh likes civilizations that are willing to form long-term alliances. Dislikes anyone denouncing or attacking his friends and allies.
