Cultural victory - tips!

petra is amazing in the right setting. lots of desert hills is ideal, hopefully irrigable. it tends to turn that city into a powerhouse that can build a lot more wonders, and also, the desert becomes good spot for plopping landmarks. So yeah its a really good wonder for culture.
 
I'm curious how you guys rate Petra in culture games since no one has mentioned it here yet (I think). The 6 culture after archaeology and the free Amphitheater seem somewhat nice to me, especially with Sistine Chapel and Alhambra.

I forgot this part for the last GOTM game. I didn't know about Petra and Alhambra about cultural bonuses. Other things to focus for my next cultural games. I would have take a pretty different path if i had a chance to remake it(well actually i can but i hate replaying the same map).
 
Petra + Desert Folklore + a good amount of desert/hill tiles or desert/(bonus resource of X type) tiles makes for a huge boost.

Getting back to the OP, my personal suggestion is:

1) Archipelago or Islands for map type (makes defending yourself easier)

2) Huge map size (gives you more CS's, increasing chances of Cultural CS's)

3) Siam, France, or Aztecs (Siam can get extra culture from CS's, France can go a little wider and puppet to gain culture, and the Aztecs can wipe the inevitable barb ships for culture time and time again without risking taking out the barb encampment). Polynesia is an obvious possibility, too, but because it takes so long to get Moai generating gold, I tend to lag economically with them a little too much. That and the random nature of the islands can make it hard to get more than 3 Moai adjacent to each other at a time, making Polynesia a bit of a gamble.

4) Statue of Liberty or a couple of planted Great Engineers is always helpful at the end (especially the planted Great Engineers, since chances are you'll go Freedom 99.9% of the time when going culture). I even sometimes keep a GE or two in reserve to plant the moment I can start Utopia, and I'll plant them right over the Great Artists I already planted. Since you can't rush Utopia, this is a good idea. To make it even faster, keep a Great Artist in reserve as well to pop a Golden Age, or, alternatively, pick Liberty as your last SP track (if you didn't go that route before) and close out on the 'cities effect culture needed 33% less/starts a Golden Age' SP.
 
or, alternatively, pick Liberty as your last SP track (if you didn't go that route before) and close out on the 'cities effect culture needed 33% less/starts a Golden Age' SP.

...and choose a Great Artist as your closer to double the Golden Age. ;)
 
...and choose a Great Artist as your closer to double the Golden Age. ;)

You're right! I never even thought of that! Forgot all about the free Great Person choice there for a second. That would give you a lot of Golden Age :goodjob:
 
You're right! I never even thought of that! Forgot all about the free Great Person choice there for a second. That would give you a lot of Golden Age :goodjob:

Its pretty easy to get long golden ages in the second half of the game. I wouldn't delay representation just for that. Remember you can purchase Great Artists with faith after Freedom is open.
 
Got a great Aztec game going. Managed to hard build Petra, Chichen Itza, and rushed Alhambra and PT in each city. I should've went for Piety but I'll see where it goes. Also have Taj Mahal, Leaning Tower of Pisa, Big Ben, and will rush for SoL soon.

Right now Japan is annihilating everybody around him and has like 10+ cities making 300GPT and competing with my CS. He also seem ready to backstab my DOF soon. Luckily he's the farthest away, but I'm afraid to DOW on his friend Polynesia which is right below me. I can crush Polynesia with Great War Infantry against his 40~defense cities and muskets, lol. I think I will crush Polynesia soon, he has Terracotta, Great Wall, and a couple of other Wonders useful for me.

Almost finished Freedom and will get Radio around turn 220ish.
 
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