Can someone explain this game to me like I'm 5 pls?

[dancingk8]

I'm a casual fan of strategy games and decided to try one of the civ games for the first time today. I've gotten part-way into a couple games before failing miserably both times (...on the lowest difficulty ha).

I've tried googling "civ 6 tips" and reading your standard game guides, but the game just seems so much more difficult to me than these websites make it out to be. I feel like I've got to be doing something wrong. My most major complaint is that it seems to be RIDICULOUSLY hard to train and maintain troop units. The amount of turns just to produce even the most basic warrior group seems a little absurd. And then the empires surrounding me already have guns when I've just finished unlocking crossbows! I've gotten caught up in wars in both games I attempted, no idea why/how, and was just completely unprepared both times.

Gold is also not easy to come by. I've started various trade routes and tried to assign my envoys to city-states that can offer gold, but even still I can only afford to purchase small things once every six or so turns. I feel like there's just no possible way to produce the same quantity of troops that the empires surrounding me have.

My basic strategy has been to start out with a groups of slingers, warriors, and archers to defeat the nearby barbarians. I add a scout to explore the map. I try to settle a couple more cities close-ish to the beginning of the game so I can have higher production. When I can afford it, I'll buy a couple traders and builders to put in mines and farms. I always get popups about not having enough housing and amenities, so graneries and entertainment sections are the first things I build in each city. I use the oligarchy form of government. Have always gotten defeated by someone 10X bigger and more advanced either shortly before or during the industrial period, so I haven't really managed anything else of consequence. One game I did manage to build a harbor and a couple warships and that was nice.

Please feel free to critique my opening strategy or if you could direct me to an extremely beginnner-friendly game guide, I would very much appreciate it.

Thanks for any help!

 

[sa1vy]

You build guys with pointy sticks and attack the other guys with pointy sticks, and then you take their stuff. Then you build bigger guys with bigger sticks and take more people's stuff.
Well you did ask for me to explain it "like I'm 5 pls".

Did you do any of the tutorials? Also, you may have wrong ideas about the number of turns these games take. A typical game should last about 200-300 turns, usually. It's completely normal for a warrior to take 10, 15, even 20 turns to build, at least in the beginning.
For real though, go down in difficulty level, even down to settler, the lowest. This can help you test out a lot of different strategies. I'd also recommend setting the map size to duel, so it's just you and an opponent. Also turn barbarians off. Try one or a couple games where you just focus on military. Build around half a dozen to a dozen units, test them out on the enemy, see which ones you like. You can even build a settler to get a second city to train more troops. Try to get victory in around 30-50 turns, if you can.
After you get bored of steamrolling the AI like this, open up the tech tree and see what the different things technologies unlock. You mentioned that it was really difficult to train troops. This is probably because your production is really low. You also mentioned gold problems. Districts are a great way to increase different yields (like science, culture, gold, faith, or production) for your city. Look in the tech tree for districts like the commercial hub, or the industrial zone. They're not that far in. Try building your empire up to several cities. Build different districts, different units, whatever. If your gold is low, build more commercial hubs. If you want science faster, build a campus. Culture, do a theater square. Etc. Just get a feel for the different yields. Then try making the map a little bigger with 4 opponents, and go for domination using what you learned about managing your empire. Domination is simplest and (usually) fastest.

This game is a bit of a sandbox. You have lots of different options. You can go all in and attack the enemy with everything you have when you first meet them. It may work, or it may not. Or you can play peaceful the whole time. You can build campuses everywhere if you want to go for a science victory. Or theater squares if you want to do a culture victory. There's options. See what kind of playstyle you like.

There are also a fair amount of let's plays on youtube. Try seeing what these people are doing.

 

[Gehennas]

Have you played any of the previous Civilization games? I think that Civ6 learning curve is more steep than in the previous games.

I don't think I am good Civ player, as I am playing on Emperor while it seems almost everybody here plays on Deity. However, I went through the pain of adapting to the game quite recently, so I think I can advise something:

1. Try to play your first game as a set of mini-goals which game already presents to you. I mean the eureka/inspiration requirements and city state quests. Actually the eurekas/inspirations define the game pace quite good: for example, this way, you will have 8 units in medieval era which is already enough for the defense. This way you will get the better understanding of what is going on. After several playthroughs (not neccessary successful ones) you will know more about prerequisites and will be able to plan ahead.
2. As many players suggest here: try not researching the tech/civic if you don't have an eureka/inspiration. If you don't have any other choice - just research one of the available tech/civics to 50% and switch to another. If everything is already researched to 50% just choose the one you don't want getting the eureka/inspiration for because of the absurd or difficult prerequisites. Common examples are "Drama And Poetry" civic (inspiration: build a Wonder - almost all wonders you can build at this point are bad) and "Ballistics" technology (build 2 forts with military engineer - just a production and tile waste).
3. Care about culture cards. You have bonus production cards for any type of unit, so use them. And don't build the unit, if you don't have proper card set. The only exceptions are you first worker and your first settler. This also works for walls and encampments, by the way.
4. Just so you know: if you have researched a civic and didn't set up the culture cards, you still can swap culture cards until the end of the turn. So each time you research the civic, take a look at your empire, decide what you are going to do now and set the cards accordingly.
5. If you have problems with amenities, don't care about housing. Start working on housing problems as soon as amenities are fine.
6. If you have a non-isolated start, AI most likely will be willing to trade luxury resources. I think I usually don't need the entertainment district until the lategame. Also keep in mind that entertainment sector works on all cities in a 6-tile radius and entertainment district amenity bonuses don't overlap.
7. Build granaries first only if you have a city without water at all. Usually you'll need to build district first.
8. In the early game don't send your traders to neighbours (unless these neighbours are city states with "Send a Trade route" quests). Usually until the medieval/renaissance era you'll send trade routes from your newest cities to your capiral.
9. As soon as you got familiar with the eurekas and inspirations, try to look for synergies and exploit them. For example, you may pick Poland (bonus to relics), found the religion and take "triple yield from relics" belief, build Mont Saint-Michel wonder (all apostoles get "martyr" promotion), build Cristo Redentor so relics can generate full tourism and try to play culturally: focus more on theatre/financial/holy districts and less on campus/industrial.
10. Don't actually purchase units/buildings with gold much. In my experience this only works only in the very beginning of the game or if you need to get the important eureka/inspiration right now. Keep in mind that you also need gold for upgrades (I think you get 50% upgrade discount card in medieval era - use it) and bying our important great people.

 

[ShinigamiKenji]

Firstly, know that a good early game means snowballing to victory. That said, this installment can be somewhat forgiving in this regard.

First, you need to plan some things ahead. Like, from the very first turn. The location of your capital is quite important.

Take a look on which resources are around you, in the immediate vicinity, and which you'll probably get after your borders expand (in the second ring of hexes). Then you'll know which techs you'll need tor research to improve them. Hovering over the resource tiles will show what tech you need. Also, try to have a capital with fresh water, at least in the beginning (press "4" to bring the Settler lens; the bright green tiles are tiles with fresh water and usually the ones you want to settle on. Press "4" again to deactivate it). For now, restart the game if there's no fresh water nearby. You can walk around with it in the first couple of turns, but beware of barbarians.

OK, you settled your first city. Now what?

Now you need to choose a tech to research. I suggest going for Animal Husbandry, then Archery at first. Archers have a range of 2, which makes a LOT of difference in this stage. I'll talk more about positioning units in a later post, if you want.

What to build from you first city? Usually, either a Scout or Slinger. Scouts, well, scout better than your available units, which may net you a tribal village or a City-State encounter. Finding a CS before another player gives you an envoy there, which means your capital will receive some bonuses. Also, you can spot barbarian camps before they spawn more units, giving a chance to prevent a barbarian raid. Slingers, on the otherhand, upgrade to Archers after Archery for measly 30 gold (it's usually not difficult to save up to upgrade 3 Slingers).

Use your starting Warrior to explore while you wait for your first unit. Don't make him wander too far, though, because some barbarians may come knocking at your door. Try making a circling pattern around your city, trying to find CS, tribal villages, other players, and good places to settle. Send your second unit scouting too, in the same pattern. If you spot a barbarian camp near a Horses resource (around 5 tiles), be sure to destroy it ASAP. If left untouched, it'll spawn Horsemen, which are very mobile and quite strong. But don't waste your initial units!

Your second build should be either another military unit or a Builder. Probably your city won't have grown yet to size 2 to be able to build Settlers (and you're still quite vulnerable to defend 2 cities anyway). Which one depends on how was the scouting: another AI found, more barbarians, need to improve production etc. Try to have 3 Slingers by the time you research Archery (you can delay it for a few turns if needed, by selecting another tech before it's completed).

After Code of Laws is ready, you can follow either Craftsmanship (which gives a policy that boosts melee and ranged military), or Foreign Trade (to unlock Early Empire earlier; this civic contains a card for boosting Settler production). Get used to swapping policy cards, especially the production ones. Those can save a lot of time. For now, stick with the duo Discipline (more strength against barbarians) and Urban Planning (+1 production seems little, but it can shave off a good number of turns in the very beginning). The early-game goal for civics is unlocking Political Philosophy, for a government that gives proper boosts, and more importantly, more policy slots.

Tech-wise, you want to unlock the improvements for the nearby tiles, then either go for Writing and Currency, or Astrology later. Writing gives Campus, which in turn gives Science, which in turn allows you to have a technology edge (especially militarily). Currency unlocks Commercial Hubs, which in turn allows you to have more trade routes. As many stated, internal trade routes is a nice way to increase production in new cities (especially if stacked). Astrology unlocks Holy Sites, which you'll need if pursuing a Religious Victory. I'll leave this for later.

I'll have to go for now, but I'll post more about the specific victory conditions, and more about the early game. These opening actions should give you a good start for the first 15 or so turns, regardless of victory type. I've left it for last, but for beginners, I'd recommend playing as Rome or Germany. Both are exceptionally versatile and flexible, and should be suitable for someone just learning the ropes. As for difficulty, try Settler or Chieftain, to experiment a bit.

 

[dancingk8]

Thanks so much everyone! That was very helpful!

 

[GameBoy2000]

I'm not that good of a civ player (I still play on king and fail on emperor. Actually, my only game I completed was on prince.) but the best advice I can give you is Youtube. I mean there are plenty of people who know what they are doing and (to some degree) explain it. (They won't explain the basic concepts of say districts or buildings, but they explain though such as their next research or why to found a city.) The best one I can provide if you want to try this would be Veneke's Australia let's play.

https://forums.civfanatics.com/threads/australia-on-a-tsl-earth-map-australian-summer-patch.610954/

 

[ShinigamiKenji]

Okay, now I'm back, and can explain in more detail the victory conditions in the game. The very early game I descrubed earlier doesn't differ much, but from now on it will.

Not counting Score Victory (either you'd be bored before getting this, an AI would win before, or you'd accidentally trip on a victory), those are:

• Domination Victory

The most straightforward condition. Simply have all original capitals under your control. You'll need to have a strong military.

• Religious Victory

You need to found a religion and convert at least half of the cities from each rival civ. For example, if Germany has 5 cities, Kongo has 2 and you have 6, you need to convert 3 German cities, 1 Kongolese city, and 3 of your cities.

Beware of spreading rival religions to your cities, especially on Pangaea maps, or you may give a RV for free to a rival. It's a kinda complicated victory, especially on higher levels, because the AI focuses on founding a religion, which may leave you out of the religion game.

• Science Victory

This victory demands you going through most of the tech tree, building a Spaceport district and building all relevant projects.

Despite the "Science" name, you need quite a bit of production to build the Spaceport and the projects. The final Great Scientists will be of immense help to that.

• Culture Victory

This victory can be a little clunky for newcomers. You need to build up tourism through wonders, Great Works (from Great Writers, Artists and Musicians), Artifacts, Seaside Resorts and National Parks. Your accumulated tourism through the game must overcome the accumulated culture from every player combined.

It sounds daunting, since culture can be built from the early game, but late game your tourism will rise exponentially if you've been playing well. I won't comment more on this, because Victoria did an excellent guide in deep detail. You can find it in the sticky threads.

--
Now we can ask the first big question: Is religion going to be an essential part of my grand strategy?

Note the emphasis on "essential". You don't need a religion to win the game. So, either now you begin building a Holy Site, or move on and never really care about them at all. For now, we'll simplify things by saying that of you want a religion, then you're mostly going for a Religious Victory. You can use religion to boost other victories, but these are somewhat gimmicky, and best learned after you get the ropes first. Okay, so you've either built a Holy Site or skipped it. What now?

Now comes the fun part (for some, at least). You've built some units, now it's time to put them to use! Conquests are the fastest way to get some new cities, and most people will say that it's esssential in the higher difficulties. Indeed, is there a better way to deny victory than erasing your rivals from the game? Even mostly peaceful victories are more successful with a bit of early conquest.

You can begin conquest after you have some Archers and a couple Warriors. You can start with as few as 3 Archers and 1 Warrior, but you may want to start with more, just to account for possible losses.

I'll leave the rest of early warfare for later, but I'd like to know if these things are too basic. Next time I'll talk a bit about diplomacy and warfare, and then about infrastructure in general. Please, say what you know and what you're familiar with in these regards (agendas, unit positioning, combat etc)

 

[Victoria]

In simple terms, the main points

Your start position is important as in you need some tiles that produce at least +2 production and +2 food
If you are starting low I suggest on a couple of slingers and then normally get a builder and a settler out before pushing much else.
You need to get some commercial districts as soon as possible so try to keep as much in a straight line to them as possible in techs
and you do need to get out a few settlers so you get 5-6 cities by turn 100.

Using the 30% off builder card is great and a feudalism the +2 builds card
The most common cards are -1 gold off unit maintenance and +2 gold to trade routes (you do need a few trade routes, ideally from your weak to string cities when they start.
When you make a new city it starts very slow so that internal trade route and a builder wither bought or sent from a stronger city is incredibly important

 

[Abraxis]

Why don't you like getting an early scout? I thought being first to discover even a single city state was a pretty great return on the investment, then there are all the eurekas for discovering things. Sure you can scout with the warrior or slingers, but I find it best to keep them back for defense, particularly the slingers are very vulnerable off out there alone.

 

[sa1vy]

I find scouts to be rather ineffective at their only job: scouting. Trudging through continuous hills/jungle/forests is literally done as slowly as any other unit because of the way movement points work in this game. They're good on flat, open terrain, but that's about it. Granted, they do get better with their promotions, but you have to choose one out of several options when scouts really need all of them to be effective.
I think scouts need an overhaul. Having 2 movement points but no terrain restrictions could work (like civ V). Or they could change the promotion tree to something better, because it's pretty lackluster at the moment. I think they could do a lot more with the promotion trees for most units now, because they're mostly pretty boring at the moment.