It's almost time for an expansion, so it's a little strange to me that there's been not much talk hereabouts about how to arrange or administer your Civ economically. There's usually some dichotomy in choices between economic management in Civ. In Civ 4, you went hard with Specialists or you went hard with money. You usually still had an element of both in any game, but your emphasis determined your preferences. Wonder Economy, too, I guess.
In Civ 5, that's Tall vs. Wide.
In Civ 6, I don't know. Maybe something else, but perhaps we should talk about it?
Things to get out of the way: You always eventually want commercial hubs or harbors and to maximize your Trade Routes. I think that's why no Civ has a leg up on Commercial Hubs. Victoria's discounts on the already cheaper Harbor really allows her to get in on the trading routes hard and fast. Also, everyone wants Factory coverage.
Tall vs Wide is not a question in Civ 6. In fact, you always want the most cities you can get. It is plausible to cover the world in your Civ. Nothing is stopping you from doing that. Eventually.
The key, I think is Districts, since they now house the majority of your Civ's output for any specific goal, and how to arrange them or use them becomes a focal point of management and influences which Civic cards you choose. This is also a point for Tall vs Wide though it's now really more Dense vs Sparse. Settling many cities in close proximity allows you to double up on your favorite Districts, so you can get more Trade Routes, hammer in those Great Scientist points, and generally go hard for the output you want. But you can eventually run out of space for your Districts and Wonders. Spacing out your cities allows you to get more Districts in at the cost of not being able to create as many districts of one type.
Aside from Dense vs. Sparse, a related choice is Building vs Adjacency. We value adjacency a lot, but a Commercial Hub is valuable for its TR more than its adjacency, if you really can't make it work for some reason, just having one (or a harbor) is still preferable than the opposite.
If you're building for adjacency, you want relatively closer city centers, features that give adjacencies (Mountains for Campuses, Rivers for Commercial Hubs), and packed districts. Japan's Tokimune possibly amps this up with their enhanced adjacencies, though Germany and other civs also reward particular adjacencies. You're relatively less concerned with buildings that in actually having the District and the bonuses, and then amping it up with the Civic card for it - Natural Philosphy for Science, and Craftsmen for Industrial.
If you're not Japan and you can't find a Mountain or a Rainforest to save your life, don't worry! You can still do science and build wonders. You just need a different approach. A Buildings approach to economy means you prioritize the building outputs over the adjacency bonuses. So you want the tech to get the buildings ASAP, you want the Great People for amping the outputs (James Watt, Isaac Newton), and you want the Civics card that amps building output.
These approaches can and should be combined to create a flexible and powerful Civ that can manipulate its outputs to the goals it has. For instance, Gitarja likes adjacencies for her Harbors and wants Naval Infrastructure to double those bonuses. With these in place, she can reliably get +8 gold per harbor, and +8 cogs later on when she builds Shipyards in them.
But since she favors coastal locations, it can be a challenge for her to find Mountains next to shorelines consistently. So for Science, she favors a Building-based approach, building her Campus wherever she can best situate them, and then going for Newton and Rationalism for the mid-game boost.
In Civ 5, that's Tall vs. Wide.
In Civ 6, I don't know. Maybe something else, but perhaps we should talk about it?
Things to get out of the way: You always eventually want commercial hubs or harbors and to maximize your Trade Routes. I think that's why no Civ has a leg up on Commercial Hubs. Victoria's discounts on the already cheaper Harbor really allows her to get in on the trading routes hard and fast. Also, everyone wants Factory coverage.
Tall vs Wide is not a question in Civ 6. In fact, you always want the most cities you can get. It is plausible to cover the world in your Civ. Nothing is stopping you from doing that. Eventually.
The key, I think is Districts, since they now house the majority of your Civ's output for any specific goal, and how to arrange them or use them becomes a focal point of management and influences which Civic cards you choose. This is also a point for Tall vs Wide though it's now really more Dense vs Sparse. Settling many cities in close proximity allows you to double up on your favorite Districts, so you can get more Trade Routes, hammer in those Great Scientist points, and generally go hard for the output you want. But you can eventually run out of space for your Districts and Wonders. Spacing out your cities allows you to get more Districts in at the cost of not being able to create as many districts of one type.
Aside from Dense vs. Sparse, a related choice is Building vs Adjacency. We value adjacency a lot, but a Commercial Hub is valuable for its TR more than its adjacency, if you really can't make it work for some reason, just having one (or a harbor) is still preferable than the opposite.
If you're building for adjacency, you want relatively closer city centers, features that give adjacencies (Mountains for Campuses, Rivers for Commercial Hubs), and packed districts. Japan's Tokimune possibly amps this up with their enhanced adjacencies, though Germany and other civs also reward particular adjacencies. You're relatively less concerned with buildings that in actually having the District and the bonuses, and then amping it up with the Civic card for it - Natural Philosphy for Science, and Craftsmen for Industrial.
If you're not Japan and you can't find a Mountain or a Rainforest to save your life, don't worry! You can still do science and build wonders. You just need a different approach. A Buildings approach to economy means you prioritize the building outputs over the adjacency bonuses. So you want the tech to get the buildings ASAP, you want the Great People for amping the outputs (James Watt, Isaac Newton), and you want the Civics card that amps building output.
These approaches can and should be combined to create a flexible and powerful Civ that can manipulate its outputs to the goals it has. For instance, Gitarja likes adjacencies for her Harbors and wants Naval Infrastructure to double those bonuses. With these in place, she can reliably get +8 gold per harbor, and +8 cogs later on when she builds Shipyards in them.
But since she favors coastal locations, it can be a challenge for her to find Mountains next to shorelines consistently. So for Science, she favors a Building-based approach, building her Campus wherever she can best situate them, and then going for Newton and Rationalism for the mid-game boost.
