User Guide

GOLDEN AGES
During certain periods of time, some civilizations seem to
burst with energy and creativity. The civilization’s people
become increasingly productive; technological advances come
easy to the civilization; and its culture is the envy of the world.
Italy during the Renaissance is one such example, and Great
Britain in the 19th century another. In Civilization IV, such
periods are called “Golden Ages.”
ENTERING A GOLDEN AGE
There are two ways to begin a golden age:
The Taj Mahal Wonder
A civilization enters a golden age when it constructs the Taj
Mahal wonder.
Sacrificing Great People
A civilization can sacrifice Great People (see previous chapter)
to enter a golden age.The first golden age costs two great peo-
ple, who each must be of different types. The second golden
costs three great people of different types, and so on.
EFFECTS OF GOLDEN AGES
During a golden age, your civilization greatly increases its out-
put of production and commerce, meaning faster build times
and increased commerce. (In game terms, every space within
your cities’ radii that provides commerce produces an extra
commerce, and every space that provides production now pro-
duces an additional one.)
DURATION OF GOLDEN AGES
Golden ages last eight turns. If you achieve another golden age
while in the midst of one already, the eight additional turns are
tacked onto the end of the present golden age (meaning that
the two ages will last a combined total of 16 turns).
THE END OF THE AGE
Once the golden age ends, your civilization’s commerce and
production return to their normal levels.
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WONDERS
Wonders are the spectacular buildings, inventions, and concepts
that have stood the test of time and changed the world forev-
er.The Pyramids, Notre Dame Cathedral, the Statue of Liberty
and Hollywood are all examples of wonders.Wonders require
much time and energy from your cities, but once completed,
they provide your civilization with many benefits.
There are two basic types of wonders: great wonders and
national wonders.
GREAT WONDERS
Great wonders are unique; only one of each can be construct-
ed during a game. For example, the Great Lighthouse is a great
wonder; whoever completes it first is the only one who may
possess its benefits. Great Wonders tend to be quite powerful
indeed, but also extremely time-consuming to build.
NATIONAL WONDERS
National wonders may be built once by each civilization in the
game.That is, each civilization can have the Wall Street nation-
al wonder (though no civilization can have two of them). Each
city may only build two national wonders, so be sure to plan
ahead where you wish to put them.
CONSTRUCTING WONDERS
Wonders are constructed in cities, like any other building. If
you can build a wonder, it will appear in your city build menu;
just click on the wonder to get started. Note that only one city
in your civilization can be building a single wonder at a time.
Losing the Construction Race
If another civilization completes a great wonder while you are
in the process of building it, your construction ceases, and a
certain amount of your production efforts are converted into
gold. (This does not occur with national wonders, since each
civilization can build its own copy of those.)
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