User Guide

If you find yourself on a small island or continent, acquiring Map Making will
be useful because it allows construction of Triremes, the first ship units. If you are
not engaged in war and thus able to concentrate on economic development,
acquiring Monarchy will allow you to change your government to one more
favorable for growth. If war is likely, then the Wheel, Masonry (City Walls), and
Mathematics (the Catapult) are useful. Writing introduces Diplomats, which are
needed to establish embassies with rivals. Trade introduces the Caravan, which is
economically important.
Wonders of the World: As you get more experienced with managing a
civilization you will become more aware of how the various Wonders can be of
benefit. Read through the descriptions of the Wonders and consider how each
one may be useful. Some have economic benefits, some aid your diplomacy, and
some speed the acquisition of technology. Attempt to build those that best suit
your strategy. Keep in mind that the benefits of most of the early Wonders
eventually expire.
Carefully consider when to build Wonders. There may be times when a Wonder
would be useful, but other things such as Settlers, Aqueducts, or City Walls are
more valuable for growth or defense. Wonders take a long time and many
resources to build. Once construction of a Wonder has started, finish it as soon as
possible so that a rival doesn’t complete it first. Take advantage of the ability of
Caravans to contribute to the construction of a Wonder.
Don’t forget that the benefits of many Wonders accrue to the civilization that
possesses it. It may be cheaper to capture an enemy city that has built a Wonder
than to build it yourself.
Changing Governments: The ability to judge the best times to make changes of
government will come with experience. The type of government that is most
useful at any one time depends on your economic and strategic situation. Because
changing governments throws you into anarchy and is thus costly, plan changes
carefully.
Despotism is most useful during wartime and expansion (founding new cities),
but can restrict the advance of technology and growth (populations). Because
most existing units do not require resource support, new units, improvements,
and Wonders can be built relatively quickly. Settlers units only require one food
unit, so each city can still support one or two that can be used to found new
cities, build roads, irrigate farmland, and mine resources.
Expansion: After your first city is started and you are exploring nearby terrain,
begin planning the placement of your next and future cities. Look for good sites
sufficiently distant from your capital so that the overlap of areas cities can develop
is minimized or prevented. This allows each to grow to its maximum.
Settlers are very important early on as they are needed to found new cities,
build roads, and irrigate. Plains terrain is useful to irrigate under Despotism, as
are Grasslands and Rivers when you are about to change to a Monarchy. Most of
your early cities should have a Settlers unit in existence doing work of some kind.
If it founds a new city, have the home city build another Settler. Granaries are
very helpful for early cities because they allow them to produce more Settlers
units and still grow at a reasonable speed.
It is generally useful to expand as fast you can. Keep producing Settlers units
and send them to good city sites that your military units have discovered. A side
benefit of expansion is that you push back the wilderness from which barbarians
can appear.
Guns Versus Butter: Keep in mind most of the great civilizations of history were
built by military conquest, and your rivals are going to be somewhat aggressive.
You must be prepared at least for defense, if not conquest yourself.
It is possible to succeed as a relatively peaceful builder, but you will need to
build up your economy with extensive trade routes and stay ahead in technology
to discourage attack. Advance your government to Monarchy, and perhaps The
Republic or Democracy, as soon as you can.
Technology Priorities: Keep the Civilization Advances Chart (found at the back
of this manual) handy. Examine this chart before playing and have some plans for
which advances you wish your scientists to pursue. As time passes, the direction of
your technology research may be adjusted according to strategic considerations.
Each advance that can be studied at the start presents an opportunity and leads
on to other useful knowledge.
Pottery makes the Granary improvement available and this speeds the growth
of cities. Bronze Working introduces the Phalanx unit, which is good for city
defense. Horseback Riding introduces Cavalry, which is a good offensive unit and
is useful in exploration because of its movement factor of 2. The Wheel
introduces the Chariot, an excellent offensive unit with an attack factor of 4 that
is useful if a rival is found nearby. Ceremonial Burial, the Alphabet, and Code of
Laws are useful to quickly develop a more effective government.
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CIVILIZATION
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CIVILIZATION
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