Civilization 6 features five different victory types: Score, Religious, Cultural, Science, and Domination. Civ 6 marks the first time the Religious victory makes an appearance, while the other victory types are Civ mainstays. So what do you need to know about the Culture victory in Civ 6 ? What tips and tricks will get you zooming towards first place?
It’s important to note that the World Rankings screen is easily accessible by clicking the first icon on the top right bar. The World Rankings screen shows everyone’s overall progress, as well as their progress towards a Score, Science, Culture, Domination and Religion victory.
Don’t let another civ sneak up on one victory while you’re working on another! This is where Civilization 6 ’s reworked espionage system is critical. Intelligently deployed spies sabotaging critical districts or stealing their Great Works can really cripple another civ’s victory progress, but it will count as a casus belli (justification for war) if the spy is discovered.
Spies can also perform counterspy operations in your own Civ. This is where tight city-planning will really come in handy, as you can direct your spy to protect X district and any adjacent ones as well. A sprawling city may need more than one Spy assigned in order to be fully protected.
When in doubt what to produce next, using projects like Holy Site Prayers, Campus Research Grants and Theater Square Festival will allow you to generate the appropriate yield, plus Great Person points for that type of district.
Culture Victory
Culture victory is achieved by generating high amounts of culture and tourism, winning over visiting tourists. You must attract more visiting tourists to your civ than any other civ has domestic tourists at home. The upside to chasing culture early is that your borders expand more quickly, so you’ll have more tiles to place all those Wonders you’ll want for success.
Trade routes are an often-overlooked factor in the Culture victory. International trade routes boost your overall tourism, while different governments reduce it. All religious tourism is reduced when the Enlightenment hits. Save a few of your trade routes for international trade to get those tourism bonuses up.
The Theatre Square is the main driver of Great Writer, Artist and Musician points as well as culture generation, so you’ll want to get that up as soon as possible. Adjacent wonders and district tiles increase the Theatre Square’s yield, and each citizen provides +2 culture as well. Try to place Wonders around the Theatre Square to get that culture yield up.
The Amphitheatre is the only standard building that can house a Great Work of Writing, while Broadcast Centers can hold a Great Work of Music. But you’ll have to choose between an Art Museum that holds Great Works of Art or an Archaeological Museum that holds Artifacts discovered by Archaeologists.
If you’d rather not use Great Person points on Great Artists, Archaeological Museums may be a safer bet, since you can produce an archaeologist normally or purchase them with gold for less than patronizing a Great Artist would cost. Archaeologists can get artifacts from Ancient Ruins as well as Shipwreck Resources, which are plentiful around the map.
Wonders like Hermitage, Syndey Opera House, Broadway and Bolshoi Theatre will provide more spaces for your cultural works. The theming bonus mini-game is back in museums, though to swap works between cultures you’ll have to do a full-fledged trade on the Leader Screen. The Forbidden City gives you an additional Wildcard policy slot (great for additional Great Person generation points) and a whopping +5 culture, while Chichen Itza provides bonus culture for rainforests.
Finally, the Eiffel Tower adds +2 appeal to every tile in your Civ, hugely important when trying to build up those Seaside Resorts to attract tourism (and even useful in selecting tiles for Neighborhoods to house your city population). Seaside Resorts provide double the tile’s appeal in tourism, making the Eiffel Tower an even more powerful wonder. Nab Cristo Redentor to double the tourism of Seaside Resorts and your international tourism will easily overwhelm your opponents.
Note that Espionage provides a valuable edge over other civs also competing for a Culture win. Steal their Great Works, cripple their Theatre Squares, do whatever you have to do to kill that international tourism. The World Ranking screen will tell you everything you need to know about who's winning at what. If you can't make 'em, steal 'em!
Civs with Culture bonuses include:
Got any tips for a Culture victory? Feel free to talk about Civ 6’s Culture victory in our comments section below.
- Science Victory guide
- Culture Victory guide
- Domination Victory guide
