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Civilization 5 is a game of enormous
mechanical complexity. There
are several dozen interdependent variables working together at any one
time, and keeping up with everything is next to impossible. You'll save
yourself some agony if you keep the Three Golden Rules below at the
front of your consciousness.
Rule Number #2: Keep Em' Happy
Rule Number #3: Make Sure the Boss Fits the Plan
Rule Number #1: Everything Happens for a Reason
Hover your mouse pointer over an
index to see what's affecting it. Now at least you know what they're
mad about.
Civilization 5 economics operate on the
Butterfly effect, with
seemingly small negligence growing exponentially over the passing of
turns. If the mistake causing your current crisis is a recent one, it's
probably easily identifiable and correctable. If it occurred farther
back in time (like skipping past a vital Technology),
then
recovery
will
be more difficult, sometimes impossible.
For example, King Minmax the Great notices that Happiness is steadily
going down. Checking the factors effecting his current Happiness,
Minmax sees that he's not generating much Happiness from Luxury
Resources, and his Cities are outgrowing
his ability to please his Citizens.
He
has
an
untapped source of Ivory near
his Capital and sends a Worker to Improve it.
Upon the Worker’s arrival, Minmax
discovers that he skipped over
Trapping in his early game rush to reach the Classical Era, and thus
can't build Camps to harvest the Ivory. He immediately allocates
Research to discover the neglected Technology, but loses several turns
of Happiness in the meantime, which stunts his population growth and Golden Age
Progress.
There will be moments when it seems like the game has turned against
you and there's no logic to the shortages that plague you. But almost
every time the cause of your worries is the consequence of a decision
you made.
Rule Number #2: Keep Em'
Happy
Keep the Luxuries flowing. Improve your Resources ASAP, create as many trade agreements as possible, construct Happiness-generating Buildings and prioritize anything with a yellow smiley face on it. If you maintain Happiness, you will find your ability to maintain everything else significantly improved.
Rule Number #3: Make Sure the Boss Fits the Plan
Every game of Civilization 5 begins with a decision: which nation will I choose? Every leader and society offers unique abilities and Units that fit certain styles of play, and coordinating your alter ego with your plan of action makes playing much more enjoyable.There are five ways to win Civilization 5, and all are quite different from one another. Choose one from the beginning and then pick a Leader who will help you get there. Go with the obvious choices at first, like Napoleon for Cultural Victory, and Nobunaga or Bismark for Domination. As your experience increases, experiment with less obvious combination, like Ghandi for Cultural Victory or Montezuma for Diplomatic Victory.
GO TO
YOUR FIRST 100 TURNS
GO
TO
CIVILIZATIONS AND LEADERS
GO TO
BUILDING
YOUR CITY
