CIVILIZATION VII

Civilization VII Beginners Guide: How to start your first game

Est. Read Time10 minutes, 36 seconds

Sid Meier's Civilization VII empowers you to build something you believe in – and this Beginners Guide will help you start leading your first empire! Civilization VII is a turn-based strategy game where you'll embody an illustrious leader and guide an empire through three distinct Ages of history, each with their own unique set of playable civilizations. 

While the Civilization games are renowned for their strategic depth, Civilization VII is the most welcoming entry yet, offering a revamped in-game tutorial that helps guide you as you play out each of your turns. If this is your first time playing Civilization VII, we strongly recommend that you play with Tutorials enabled. Tutorial messages and the Advisor recommendations that come with them are enabled by default the first time you play, so don't worry about having to seek out those options before jumping in. 

Every empire in history had to start somewhere, and every Civ player started out with only the most basic knowledge of how to build and rule an empire – so we welcome you on your path to creating a unique cultural lineage across the Ages! Even if you're more confident in your Civ skills, there's a lot that you can learn from these messages about Civilization VII's reworked systems and mechanics.

This Civilization VII Beginners Guide offers step-by-step tips for getting started, so that you don't feel overwhelmed by the many strategic possibilities the game presents. This is just one possible path, but it should help ease you into your first campaign. After you hit that New Game button on the Main Menu, follow this step-by-step guide to navigate what comes next and get your empire started!

1. Choose Hatshepsut as your playable leader

For the first time in franchise history, Civilization VII has you choose your leader separately from your civilization, giving you the freedom to create all-new strategies by mixing and matching gameplay bonuses. All leaders are designed to be viable options with distinct strengths, but for beginners, we recommend picking Hatshepsut for your first campaign. 

One of the bonuses granted by Hatshepsut's Unique Ability, God's Wife of Amun, is increased Production towards the construction of Buildings and Wonders in Cities adjacent to Navigable Rivers. That increased Production will help you establish your empire early on in the Antiquity Age and presents a clear goal: building your empire along the path of Navigable Rivers, just as Hatshepsut did with the real-world Nile River! Once you're in-game, remember to keep an eye out for Navigable River tiles, denoted by land tiles with a river running through them.

2. Choose to start in the Antiquity Age

Civilization VII segments history into three distinct Ages, each representing unique periods of human advancement. The Antiquity Age starts our story when agricultural societies began to cluster into urban centers, forming the foundations of the very first civilizations. Next, the Exploration Age captures the moment when the desire for precious commodities from distant lands spurred empires to stretch across the great oceans. Finally, the Modern Age is a period of incredible technological growth and global conflict, in which humankind goes from development of the steam engine to the splitting of the atom.

For your first campaign, it's best to start at the beginning in the Antiquity Age. Starting out at the dawn of history is perfect as you'll be building the foundations of your empire from its very beginning, encountering new concepts at a steady pace that'll ease you into the many systems of Civilization VII.

3. Choose Egypt as your civilization

Each Age has its own set of civilizations to choose from, and the Antiquity Age also has the best choice of civilization for your first game. For your first campaign, choose Egypt as your civilization in the Antiquity Age. While Civilization VII lets you mix and match leaders and civilizations ('civs' for short) as you see fit, historically accurate pairings will often make for clear synergies. Hatshepsut ruled Egypt in real-life history, so it makes sense that they would synergize in terms of playstyle.

Egypt's Unique Ability, Gifts of Osiris, increases your Production on Navigable Rivers – exactly what you've already been planning for given Hatshepsut's Unique Ability! For now, don't worry too much about studying the list of Unique Units and Buildings, as you'll encounter the majority of these later on in your playthrough. Note that when choosing your civilization, you'll see an icon of your leader on civs that have a historic link to that leader, but the choice is entirely yours!

4. Choose these Game Settings

Before you set out to make history, you'll first choose the Settings that will help set the pace and difficulty of your campaign overall. For your first campaign, these are the recommended settings:

  • Difficulty: Scribe
  • Game Speed: Standard
  • Map Type: Continents Plus
  • Map Size: Small

These settings are optimal for learning the ins and outs of the Antiquity Age, and provide a good foundation for the Ages that come later. The Small map size means that there will be three other empires on your home continent, which should provide the right amount of interaction without getting overwhelming.

5. Start the game and read the tutorial intro

Once you hit the 'Launch Game' button, you're on your way towards building something you believe in! To ease you into your first campaign, you'll be presented with a few short messages outlining the grand journey that awaits. As the tutorial states, try to remain open to the ideas presented by in-game tutorial messages, and be willing to adapt your plans accordingly. Take a breath, imagine the possibilities ahead, and hit that 'Finish' button to enter your first Civilization VII campaign.

6. Found your Capital City

Welcome to the game map of your first campaign! At the beginning, all you have at your disposal is a Founder Unit, representing the first seed of your civilization as you put down roots in fertile lands. Conveniently, your Founder Unit will spawn on a tile ideal for your Capital City. Follow the in-game guidance to perform the Found Settlement action from the Unit panel and take the first step in building your empire! From here, you'll start accumulating basic Yields including Food, Production, and Science, all of which are crucial as you continue to expand.

7. Build a Scout Unit on your first turn and explore your borders

As the in-game tutorial states, your Cities should always be using Production for the construction of Buildings or training of Units; if a City just sits there idly, it's not contributing to the development of your empire. Fortunately, you'll be prompted to take all possible steps before you end each turn, so don't worry about accidentally skipping over a potential boon.

For your first Production, you'll be presented with a choice of two Units to produce: the Scout and the Medjay. For your first campaign, building the Scout Unit is recommended. You'll use your Scout to explore the map and get a sense of your surroundings, which will help train you on how to move your Units across tiles in general; moving your Scout around will familiarize you with Rough Terrain and Water, which typically stop a Unit's movement then and there.

8. Start researching your first Technology

Technology keeps your civilization moving forward, and researching new Technology unlocks Tech that opens up new possibilities and playstyles. The first time you Choose Technology on your turn, you'll notice that each option has an Advisor emblem associated with it (you might've already noticed them in the previous step when producing your first Unit). These emblems represent your four Advisors, representing four distinct playstyles: the gold coins represent your Economic Advisor, the red sword and shield represent your Military Advisor, the purple music notes represent your Cultural Advisor, and the blue beakers represent your Science Advisor.

Bear in mind that your Advisors are simply offering advice rather than required mandates, and you can still make different technologies work for a variety of playstyles. But if you like the idea of focusing on Economic, Military, Cultural, or Science pursuits, then choosing the options associated with that Advisor's emblem is a good bet! For your first campaign, following the Economic Advisor's suggestions is recommended, which in this case means researching the Sailing Technology. The Economic playstyle is welcoming to beginners, as it helps ensure they have the resources needed to continue growing at a steady rate. 

9. Build a Granary as your first Building

Now that you've trained your first Unit and started researching your first Technology, it's time to construct your first Building: the Granary, which is in line with what your Economic Advisor recommends. Constructing a Granary is your introduction to expanding your empire, whether you choose to place it within your City Center or on a neighboring tile. 

For your first campaign, it's recommended to start a new Urban District by placing the Granary on one of the light green tiles, preferably one next to a Navigable River. As a refresher, constructing your Buildings next to Navigable Rivers synergizes with the Unique Ability for both Hatshepsut and Egypt, so try to expand your territory along the path of Navigable Rivers whenever possible.

10. Grow your City

The Food generated by the Granary you just built has expanded your empire's Population – now it's time to grow your City accordingly! The Grow City action will prompt you to expand your territory into an adjacent tile, creating an Improvement that gains the Yields associated with that tile. For your first campaign, it's recommended to build an Improvement on a nearby Navigable River tile if possible, which synergizes with Egypt's Unique Ability and will allow you to keep expanding alongside the Navigable River.  

It's typically a good idea to set up Improvements on tiles with a higher number of Yields, though later on you may decide to pursue specific Yields over others. Once you've set up your first Improvement, this is also a good time to queue up a Medjay Unit at your Capital City, as this Unique Infantry Unit is great for defending your borders from attackers! By putting the Medjay Unit in your City's queue, it will start production immediately after your Granary Building is complete.

11. Choose a Civic and a Government

By Turn 10 (indicated in the top right of the UI), your Granary Building should be complete, and you'll be prompted to choose a Civic to study. For your first campaign, it's recommended to study the Arrival of Hapi Civic, as suggested by your Economic Advisor. A clear benefit of Arrival of Hapi is that it increases your Food Yields on Navigable Rivers, and makes it so that Minor Rivers do not end your Units' movement – both of which align with your empire's goal of expanding near Navigable Rivers. 

After choosing a Civic, you'll also pick your first Government, which will enact Social Policies that grant benefits for your empire. For your first campaign, it's recommended to pick Oligarchy as your first Government, which will temporarily provide increased Food and increased Production towards Buildings when you activate a Celebration. 

Next, it's recommended to pick Tool Making as your first Social Policy for your new Government. The increased Production and Science on the Palace provided by Tool Making will help you train more Units and research new Technologies at a quicker pace. 

12. Continue pursuing greatness through the Ages

Every campaign in Civilization VII will be different, so it's simply not possible to provide a prescriptive guide for every turn you'll take on your journey. But having gotten this far, you're well on your way towards building an empire that will stand the test of time! Continue heeding the advice of the in-game tutorials and Advisor suggestions, and you're sure to succeed. Here are a few more quick tips as you continue to make your way through the Antiquity Age and beyond: 

  • As your empire grows, you'll be periodically presented with Narrative Events: text-based decision points containing two to three choices that let you define your empire's priorities and values. There are no wrong answers here! These Narrative Events offer snapshots of individuals and their goings-on within your civ, and they typically offer gameplay bonuses or Resources of approximately equal value.
  • Even if Military aspirations aren't your primary focus, it's a good idea to train multiple Military Units in case you need them on defense or want to go on the attack. Egypt's Medjay Unique Infantry Units are ideal for defending your territory thanks to their increased Combat Strength on your home turf, and can eventually camp on Urban Districts to generate Gold. 
  • If you plan on attacking the forces of another empire, it's wise to bring a mix of Infantry Units up close and Ranged Units firing from the backlines to give you a better fighting chance. Eventually, you'll want to use Commander Units to more easily move your forces across the map.
  • If you prefer not to engage other empires in direct conflict, you can establish new Relationships through the Diplomacy system! When encountering other leaders, you should spend your Influence points to execute Diplomatic Actions. These Diplomatic Actions range from mutually beneficial (Endeavors and Treaties) to underhanded hindrances (Sanctions and Espionage). You can also spend Influence to befriend Independent Powers, which will help bolster your presence on the map.
  • After you've established your empire with multiple Buildings and Units, it's worth setting aside some turns to start construction of the Pyramids Wonder. As Egypt, you're the only civilization that can build the Pyramids Wonder, which will offer a huge boon for your City built alongside a Navigable River.
  • Keep using your Scout Units to explore the map each turn, and try using their Search action to get a better lay of the land. If your Scout Units encounter hostile Military Units belonging to another civilization or an Independent Power, there's no shame in turning tail and fleeing in a different direction – your Scout Units can typically outrun any aggressors!
  • In any single-player game, feel free to Save your game and take a break any time! Civilization campaigns don't have to be played in a single sitting, and sometimes a little time away can help you rethink the strategy you want to execute when you resume building your empire.

Civilization VII is designed for players of all skill levels, and you'll learn a lot about your preferred strategies simply by continuing to play! If you're looking for more guides and advice, check out these resources: