Out of the many victory conditions inCivilization 6, the Culture Victory is generally the least understood by new players. It can take some getting used to, since it relies on a mechanic that doesn’t appear until the mid-to-late game, but you need to lay a strong foundation before that point in order to be successful.
If you love building around getting Culture, Great Works, and Tourism, but have trouble turning them into a win, never fear! This guide has everything you need to know about a Culture Victory, plus some great tips for making it happen.
What Is Tourism?
WInning a Culture Victory meansgenerating as much Tourism as possiblethroughout the game, though the vast majority of it will be producedfrom the Modern Era forward.Tourism is generated byWonders, Great Works,and tile improvements such asSki Resorts.
Holy Cities and Relics also generate Tourism, but the amount is negligible in the long run without a very specific build.
Tourism doesn’t do anything on its own; instead, the gametracks how much Tourism you’ve created over the course of the entire game.Getting a head start with early Relics, Great Works of Writing, and Wonders can help you edge out the competition in the late game.
Foreign And Domestic Tourists
The in-game metric for determining a Culture Victory is thenumber of Tourists visiting a civilization; specifically,Foreign Touristscoming from elsewhere. To win, you need to havea higher number of Foreign Touriststhan any single opponent’s count of Domestic Tourists.
Domestic Tourists are earnedsimply by generating Culture over the course of the game.Every 100 Culture that a player produces, including Culture earned through Civic Boosts, creates a Domestic Tourist.
Foreign Tourists are calculated from each opponent individually. Each point of Tourism that you generate in a turn gives you progress toward Foreign Tourists witheach civilization that you’ve met. Getting a single Foreign Tourist requires, at base value,200 Tourism for each player in the game, including yourself.
This means that on larger maps with more players, you’ll need more Tourism overall to get Foreign Tourists, but you should get more when you reach the threshold because you’ll be getting visitors from more civilizations.
Your progress toward a Foreign Tourist from a specific civilization can be modified by factors liketrade routes and open borders.Having lots of Traders and good relations with as many players as possible can dramatically speed up the rate at which you attract Foreign Tourists.
Since Domestic Tourists are generated by Culture and Foreign Tourists are generated by Tourism, it’s easiest to think ofCulture as your “defense” against another player’s Culture Victory, whileTourism is your “attack.”
Early-Game Strategy For A Culture Victory
If you know right from the start that you’re going for a Culture Victory,laying the groundwork earlycan be a huge advantage. Luckily, many of the things that you need to do during the Ancient, Classical, and Medieval Eras are great ideas for multiple victory types, so youdon’t need to have a laser-focused strategy just yet.
Start a Religion if you can, ideally with theChoral MusicBelief.Reliquariescan be very powerful, but you’ll need to make sure you buildMont St. MichelandCristo Redentorif you decide to go that route.
Start byexploring as much as you can, training at least two Scouts (and two Galleys, if you have a coastal start) to explore as much as possible. Not only does this increase your chances of finding a Natural Wonder for that all-important Astrology boost, but it also means you’llmeet other civilizations fasterand start generating Tourism against them.
Build an early Wonder to get the boost for Drama And Poetry, thenstart building Theater Squareswith the best adjacency bonuses you can get. Try building your Wonder(s) near the border of two of your cities so that you canplace multiple Theater Squaresnext to them and maximize their bonuses.
Throughout the game, look for opportunities to get Civic Boosts from Inspirations. Building six Farms for Feudalism and clearing a Barbarian Outpost for Military Tradition are fairly easy to accomplish in the early game.
Mid-Game Strategy For A Culture Victory
Once you have Amphitheaters, start expanding your economy with Commercial Hubs and Harbors. You’ll want to have lots of trade routes, and you’re able to put the extra Gold income toward hurrying buildings orbuying Great Works from other players.
If you find yourself in a war,attempt to take cities that have Theater Squares and/or Wonders. These will give you more Tourism, and lower the other player’s overall Culture output - thus reducing their pool of Domestic Tourists.
Continue to expand your Holy Sites, even if you aren’t actively seeking to convert cities. Having a healthy Faith output will let you recruit Rock Bands and Naturalists later, and in the meantime, you can use extra Faith tosnatch up Great Writers and Artists.
By the end of the Industrial Era, you’ll want to have multiple Museums with the full Theming Bonus; for Art Museums, that meansthree Great Works of the same type but by different artists, and for Archaeological Museums, that meansthree Artifacts from the same Era but different civilizations.
Pay attention to tile Appeal when placing Mines, Quarries, and other industrial improvements. Tiles with high Appeal can help you get Tourism in the late game, and if you can identify a site for a National Park early you need to make sure it remains pristine until a Naturalist can get to it.
Late Game Strategy For A Culture Victory
The final Eras of the game should be focused solely onoutpacing your opponents with Tourism.BuildSeaside Resorts, Ski Resorts, andWonderson any tile that they’ll fit, and adopt Policies that increase Tourism at the expense of every other priority.
When you reach the Modern Era, check to ensure that you have open borders and at least one trade route with every player possible. This is also the time toend any wars that you’re fighting, unless a complete victory or major city conquest is within immediate reach.
If theGathering Stormexpansion is enabled, put every single point of Faith that you generate into recruiting Rock Bands. Send them to play shows based on their promotions, prioritizing civilizations with a high Culture yield.
At this point, it’s all about creating a snowball effect, generating more and more Tourism until you win the game. The good news is, since you’re essentially on a waiting game, you may dedicate more resources todisrupting other players' win conditionsthan you would normally be able to! Spies are great for this, especially if you can level them up to specialize inDisrupt Rocketry,Great Work Heist, andRecruit Partisans.
Best Wonders For A Culture Victory
Any and all Wonders generate Tourism, but you should prioritize these to help ensure a win.
