By Anthony Norris

This advice is intended for the intermediate or advanced Civilization player. It is much less generalized and much longer than SyrianMan's Civ Advice. I hope you'll find it useful as you start getting good at Civilization. This advice was written with the skill levels of King and Emperor in mind but most of the advice is universal and can be used in almost every game you play. I also wrote it under the impression that you're playing a 7 civilization game. I'm guessing if you're reading this you know most of the stuff about the basic units and how the different forms of government work and other basic information. Now that you know what these tips and pointers are all about why don't you read on. You might learn something

Getting Started

What you do in the first 50 turns (4000BC-3000BC) will probably though not always predict how things will turn out in the end. Getting a good starting position with some "extras" (horses on the plains, fish in the ocean, coal in the hills, etc.) is always helpful but ultimately your outcome depends on making the most of the area you've got, rarely are you screwed from the start although some starting positions can slow your progress down alot. If your starting position is totally hopeless (like the Chinese starting point when you're playing on Earth) you are always free to move your settlers around before building a city. Getting two settlers can help you blow the competition away temporarily, don't get lazy just cause you have two cities though. Some Civs can expand as rapidly from one good city and you can from two sucky ones. Building a Militia to explore is always good, then build another one or a Phalanx for defense. Building settlers early on is always wise. Don't worry about irrigation at first. Once you have about three stable cities you can start to improve the terrain around each of them with mining, roads and irrigation. Finding a rival Civ before they find you is a definite advantage especially when you find they're capital city. Fortifying a Militia or a Phalanx on an Extra or a river near the city can slow down production or trade in your rivals city. Getting rid of your opponents early is always good but make sure not to expend to much energy trying to eliminate an enemy while the other Civs are expanding their Civs and getting ahead of you. Don't try to take on a rival much stronger than you until you're sure you have a formidable army and good defense in all your cities. Getting 'The Wheel' before the other guys is always an advantage. Large cities are better to go after than small ones if they both have the same amount of defense because you have more of a chance of taking it over rather than wiping it out. A few sciences to go after early are - Bronze Working, The Wheel, Pottery, Alphabet, Writing, Currency and Masonry. As far as the early wonders are concerned, the Colossus is usually your best bet. It greatly increases trade giving you an early edge on technology and cash and best of all it lasts until 'Electricity'. Hanging Gardens are good to build if you've got alot of large cities, the Great Wall is a wise choice when a bad tempered Super Power is breathing down your shirt. Great Library is a good choice if your behind on science and the Pyramids is smart if you want an early Government switch. The Oracle and Lighthouse are genrally more trouble than they're worth. In terms of improvements to build, Barracks and Granary are good to have early, later when your cities get bigger libraries, marketplaces and temples should be under construction. Expanding early is the way to go, if you've got 3 or 4 decent cities by 2500BC you know you're on the right track. Building alot of roads is important for trade. Isolating yourself from the strong Civs and putting pressure on the weak ones will help you out too. In the early stages you don't need to irrigate or mine much except on the yellowish plains and on hills with coal. Exploring your area is key, if your on a big continent with alot of other Civs make sure to protect your cities and keep the peace until your ready to strike, make sure to take the bad guys out one at a time. Dealing with three Civs at once is never easy. If you're by yourself fill up the area you've got quickly and then start improving your cities. From there you can either isolate yourself and switch to Republic so you can get technology faster and get ahead of your opponents or expand outward early and try to conquer new lands. In general try to locate your cities about four spaces apart and make sure to put some on the coast so you'll have access to the sea which you'll need when you start sailing abroad. By 1500BC you should have around 4 to 8 good sized cities, some decent technology and a formidable army (if you need one). Having a good wonder or two is good too. Especially when you have one that lasts. Onward..

Midgame (1500BC to 1000AD)

Once you've got your Civilization basically established you have a number of options. By now they're may be as few as three other Civs to deal with, but chances are there are still six or seven. If you're by yourself you may want to switch your government to a Republic. You don't really need too strong an army if your on an island by yourself until around 1500AD when naval conquest becomes much easier due to many new options (Fridgit, Steam Engine, Transport). You develop techs and get money much faster when your on a Republic and your cities have a chance to really grow with all the new improvements available and the option to irrigate grassland. If your on a continent with one neighboring Civ you may want to take the step to try to rub him out. War stratagy is hard to put down on paper but be sure to defend heavily all your cities closest to your opponent and prepare a strong attack force (catapults, chariots and knights). City walls on your capital city is not a bad idea. Use diplomats to Incite Revolts in your enemies cities and to destroy city walls. A hint I learned from experience is, inciting revolts when a city is in civil disorder is much cheaper than when the people are content. Destroying a temple or blocking off trade are some ways to throw a city into disorder. If your opponent is considerably stronger than you, you might want to wait until he lets down his guard then smash him. If you're on the mainland with two or more Civs to deal with at once you may want to make peace with all them, if they start fighting with each other you can fade conveniently out of the picture and build up your cities and sciences. You may have to pay them both off if thats whats necessary. If one Civ is considerably weaker than the rest you may want to wipe it out. If you are stronger than all your neighbors pick them off one at a time. Wonders to build during the Midgame are J.S. Bach's Cathedral (on the continent where you have your most cities) and Magellan's Expitdition. Both these wonders last the whole game and both really help you out especially late in the game when keeping your people happy and having a large, fast navy are top priority. Sciences to get are Philosophy, Invention, Trade, Gunpowder, Religion and Navigation. Expand more slowly in the Midgame, be careful who you mess with, this is the time to pull ahead in terms of technology, if you screw up and have to concentrate on war you may fall behind. Replace your Phalanax's with Musketeers and your Coliseums with Cathedrals. If you make it though this stage in the game on top you're likely to win.

Late in the Game (1000AD to 1500AD)

Its getting late. New technologies and wonders are poping up all over the place, Musketeer and Riflemen are replacing the old fashioned Phalanax. Defense units now have an advantage over the old fashioned attacking Knights. The Cannon is the only new attack unit but with the growing popularity of City Walls even Cannons have a tough time infiltrating and taking over cities. Until the development of the Automobile its best to try to expand peacefully into whatever territory you can get. Its hard to give specific tips on what to do in the Late Game because late game situations are so varied. Its best just to try to build up your cities and technologies peacefully. Placing your Riflemen around enemy cities can hinder their growth and diplomats can help you capture cities but its best not to produce many of the outdated Knights except to attack other Knights and Cannons trying to invade your cities. Still don't let your guard down, make sure to replace all your Phalanaxs and build City Walls because with the arrival of Transports enemies have much more access to your cities than ever before. Remember, its always good to have a strong navy especially in a scenerio with alot of continents separated by water. If you have control of the seas you can have access to enemy cities while brushing off any enemy frigates and transports that attempt to invade your shores. Technologies to get are Steam Engine, Railroad, Conscription, Industrialization and Electricity. Wonders to build are Darwin's Voyage (two free sciences) and Woman's Suffrage, which is doubly important if you've got a Republic. Keep building, keep your people happy. If you don't already have Religion make sure you get it. Your cities can't grow to much without it. Build Railroads everywhere, not only to they increase food and production but they also make moving around on land much, much faster. Keep the peace, soon you'll be ready to strike.

The Final Years (1500AD - ???)

This is it. If you've gotten this far you probably won't be killed off. From here you must either win, or watch as one of your competitors shoots the moon. To me personally the space race is kinda dull. The way I like to win is to kick everyone's ass. Its the hard way but it not only is more fun but you also get more points. When its impossible to win this way however shooting the moon is the only choice you've got. The science "The Automobile" is the most revolutionary science in the game (in my opinion). Tanks make Knights look like ants. Do all you can to get this science first. It causes more pollution but it is well worth it. Finally Riflemen have a reason to be scared. If your way behind on Techs but have alot of dough try to Incite a Revolt with your diplomat, not only do you get a city but you can steal The Automobile or any other science you want. Building Factories is a must but keep an eye on pollution. Full fledged war on one opponent at a time is the only way to Conquer the World. Robotics is also a technology to get it can help you in war (Artillery) and peace (Mfg. Plant). If its not possible to defeat everyone however, try to keep the peace. Smashing your enemies capitals destroys their spaceships so you do have some justification for war besides that its fun. A strong Navy is necessary for attack and defense not to mention invasion. Sciences to get are Combustion, The Automobile, Genetic Engineering, Advanced Flight, Nuclear Fission, Space Flight and Robotics. Wonders to build are Cure for Cancer and Apollo Program. Manhattan Project has a mixed audience. If you're the kind who goes for score, definitely don't build it. The pollution it creates will drastically reduce your score. If your the war loving kind, do it. There is nothing more satisfying than blowing an enemies capital to bits. Well at this point you've either won or just survived or maybe you got wiped out. Anyway you did it I hope you've learned something from my advice and had your most enjoyable Civ game yet. If you play on Earth alot read the next section, if you don't skip to the end.

Playing on Earth (the inside scoop)

I play on Earth probably 40% of the time and by now I know the planet inside out. In my opinion, the best Civ to be is the Americans and the worst is the Egyptians. I also like being the Aztecs and the Russians. I have conquered the world on King on Earth with every Civilization except the Germans, Romans, French, English and Egyptians. The computer controlled Civs that usually come out on top are the Zulus, Russians and Aztecs. Watch out for them. The Romans, Egyptians, English and Chinese are either destroyed early or stay out of the way under they are destroyed later. On rare occasions they become powerful but in most cases its safe to say they suck. The Greeks, Germans, Americans, Babylonians, Mongols, Indians and French sometimes do well, sometimes they don't. There performence varies very much on who the other Civs are and how they do. The Greeks usually do well when the Romans are around but generally they can't handle the Russians. The Indians almost always do well if the Russians and Zulus aren't around. In North America the Aztecs usually defeat the Americans, except of course when I play the Americans. The only unpredictable thing about Earth is where the replacement Civs will come up. The replacement Civ is the Civ that replaces one that is destroyed before 1AD (on King), for example if the Romans are destroyed in 1000BC then the Russkies appear in a random spot on the map to replace them. Of course sometimes the Chaos theory prevails and the Egyptians destroy the Zulus but its rare. If anybody knows of anyway you can alter "Earth" in terms of adding or taking away land or putting the Civs in different places on the map please write me. I have been trying to figure that out for months and have even sketched out my own "Earth" replacement world on paper. Hope you conquer the planet.

Parting Words

Anyway enjoy your game whether you play on Earth or on a randomly generated world. If you have any questions at all about Civilization feel free to ask me about them. Chances are I'll be able to answer any question you have. I know most people including myself rarely pay shareware fees so I'm not gonna demand any money but if these tips have really helped you and you've got some spare change. Feel free to send any green you've willing to part with to :

Anthony Norris
23 Brevoort Lane
Rye, NY 10580

If you want to talk to me on AOL, my screen name is "TX Sirron". If you liked my advice, write me. I you hated my advice, write me. Even if you downloaded this by mistake, write me. And if you've got a 16 year old sister be sure to write me. See you later. Hope you have a blast : )

- Tony

Note : My contact info is completely outdated. These days e-mail me at narz@rawlovers.com

By the way : Included with these tips is a Civ scererio at 4000BC. It's at the King skill level, and should be a challenge. Its not too easy but not too hard and is a good game to practice your skills on. I'd be interested to see how you did, if you win or come close send me your finishing position. Enjoy!

Note : I no longer live at the above address and no longer have the above screename. If you really want to send me dough though, e-mail me and I'm sure we can arrange something. : )