Civilization 6: How To Pick the Best Start Position

The heir apparent to Firaxis’ Civilization series, Civilization 6, does a lot of things different that will affect how important certain strategic choices are in the game. However, one thing that has not changed is the importance of placing a capital city. After all, that city will be one of the most important areas of production for the entire game, and with games that last over 500 turns, making a bad decision can have enormous long-term consequences.

There are a few things that players of earlier versions of the Civilization series will recognize, like the general importance of water and taking some time to explore their options. This guide will give players an idea of what the most important things are to look for when founding a capital city and how to maximize those elements to dominate the early game.

Best Tiles For Starting City In Civilization 6

Hands down, the best tiles that players can find for their first city are plains hills tiles. Plains hills tiles give the largest production and food bonuses for cities and are often located near other productive tiles. New players should consider which tiles will be available after their first and second ring expansions occur as their capital grows, as these will be the tiles that provide resources for the capital.

In general, the basic strategy for locating good starting tiles is finding ones that give a combined total of at least four resources, with at least one tile that can produce five. While gold, food, and production all contribute to the total, in the early game production and food are by far the most important. Food will help cities grow while production will help build units and structures that are vital for expansion.

Another excellent thing for players to look for is a nearby luxury. If players build their capital on a luxury, they will gain access to the resources granted by that luxury without needing to develop the technology to harvest it. This is an important advantage in the early game.

Find Water In Civilization 6

Next, players need to ensure that they a good source of freshwater somewhere within the vicinity. A rive or a lake will help players population grow at a much faster rate. If there is no fresh water, then there will be no housing bonus and the capital will expand at a much slower pace.

Players shouldn’t be afraid to move their settlers to a better position. While the game tends to place that first settler near a freshwater source, players should still use their starting warrior to do some quick scouting before they set up a more permanent camp. Don’t wait too long to start the first city, however, as it will let other players get an early game advantage. Try to get that first city up and running within the first three turns.

Civilization 6 is available for PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

About The Author