10. Aztecs

The Aztecs were a Native American civilization that occupied central Mexico for roughly one hundred years in the 15th and 16th centuries. The Aztecs ruled a mighty empire and possessed a rich culture, producing some of the most impressive pre-Columbian architecture in North America. Today the Aztecs are best remembered for the bloodiness of their religious practices and rapidity with which they collapsed in the face of external assault.Although the Aztecs are not a Science-focused civilization, their starting bias helps prevent them from falling hopelessly far behind in technological advancement. Their tendency to spawn near jungles allows them to benefit greatly from Universities, which provide +2 Science for every jungle tile a city has. Jungles already provide enough Food to promote fast Population growth, and Libraries and Public Schools provide bonus Science based on a city's Population, so an Aztec city with a Floating Gardens and a full complement of Science-producing buildings can become a real scientific powerhouse. Having enough cities that produce large sums of Science each turn can give the Aztecs a good shot at winning a science victory.

Why the Aztecs are great for science:

• The Aztecs unique building is a cheaper and more effective version of the traditional water mill
• The floating garden boasts a city’s food by 15% and grants an extra two food for lake tiles
• Leader ability grants culture per enemy unit you kill, which helps fill out those social trees faster, with this, use the rationalism and tradition trees and  you’ll be coasting. 

Civilization details: Aztec 

9. Chinese

Throughout much of its history China has remained an insular and isolated civilization, largely ignoring - and ignored by - the rest of the world. This was not difficult, as for many centuries China long held a distinct technological and military edge over any and all external foes. And any threats it could not defeat militarily (such as the Mongols, who conquered China in 1271), it simply absorbed into its own dominant culture.This changed during the 18th and 19th centuries. By this period, the European powers and Japan had achieved a significant technological advantage over the Chinese. This edge, combined with vastly superior naval forces, better armaments, superior communications and advanced military tactics, allowed the foreign powers to dominate much of the rich Chinese coastal cities, where they could engage in extremely profitable business (including the infamous opium trade). The weak and corrupt Chinese central government was unable to oust the hated foreigners, who remained until most were driven out by the Japanese during and following World War II.Their unique building, the Paper Maker, provides additional Gold, which is a great incentive to build it ASAP in every city you find. This kick-starts your technological advancement, and although it doesn't offer you direct scientific advantages, you could choose to enhance it via the standard ways. Research Writing as soon as possible, and where possible, rush to build the Great Library to further enhance Science production. From there on, follow the regular path to a science victory.Successfully building the Great Library will lead you to an early tech advantage. This gives you the potential time in the midgame to claim territory and expand, even if you don't go for a full domination victory.Social policy choice is flexible. With Tradition, the Capital does not especially need the focus, but the empire will benefit overall from a large Population for Science boosting. Liberty, while more war- and expansion-oriented, can be used peacefully if fertile land is available, and its finishing bonus can be used to receive a Great Scientist, which can build an Academy to speed up China's acquisition of new technologies.

Why China is great for science:

• The unique building the paper maker cost no maintenance and provides the same library boost to mass building them has no downside
• Papermakers with the great library and national college is a prime science setup.

Civilization details: China 

8. Siamese 

Located in Southeast Asia between Burma (a.k.a. Myanmar), Laos, Cambodia and Malaysia, Siam - now Thailand - has a long and storied history. A beautiful and mysterious land of dark forests and ancient mountains, Siam has seen occupation and revolution, flood and famine, and the rise and fall of empires.The Siamese are designed primarily for a diplomatic victory, especially when considering their unique ability and the intense relation with city-states that it encourages. This ability increases Culture, Food, and Faith from friendly and allied city-states. And what is less obvious, units gifted from militaristic city-states also start with an extra 10 XP on top of the experience points given to that unit through Barracks-line buildings in the city-state.What's more interesting is the fact that the ability also allows for many other things, such as Culture boost for speeding up the acquisition of social policies (also defending against foreign cultural influence in Brave New World), speeding up Population growth of cities, and faster Faith boom. This gives the Siamese the potential to pursue something other than a diplomatic victory, as long as they maintain good relationships with enough city-states. Adopt all the social policies in the Patronage tree, and use the bonuses from your city-state allies to pursue any victory condition you choose, including a science victory.

Why the Siamese are great for science:

•  Their special ability grants 50% bonus to all food,culture and faith from allied city states
• Using this bonus will allow your libraries to produce more science
• Using patronage, the policy tree grants 25% of a city state’s science output to your science.
• Universities produce culture for this  civ which will allow you to fill out the rationalism tree which is needed for a science victory.

Civilization details: siamese 

7. Mayan

Primarily inhabiting regions of present-day Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize from the 3rd to 10th centuries AD, the Maya people lived in a network of independent kingdoms sharing a common culture and religion. While their true origin is shrouded in mystery, numerous theories exist as to the early development of Maya civilization. According to archaeological records, the first distinctly Maya settlements were established around 2000 BC. Growing from pre-agricultural communities into vast urban centers, the Maya city-states came to rely on sophisticated farming techniques for both sustenance and trade. Although many of their settlements suffered from an unexplained collapse late in the 1st millennium AD, numerous cities still thrived until the arrival of the Spanish Conquistadors in the 16th century.The Mayan civilization is one of the most underestimated civilizations in all of Civilization V. While the Maya don't strongly lean towards any victory path, they do have an increased incentive to go down the religious path. From there, coupled with the advantages of their unique ability, players can choose whichever path to victory they desire.The Maya is one of the civs for which religion is a must. The Mayan unique building, the Pyramid, replaces the Shrine and not only provides +2 Science, but also doubles the amount of Faith! This unique combination makes religion, which can and should be ignored by some civs without consequence, quite beneficial for the Maya. Mayan players should consider adopting beliefs like Messenger of the Gods and Interfaith Dialog, which will allow them to make additional scientific progress by spreading their religion.

Why the Mayans are great for science:

• Their unique building the pyramid will produce +2 science as well as +2 faith
• With a religion you will be able to choose bonuses that boost food and science
• Unique ability to gain a free great person every 394 years will allow you to stock up on great scientists.

Civilization details: Mayan

6. Incan

The largest Pre-Columbian empire in the Americas, the Incan Empire stretched from Peru to Chile along the Andes Mountains. This grand empire had humble beginnings in one small kingdom, but grew to dominate the whole of "civilized" South America. While the empire only lasted for one brief century, it did much to unify the people and culture of the different tribes living on the mountain tops. Despite the Inca's near and complete annihilation, many artifacts and physical structures still stand, such as the famed Machu Picchu, a testament of the power once wielded by the Incan kings.The main strength of the Inca lies in their ability to use the hill terrain feature much more efficiently than any other civilization. Roads and Railroads cost no maintenance in hills, and half anywhere else. This will increase your GPT from inland City Connections significantly. To further their effectiveness in hills, their unique improvement, the Terrace Farm, allows them to extract Food from hills without having to find one with access to fresh water. Look for opportunities to settle in hilly areas to make the most of these advantages; also, look for mountains and try to settle near them (as the Terrace Farm's effect is even greater near mountains). You will end up with cities strong in both Production and Food potential.

Why the Incans are great for science:

• Their unique terraced farms can be built on hills, with bonus food adjacent to mountains
• Like the other civs on this list, more food will be able to give you science buildings more output.
• Their mountain start bias is great for building observatory which increase a cities science output by 50%
• Having high food and production yield cities early and for the rest of thee game will allow you to build science wonders like the great library, porcelain tower, national college and much more.

Civilization details: Incan 

5. Polish

Invasion, occupation, partition, rebellion and rebirth - that cycle has characterized the tragic and triumphant history of Poland for the past millennium. Lying between the Baltic Sea to the north and the Carpathian Mountains to the south, the Polish plain served as the gateway for invasions of the heartland of Europe from the east and invasions of the vast tracts of Russia from the west. Poland became a recognizable ethnic and political entity in the mid-10th Century AD under the Piast dynasty of kings; its modern history begins in 966 when the first Piast king, Mieszko I, was converted to Christianity. For hundreds of years afterward, Poland's fortunes waxed and waned at the hands of powerful neighbors and invaders, from the German Teutonic Knights to the Mongol Golden Horde to the Soviet Union's forces. Even in times of national crisis, however, Polish ideals of revolution and independence remained strong. Those ideals, carried abroad by Polish expatriates such as Pulaski and Kosciuszko, informed the American and French revolutions. The Polish constitution of 1791 AD, the oldest in Europe, incorporated those same democratic ideals. Restored as a free nation in 1918 but ravaged by two world wars, few peoples suffered as much in the 20th Century as the Poles. Following a half-century of totalitarian rule as a communist satellite, in the 1980s the Polish movement Solidarity oversaw its transformation into a sovereign state once again. At the beginning of the 21st Century, Poland is a progressive, market-based democracy, an important member of both NATO and the European Union.Domination victory is preferred because the extra social policy per era helps you catch up to other nations in social development, as with a military strategy, you'll be busy building units and military buildings instead of cultural buildings. The extra policy per-era can also help you with your ideology.On the other hand, the unique ability also makes it possible to win the game by diplomatic, scientific, or cultural means, provided you explore the appropriate social policy trees.

Why Poland is great for science:

•  Their unique building allows for a strong production and gold yield allowing for building or purchasing of science buildings
• Their special ability of receiving a free social policy with each era will allow you to finish up thee rationalism tree as quickly as possible

Civilization details: Polish 

4. Assyrian

The many ancient kingdoms of Assyria, long since swept into the dust of history, were at various times among the most prosperous and powerful of any on Earth. Centered in the heart of Mesopotamia (modern northern Iraq), Assyria was founded by Semitic descendants of Akkadian and Sumerian refugees following the collapse of the Akkadian Empire c. 2154 BC, whose languages and customs slowly coalesced into two distinct Mesopotamian peoples: the Assyrians in the north and Babylonians in the south. Despite a number of initial attempts at forming an independent kingdom, the Assyrians were continually thwarted by the expansion of their neighbors, particularly Babylon. Eventually, commencing with the near-legendary Tudiya, Assyrian kings succeeded in establishing a great empire - and on more than one occasion Assyria was the most powerful state in the region. However, Assyria also continued to suffer at the hands of neighboring rivals, and by the late 6th Century BC, the empire was no more.their unique ability allows them to steal technologies when conquering cities! This allows them to either catch up with their rivals or keep ahead in military technology throughout the game. Simply target a rival who has more Victory Points from Technology than you (which you can check with the tooltips in the Diplomacy screen), and quickly acquire all that he or she has discovered and you have not.

Why the Assyrians are great for science:

• Their unique building the royal library grants free great scientist points
• Their unique ability allows them to steal technologies from other civs

Civilization details: Assyrian 

3. Roman

The Roman Empire is the most remarkable and long-lived political entity in the history of Western Civilization. It was founded around the 8th century BC, and portions of it survived until the 14th century AD. The Romans were great innovators in some areas, and they were not shy about appropriating good ideas they found in other cultures. They greatly shaped Western culture, law, art, architecture, religion, language, and warfare.Apart from their unique units (best used in matches with a lower game speed), the Romans don't have a very well-defined advantage. It requires a specific approach to the game in which they are played: a wide empire with lots of buildings. The only certain thing with them is that your Capital should have strong Production and be the first place you construct each new building - by doing so, you'll gain a nice Production bonus and manage to finish buildings much more quickly than normal in your other cities. This stacks early with the Republic policy, and other help from Liberty makes it the preferred tree.

Why the Romans are great for science:

• Leader ability allows for faster production in your capital and builds the same buildings faster in your cities if they are already in your capital.
• This allows them to stack up science bonuses for libraries and universities very early.

Civilization details: Roman

2. Korean

The Korean peninsula, known today for its divided nations of North and South Korea, has been home to numerous kingdoms over the ages, some virtuous, some steeped in infamy and strife. At times rivaling its neighbors, The powerful nations of China and Japan, Korea was united under the rule of the Choson Dynasty for over 500 years. The turmoil of the Japanese occupation in the early 20th century, followed by the Korean War in 1950, would shatter this once sacred unity. From this strife, South Korea has emerged as a nation of increasing economic and cultural significance on a global scale. In contrast, the oppressive regime controlling the reclusive North Korean state is frequently the subject of international condemnation for its handling of human rights and diplomatic relations. In the game, The koreans are a science based civilizations but are granted different special abilities to aid in this endeavor compared to the babylonians. Possessing abilities that grant them extra science to all specialists and great personal improvements as well as a science boost when a building that produces science is built in the capital.

Why Korea is great for science:

• Special ability “ Scholars of the Jade hall” provides +2 science for every specialist as well as great personal tile improvements.
• Receives a tech boost every time a scientific building is built within the capital or scientific wonder.

Civilization details: Korea 

1. Babylonian

The Babylonian Empire was a reinvigoration of the sumerian Empire of the city of Ur, who were also settled along the banks of the Fertile Crescent in what can be known today as Southern Iraq. The Babyloians were formed from a collection of roughly twelve city-states and was named for its capital city of Babylon. Before forming an empire, The city of Babylon itself was standing at least since the 24th century B.C. In terms of strength as why they are such a powerful civ in the game is centered around its focus in the sciences and being able to take an early lead in tech and maintain it for the rest of the game if played well unlocking higher tier units and buildings to ramp up power as well as the economy or culture. Babylon takes the  number ten spot because of its focus on science, some players may forget to build up an army, Their economy or cultural hold and may succumb to invasion from other players or A.I, having their civ go into negative gold per turn, low production and culture yield if not given equal attention.

Why Babylon is great for science:

• Free Great Scientist after the discovery of writing 
• By replacing the standard archer, Bowman takes more damage to defeat as well as dealing extra damage compared to archers. Good early game strat.
• Walls of babylon replacing standard walls and boasting higher city hit points(100 vs 50) , higher city defense strength (6 vs 5) as well as a lower production cost compared to normal walls (65 vs 75)
• Generates Great scientists 50% faster than other civs
• Rapid technological advancement leads to the production of higher grade units and buildings eras faster than other civs

Civilization Details:  Babylonian

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