Building wonders, creating great works of art, using nature parks, ski resorts and beaches to attract tourists and making your nation the top destination for all other civilizations is what a culture victory is all about. Probably the most interesting victory type as there are multiple ways you can achieve it leaning on different tools and using your civ’s bonuses in different ways.
To achieve a Cultural Victory, you must attract visiting tourists by generating high amounts of Culture and Tourism. Victory is achieved when the combined total of visiting tourists in your civilization is greater than any other single civ's domestic tourists.
In case you are wondering which civ and which gameplay style you would like to play with and pursue a cultural victory, here are the top 7 picks and some strategy tips.
7- Maori
Best language in-game
As the only civilization that starts with access to ocean navigation, the Mа̄ori have a unique opportunity to choose a desirable coastal homeland that they can cherish and protect. The success of their strong culture game however, is dependent on passable features and whether you can make best use of them.
As the Māori, be sure to build a Theater Square in every city with passable features: Woods, Rainforests, Marshes, Oases, Reefs, Geothermal Fissures, Floodplains, Volcanic Soil, and passable natural wonders. Keep this in mind when settling your first city, because you can get excellent yields this way early in the game.
His leader ability is Kupe's Voyage. He begins the game in an Ocean tile and receives +2 Science and Culture per turn prior to founding his first city. He receives a free Builder and +1 Population whenever he founds his first city, and his Palace provides +3 Housing and +1 Amenity to compensate for any lost time in the ocean.
Why the Maori are great for a culture victory:
- Good culture yield
- Very interesting gameplay, that’s hard to counter
6-Vietnam
Don't attack them near a forest...
Vietnam offers a rare and interesting combination of domination and culture, as they gain culture and tourism from their encampment district. This is an interesting way to make use of the districts, as it provides value both defensively and culturally, something unique to the game.
The Thành is crucial for Vietnam: being the Culture and Tourism generator for the civilization. It gains a major adjacency bonus for every District nearby, so it is natural that you would want to turn the Thành into a mini City Center and surround it with Districts.
The Vietnamese civilization ability is Nine Dragon River Delta, which restricts land specialty District placement to Rainforest, Marsh, and Woods tiles but causes their buildings to yield extra Science, Production, or Culture, depending on the type of features they are on. They can also plant Woods with Medieval Faires instead of Conservation. Their unique unit is the Voi Chiến, a strong replacement for the crossbowman, and their unique District is the Thành (which replaces the Encampment).
Why Vietnam is great for a culture victory:
- Strong combination of culture and military
- Consistent bonuses
- Interesting gameplay
5-Greece
How does he keep his helmet like that??
Masters at gaining culture early on, Greece are one of the most powerful civs for pursuing a culture victory. They are simply uncatchable in early culture due to their unique district, the acropolis.
The Acropolis is a clear frontrunner for the title of "best piece of unique infrastructure in the game." This district is simple enough for even new players to handle properly, yet can grant a huge amount of Culture very early on, allowing Greece under either leader to reliably unlock civics at an unmatched speed.
Greece benefits from one of the game's most versatile abilities in Plato's Republic, a strong unique district in the Acropolis, and masses of Culture through peace or war from Pericles and Gorgo's leader abilities. The Hoplite may be something of a lackluster unique unit, but Greece can get itself off to a strong start nonetheless and catapult itself to a Cultural or even Diplomatic Victory.
Why Greece are great for a culture victory:
- Most culture early on
- Strong start in general
- Versatility with leaders
4-Khmer
Put some clothes on bro
In case you want to play tall with a few big cities that are well protected from enemies and want to go for a culture victory, Khmer is the perfect choice for you. They get more culture the bigger their cities are from their unique building the Prasat.
The Prasat grants 0.5 Culture for every point of Population in the city. Normally, each point of Population grants 0.3 Culture, the Prasat lifts this number up to 0.8, more than double what it used to be. A city with 10 Population generates 8 culture per turn, just from this building alone, not to mention the districts, wonders and works of art.
Conventional wisdom says that the way to play civ6 is to expand wide across the map with smaller cities, but one look at the enormous and bustling cities of the Khmer would make anyone think otherwise. Armed with explosive Population growth, efficient Faith economy, and even good Culture generation, the Khmer are well-prepared to define the tall civilization, and win a Religious or Cultural Victory in style.
Why Khmer are great for a culture victory:
- Powerful cities
- Generating a ton of culture
- Good for religious victory also
3- Russia
хорошо
If you want to have the genius of some of the greatest artists on the earth like Mark Twain, Leo Tolstoi and Vincent van Gogh, then Russia is the right choice for you. In civ 6 they are likely to get most of the greatest people on their side using the effect of the Lavra in combination with theater squares.
The main bonus that helps Russia achieve a culture victory is the Lavra. It provides a point for a Great Writer, Great Artist, and Great Musician with each Shrine, Temple, and worship building respectively built. This is the same bonus as a base Theater Square. If you have a lot of fully developed Lavras, you may consider building Theater Squares as well to have some Great Work slots to activate your army of Great People. Your amazing Faith generation will allow you to purchase Naturalists and Rock Bands to easily pivot a cultural victory in the latter stages of the game.
Able to claim vast land with their cities and thrive in the icy polar regions, Russia is a formidable opponent on any map type. With the extremely powerful Lavra, Russia is well-equipped to go for either a Religious or a Cultural Victory, with a backup in Domination.
Why Russia are great for a culture victory:
- Getting most great artist
- Strong in general
- Able to go for a religion victory as a backup
2- America
Marvel Endgame in civ 6
America is possibly more well equipped than any other civilizations towards the late game. However, compared to other late game-oriented civilizations, America can defend themselves against early invasions decently well, together with their innate versatility, making them a formidable foe in all situations.
Under Bull Moose Teddy all American Tiles with Breathtaking Appeal gain +2 Science when adjacent to a Natural Wonder or Mountain, and +2 Culture when adjacent to a Wonder or Woods. +1 Appeal in all tiles in cities with a National Park.
The bread and butter to their success in the late game is The Film Studio, a unique building that plays to one of America's greatest strengths. Any city that builds it doubles its Tourism output to civilizations that have reached the Modern Era, allowing the Americans to catapult toward a Culture Victory. With the Satellite Broadcasts policy card, a city with a Film Studio and some or all of the wonders that hold Great Works of Music (the Bolshoi Theatre, Broadway, and the Sydney Opera House) can become an irresistible destination for tourists.
Why America is great for culture victory:
- Great tourism in the late game
- Strong military
1-France
Who doesn't like French culutre
The most consistently strong civ for achieving a culture victory is by far France, since the tourism they receive from wonders is doubled. Wonders are already one great way to generate tourism at all stages of the game. But as if that’s not enough, France gets a 20% production bonus to building wonders from the Medieval, Renaissance and Industrial eras. They also get the Chateau a unique building giving culture, boosted by adjacent wonders to keep on piling up the culture bonuses
Magnificence Catherine augments her wonder and Château building program with lavish Court Festivals that quickly push France toward a Culture Victory, especially when she's been able to hoard a vast collection of luxuries.
France, under either Eleanor or Catherine, is still quite focused on a Cultural Victory. As a matter of fact, this is one of the simplest and most straightforward cultural civilizations, especially when led by Catherine de Medici, so it is suitable for newer players to try out and get used to the Cultural Victory path.
Why France are great for a culture victory:
- Strong consistent bonuses
- Easy to play with and understand
- Versatility with leaders
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