Sid Meier's Civilization V is a turn-based strategy game encompassing all of human history. Players attempt to take a fledging civilization from 4000BC to modern times and lead their civilization to victory through domination, science, culture or diplomacy.

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88
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4answers
78k views

How do I disable Civ 5's opening movie?

It seems like the opening movie always starts up and won't let me cancel it until it has played for about 10 seconds. Is that because it takes the game that long to load regardless? Is there a way ...
50
votes
6answers
54k views

How close together should cities be built in Civ 5?

In Civ 4, it was easy to figure out how close to build cities to maximize my territory, because they number of tiles they could use were very limited. In Civ 5, cities can use many more tiles (more ...
47
votes
5answers
11k views

How many cities should I build for a cultural victory?

In Civilization V, you attain a cultural victory by accumulating enough culture to purchase at least 36 social policies, and then building a wonder. The catch is that the more cities you build, the ...
43
votes
4answers
35k views

Is there a chart showing all unit upgrade paths in Civilization 5?

Is there a chart showing the upgrade paths for the units? Something like warrior→spearman→pikeman... for all of the units.
35
votes
3answers
27k views

Is it worth connecting my cities with roads early in Civ 5?

Roads are expensive in Civ 5 (1 gold upkeep per turn), but I make some of that back when I connect my cities to my capital. Is it always still a net loss, and if so, is that money better spent ...
33
votes
10answers
38k views

What bonuses does a “deity” level AI get and how do I deal with them?

The "Deity" difficulty level of Civilization V says that "the AI receives heavy advantages". In Civ IV this meant that the AI started with more units, 2 settlers, etc. So my question is two-fold: a) ...
33
votes
5answers
11k views

What is the Formula for Unit Maintenance in Civilization V?

Question says it all. I know vaguely what is going on, but want something specific. Edit: Here's some "interesting" values in the GlobalDefines.xml file. No idea at this point what they mean. ...
32
votes
11answers
51k views

How do you cope with unhappiness in Civilization 5?

Does anyone else have a problem with an insane lack of happiness in their empires? It's so bad for me that I looked at social policies solely based on their happiness, but the few that do add ...
32
votes
5answers
7k views

How can I avoid a tedious end-game?

I find the early and mid-game great fun: there's excitement and challenge as I explore the world, found cities, and challenge the other players. But then the end-game almost always turns into ...
30
votes
2answers
19k views

What is a Pact of Secrecy? Also, what is a Pact of Cooperation?

In Civilization 5, one of the diplomatic options is a Pact of Secrecy. You sign it with one civilization against a specific other civilization. There's another called a Pact of Cooperation, which you ...
29
votes
3answers
17k views

Do I need a harbor in the capital to make trade routes from other harbors work?

The manual (and the civilopedia) state for the harbor: Effects: Forms a naval Trade Route with the Capital City, +25% Production of Naval Units, City must be on a coast. It is unclear to ...
29
votes
5answers
16k views

How can I go to war without getting everyone else displeased in Civilization V?

I've had this happen a few times, where going to war caused some nations call me "dishonorable" and some others not being affected by my decision to go to war. I can't find a pattern as sometimes ...
28
votes
1answer
12k views

What is the starting bias for different factions?

The starting bias is the setting (you can disable it in game set up) which allows your civilization to have a starting point similar to its original historical location. Like for instance if you play ...
28
votes
3answers
11k views

What is the formula for trade route income?

In Civ 5 connecting cities to your capital earns you income, but each road costs 1G to maintain, so you don't want to connect cities too early. What is the formula for calculating how much gold you ...
27
votes
2answers
3k views

Does anyone know of any other hidden abilities of civilization leaders?

The only ability which is listed anywhere for Alexander (Greece), other than the unique units, is that influence over city states is decreased at half rate and increased at double rate. However, I've ...
25
votes
3answers
4k views

Why do some tiles have pink borders in Civilization 5?

When you go to buy a tile in Civilization 5, some tiles have a pink border. Why is this?
25
votes
2answers
7k views

Do I gain income for connecting city-states to my trade network?

City-States keep asking me to connect to them, but I'm not sure if the life-long upkeep is worth the one-time influence gain. If, on the other hand, I get influence and an income boost, I'm gonna have ...
24
votes
2answers
10k views

How does road maintenance work?

Playing civilization 5 the game explicitly says roads cost gold to maintain. This is of course a major variable in the answer to "should I connect these cities by road or not" question. However, ...
24
votes
1answer
4k views

How much gold does a diplomatic mission provide, and is it worth it?

In Civilization 4, great merchants increased in value the further you sent them from your capital and the larger the city you sent them to. In Civilization 5, the tooltip / civilopedia entry seemed ...
24
votes
2answers
3k views

What happens when a city-state captures a city that cannot be razed?

If a city-state captures a city that cannot be razed, what happens? The examples where this will happen, that I can think of, are: An original main-Civ capital under the original owner's control. ...
23
votes
1answer
2k views

What effect does happiness have?

I understand that happiness affects growth? Does it matter to what degree my population is happy? Am I ok as long as I have one happy face, or is there a relative effect? Also in Civipedia it says: ...
23
votes
1answer
2k views

What does World Age do?

In advanced game setup, what does the "World Age" option do? The choices for the option are: 3 Billion Years 4 Billion Years 5 Billion Years Random
23
votes
1answer
1k views

Is there any point to “You'll pay for this” responses when talking to other players?

When being told Oopsies, it seems we have squashed one of your favorite city-states. or similar niceties by an AI opponent, is there any benefit to responding with "You'll pay for this"? I ...
22
votes
3answers
12k views

Is there a limit to the number of tiles a city can use in Civ 5?

Is there a limit to the number of tiles a city can work? I've noticed that I can purchase and use tiles several spaces away from my city. How far can I go?
22
votes
1answer
2k views

How do I guard a worker or settler in Civilization V?

In Civ V you can't have two military units on top of each other, but it's ok to have a military unit in the same hex as a worker or settler to guard them. The thing is, I have to move the settler and ...
22
votes
2answers
3k views

What are the precise requirements of the “Model of a Modern Major-General” achievement in Civilisation 5?

Model of a Modern Major-General Train all Units, across any number of playthrough. Is it known what the precise requirements are for this achievement? Do you actually need to train all ...
21
votes
3answers
11k views

Is a Culture Bomb the only way to steal territory from another civ in Civ5?

In another question answer bwarner writes: Once a tile has been claimed, you can't "steal" it like in Civ 4 (except using the Great Artist as mentioned in comments). So you want to make sure ...
21
votes
1answer
3k views

Do railroads on a different continent give the production bonus?

The in-game help states that: Connecting Cities to your capital by Railroad will give them a 25% Production bonus. If the city in question is on a different continent, this would seem ...
21
votes
3answers
9k views

Is there any way to see Civilization V's civilopedia without activating the game?

Is there any way to browse the Civilopedia for Civilization V without entering the game, for example by browsing some online source or opening some file?
21
votes
1answer
867 views

What are the effects of populism on bushido?

Japan's Bushido power allows damaged units to fight at full strength. The Populism policy in the autocracy tree gives a 25% power boost to damaged units. Will these powers stack to make my wounded ...
20
votes
5answers
16k views

What about Great Person tile improvements in Civ5?

The Great Artist, Scientist, Engineer, Merchant can build tile improvements that generate additional culture/science/production/gold. The Great General can build the citadel. These always feel like a ...
20
votes
1answer
6k views

How high is the production bonus of a great engineer in Civ5?

To quote the manual: Special Ability: Hurry Production You can expend a Great Engineer to create a sudden burst of production in a city. The production is immediately applied to ...
20
votes
1answer
3k views

What limits are there on the Civilization V demo?

How is the Civ 5 demo limited, how long is it, and is the 4+ GB installation worth it?
19
votes
3answers
1k views

In Civ V, can I improve a resource that is surrounded on all 6 sides by mountains?

There are some gems sitting in the middle of a mountain range, beset on all sides by what must be sheer cliffs. Are they forever out of reach or is there some tactic to sneak workers in?
19
votes
4answers
17k views

What to do with workers in Civilization 5 when all tiles improved?

The city ai recommends a ton of workers early on. It is great when the city is growing fast, but when the city population starts to stagnate, I get stuck with a lot of workers. Now with this other ...
19
votes
3answers
2k views

What happens to excess happiness during a golden age?

When my happiness balance is +X it means I get X extra points to my golden age counter every turn. During a golden age the counter disappears. What happens to the happiness points then? Is the balance ...
19
votes
2answers
11k views

What happens to the bonuses when I build a city in a special resource tile?

Does the city destroy the resource?
19
votes
4answers
6k views

How can I stop Civilization 5 from asking me twice which DirectX mode to play in?

I (pre) downloaded and installed Civilization 5 through Steam, on Windows 7. When I start it, Steam asks me if I would like to start: Civilization 5 Civilization 5 (DirectX 9) Then, Civilization ...
19
votes
1answer
307 views

Pink number when clearing barbarian encampments?

After clearing a barbarian encampment, a pink number appears above the tile where the encampment was. What does this number mean? Example:
18
votes
2answers
27k views

How do I get my units on a ship?

I have a caravel and a scout and I am trying to get the scout on the caravel so he can explore a land mass across the ocean. I can't seem to figure out how to get him in the ship. Is this not ...
18
votes
1answer
27k views

What are the keyboard shortcuts of Civilization 5?

What are the keyboard shortcuts in Civilization V?
18
votes
5answers
6k views

What changes have been made from Civilization 4 to 5?

I've read the surprisingly light Wikipedia article on Civ 5 and it seems to be lacking coherent comparison of features between it and its predecessor. I'm also reluctant to bring down the 4Gb demo on ...
18
votes
1answer
8k views

Is there a diagram showing the requirements for each promotion?

Almost all selectable promotions in civ5 (meaning, the ones you select when a unit gains a level) have other promotions as requirements. The Civilopedia already lists the requirement for each ...
18
votes
3answers
17k views

Is there a way to end a turn immediately, without moving all units?

In Civilization IV (and earlier) you could end a turn not having moved/actioned all of your available units. For example, if you want to leave some units in place for a turn or two, without having to ...
18
votes
3answers
5k views

How do you play Civilization V by E-Mail?

The Civilization series of games is famous for having a way to play by e-mail. This allows people to take a long time on their turn without holding up the other players, as you do in a real-time game. ...
18
votes
1answer
2k views

How to militarily delay a science victory?

I'm currently competing with Russia for a science victory, and unfortunately they're in the lead, so I thought about using my military to try and slow them down. Unfortunately they're on the other ...
18
votes
1answer
824 views

What happens to unique buildings in occupied cities?

How does capturing cities handle unique buildings? For example: If China conquers a city with a library, does the library transform into a paper maker? or like wise if I conquer a Chinese city as ...
17
votes
9answers
11k views

Is it possible to win culturally in Civilization V with only one city?

I recently had a culture victory with nine cities - though it became very clear to me that it should have been easier with fewer. Is it possible to never found another city, and still be able to gain ...
17
votes
2answers
33k views

Can I play Civ 5 without having Steam installed?

Is there anyway to remove Steam and still play Civilization V? I am very particular about what gets installed on my computers and what is allowed to advertise at me and run background processes. So ...
17
votes
1answer
1k views

In Civ 5, do buildings get any penalties when you lose a source of needed strategic resource?

The units get combat penalties when you lose a required strategic resource, but what about buildings like factories, which require coal, power plants and other? Do they also get a production penalty ...

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