Know What Resources Matter (and When)
In the early game, it’s simple: food and production come first. No population, no workforce. No production, no buildings or units. So your first cities should be planted near rivers, hills, and resources that boost these yields think wheat, cattle, forests. Granaries and builders are early MVPs. Don’t get distracted by far off luxuries or shiny wonders before your foundation is set.
Once you hit the mid game, the focus shifts. You’ll need strategic resources for serious military upgrades. Iron and Niter aren’t optional they’re the backbone of your swordmen, knights, and musket units. Skip them, and you’ll show up to a gunfight with slingshots. Same for Aluminum once aircraft and battleships come into play. You either have the gear or watch your army get steamrolled.
Timing is the killer detail. Resources unlock with tech and civics. Fall behind there, and you’ll miss out on core unit upgrades when it counts. That missed window can cost you the war or worse the game. Smart civs prep, scout, and control where the next strategic node is.
First you grow. Then you arm up. Always on time.
Tile Yields and District Planning
Understanding terrain and placement is essential when laying the foundation for a thriving empire in Civilization VI. Every tile has potential value, and how you use them determines the efficiency and scalability of your cities.
Scout Smart, Settle Smarter
Exploration in the early game isn’t just about meeting other civilizations it’s about identifying high value land.
Prioritize areas with strong food and production tiles early on
Seek out strategic luxury resources for happiness and trade
Avoid settling near low yield deserts or tundra, unless your civilization specifically benefits (e.g. Mali)
Adjacency Bonus Matters
Your cities aren’t just shaped by what’s available they’re boosted by how well you plan districts. Placing districts next to the right features will multiply your output significantly over time.
Key Pairings:
Campus: +1 Science for each adjacent Mountain or Rainforest
Industrial Zone: +1 Production for each adjacent Mine, Quarry, or Strategic Resource
Chop With Purpose
Natural features like forests and jungles aren’t just pretty they’re powerful tools when managed well.
Chop forests or jungles to instantly boost production, especially when building settlers, wonders, or key buildings
Don’t chop everything some tiles provide ongoing adjacency or can be improved for consistent yields
Use Builders efficiently; their charges are limited, so plan every tile improvement with a clear purpose
Having a map aware mindset means you’re not just reacting to land you’re building around it, using every corner of terrain to accelerate your goals.
Trade Like a Pro
Trade routes in Civ VI aren’t just side perks they’re lifelines. Run domestic routes early to boost struggling cities. You’ll get valuable food and production that can mean the difference between finishing a Wonder or barely completing a Granary. Internal trade keeps your empire coherent and compounding.
Once you have roads in place and your economy stabilizes, consider pivoting toward international routes. These generate Gold and Science, accelerating your tech pace and padding your treasury. It’s crucial when you’re scaling up or preparing for a mid to late game push.
And here’s the kicker trade isn’t just an engine; it’s a lever. Sending trade routes to friendly civs builds relationship points fast, unlocking options like Research Agreements and Military Alliances. That can snowball into a tech lead or a safety net during wars. On the flip side, trade routes can also be bait. A tempting route to a volatile neighbor? Might get pillaged. Might be a trap. Choose wisely.
Bottom line: trade smart. Use routes to grow, connect, and influence but never blindly.
Upgrade Units Without Breaking the Bank
Strategic resources in Civilization VI aren’t bottomless. Iron, Niter, Oil they all run out fast if you’re careless. Upgrading every Swordsman into a Musketman just because you can is how you bankrupt your war machine. Be deliberate. Build what you need, not what looks impressive.
Maintenance costs are the silent killer. Every extra unit you field and every unnecessary building you construct drains Gold each turn. If you’re not tracking this, your economy will nosedive mid conflict that’s a death sentence when your front line needs reinforcements.
Smart civs don’t overextend. They rotate units to heal, avoid stacking weak armies, and focus on building a force they can fund. A single, well equipped corps can do more than four half upgraded units limping across the map. Efficient war is sustainable war.
Pro Level Timing & Efficiency
The smartest Civ players don’t brute force technology they finesse it. Eurekas and Inspirations exist for a reason: with the right setup, you can shave off up to 50% of the cost for key techs and civics. That means faster upgrades, earlier wonders, and more powerful units when they actually matter. Learn which actions trigger each boost and time your gameplay around them. Kill a unit with a slinger before researching Archery. Build a quarry before unlocking Masonry. Efficiency now pays off tenfold later.
Same goes for tile improvements. Builders aren’t cheap, and they run out quick three shots, then they’re gone. Make every charge count. Mines and quarries raise production, essential for unit speed and building infrastructure. Farms and plantations grow your population and economy. Luxury resources boost happiness, especially important in expanding empires. The trick? Build what your city needs most right now, not just what looks nice on the map. Planned micromanagement beats lazy autopilot every time.
Build Habits from Other Strategy Games
Good strategy is universal. If you’ve ever climbed the solo queue ladder in League of Legends or executed a tight economy build in StarCraft, you already understand more than you think about Civilization VI. Concepts like resource denial (stealing key tiles or razing city states), macro efficiency (balancing growth and output), and pressure timing (rushing opponents before they scale) are straight up transferable.
Timing discipline, for example, is a killer tool. In League, it wins you objectives. In Civ VI, it gets you Musketmen before your neighbor researches Pike and Shot. That edge in timing can mean the difference between expansion and collapse. For more crossover insight, take a look at How to Excel as a Solo Queue Player in League of Legends. It’s not just for MOBA players.
And here’s the truth: resource management isn’t just theorycrafting. It’s a test of reading potential, exploiting timing windows, and forcing your opponents off balance. Math helps, sure but Civ VI rewards those who plan three turns ahead and deny their rivals the ability to build momentum. That’s playing chess while everyone else is stuck in checkers.