Civilization V

Main page

Sid Meier's Civilization V
Developer(s)	Firaxis Games
Publisher(s)	2K Games & Aspyr
Distributor(s)	Take-Two Interactive
Director(s)	Jon Shafer
Producer(s)	Dennis Shirk Lisa Miller
Designer(s)	Jon Shafer Ed Beach Scott Lewis
Artist(s)	Dorian Newcomb Chris Hickman Brian Busatti
Composer(s)	Michael Curran Geoff Knorr
Series	Civilization
Engine	Firaxis LORE
Platforms	Microsoft Windows, OS X, Linux
Release date(s)	Microsoft Windows NA: September 21, 2010 EU: September 24, 2010 OS X November 23, 2010 Linux, SteamOS June 10, 2014
Genre(s)	Turn-based strategy
Modes	Single player, multiplayer
Ratings	ESRB: Everyone 10+ PEGI: 12

Sid Meier's Civilization V (called Civilization V or Civ5 for short) is a turn-based strategy game released on September 21, 2010. The game's first expansion pack, Gods & Kings, was released on June 19, 2012 in North America and June 22, 2012 elsewhere. A second expansion, Brave New World, was released on July 9, 2013 in North America and July 12, 2013 elsewhere.

Civilizations and Leaders

Main article: Civilizations (Civ5)

There are eighteen civilizations available from the start of Civilization V, and seven additional civilizations are made available later through several small DLC add-ons. Nine more civilizations were added with the Gods & Kings expansion pack, and nine other civilizations were added with the Brave New World expansion pack, bringing the total number of civilizations to 43, the greatest number of civilizations that has ever been available in any Civilization game.

This is the first incarnation of the series where the leaders speak in their native language in a fully animated diplomacy screen. This only applies to the audio; all text is in the language selected.

Units

Main article: Units (Civ5)

Civilization V has 87 units, ranging from military to civilian. Unlike in previous games, you can have only one unit of each type (Military/Civilian/Embarked) per hex. For example, you cannot have a Horseman and an Archer on one tile. This also applies to cities.

Most units can move 2 hexes (4 hexes for mounted units) and are no longer destroyed if they lose a battle, taking damage instead. Players can swap a unit out with one next to it during battle.

Units take longer to produce than in previous games. They also have higher upkeep costs, potentially reducing the number of units you can maintain at one time. The upkeep costs become more expensive the further you are into the game.

There are no longer troop transports. Instead, units instantly transform into makeshift floating transports when moving into water after the Optics technology is researched.

City-States

Main article: City-states (Civ5)

One new concept in the game is the addition of city-states - small countries usually limited to a single city, that don't compete to win the game. However, they can expand their territory and acquire the same resources as any player can. They provide economic and diplomatic bonuses if you befriend or ally them by doing quests or giving gifts. If you are hostile toward a city-state, its allies become hostile towards you.

Terrains

Main article: Terrain (Civ5)

Earth-type map showing various terrain features as well as units, cities and city-states.

Plain terrains

Grassland, marsh, plains and desert

Cold terrains

Snow and tundra

High terrains

Mountains (are impassable to all units except helicopters and Carthaginian troops, after Carthage earns its first Great General) and hills (provide more defense and negate the effect of obstacles such as trees for ranged units)

Water terrains

Coast, ocean, lakes and rivers (affect those attacking across them and use up all movement points)

Forest/Jungles

There are several types of forests/jungles representing the four major land masses. Wounded units can hide and recover in trees/forests.

Civilization V also includes Natural Wonders which are automatically placed around the map. These wonders provide Happiness bonuses to any civilization that discovers them. Some of these natural wonders are: Old Faithful, Mount Fuji, Krakatoa, and the Great Barrier Reef. They also give additional bonuses to production and gold income when cities are founded near them or cover them with their territory.

Resources

Main article: List of resources in Civ5

There are three types of resources: strategic resources, luxury resources and bonus resources. If you have more than 1 luxury resource, you can trade the excess with other civilizations. However, the same does not hold true for strategic resources. A single iron deposit, for example, yields between 2 and 9 iron resources letting you build that number of units that require 1 iron resource. Therefore, acquiring as many strategic resources you can is a must to support large armies.

Improvements and Buildings

Main article: List of buildings in Civ5

Main article: List of wonders in Civ5

Main article: List of improvements in Civ5

Civilization V has 71 buildings, 49 wonders, and 23 improvements. The number of unique buildings is included in the building count. Note that not every civilization has a unique building: some have a unique improvement or two unique units instead.

Wonders come in the form of world wonders, national wonders and projects, just like in Civilization IV. The concept of tile improvements has been modified slightly: in addition to Workers and Work Boats, the Great People can now construct special improvements (or "bulb") too.

Great People's special tile improvements replace any improvements already built on them. Roads can go through these special improvements, and they automatically hook up any strategic resources on those tiles.

• Great Merchants can build a Customs House, which increases gold income.
• Great Engineers can build a Manufactory, which boosts a tile's production.
• Great Scientists can build an Academy, which gives the tile a science income boost.
• Great Artists can build a Landmark (prior to Brave New World), which gives the tile a culture income.
• Great Generals can build a Citadel, which gives any military unit stationed on it a large defense bonus.
• Great Prophets (introduced in Gods & Kings) can create a Holy Site, which provides faith.

The building of these special improvements consumes the Great Person, removing them from the game.

Technologies and Research

Main article: List of technologies in Civ5

Civilization V comes with 74 technologies divided into seven eras, from Ancient Era to Future Era. In single-player games, the discovery of each tech is accompanied by a famous quotation from history that is voiced by William Morgan Sheppard.

Although technology trading has been removed, a new feature was added: making a research agreement. Two civilizations at peace can form one for an initial investment in gold, and as long as the two civilizations remain at peace, the research agreement provides both of them with a research points boost after a set amount of turns. The amount of the research points equals half the median value of costs between the technologies available for this particular civilization. The amount of the research points could be increased with wonders and social policies. However, this can be used simply to make the other civilization spend money before declaring war. Even the AI is known to use this.

Social Policies

Main article: Social policies (Civ5)

In Civilization V there is the ability to adopt social policies through accumulated culture. There are ten separate trees of social policies, and filling out five of the ten rewards the player with Cultural victory. Instead of switching one policy with another, some policies build on others. Each policy has its own bonuses, such as starting a Golden Age.

In Brave New World, there are also Ideologies - end-game uber Social Policies, which not only grant powerful bonuses, but also impact a civilization's standing in the world and its relations with other civilizations. Unlike Social Policies, Ideologies compete with each other on a world level.

Victory Conditions

Main article: Victory (Civ5)

Once again, there are many ways to achieve victory other than military conquest. You can win by focusing mainly on scientific research and be the first to assemble and launch a spaceship to Alpha Centauri. Diplomatic victory requires help from other Civilizations and City-States in the United Nations and the World Congress in later expansions. Cultural victory now requires to complete five out of ten of the social policy "trees" and completing the Utopia Project or becoming influential over other civilizations with tourism in the Brave New World expansion. Obviously, World Domination is an option, but the victory condition has been simplified compared to the other games. Rather than completely destroying the other civilizations, the player who gains control of all capitals wins. You can also win by having the highest score at the year 2050 AD.

Score

If no one wins the game by 2050 AD, then the game gives you a score based on:

• The number of tiles within your borders
• The number of cities in your empire
• The number of people in your empire
• The number of Social Policies you have adopted
• The number of technologies you possess
• The number of "Future Techs" you possess (as Future Tech is a repeatable technology)
• The number of wonders you have constructed (contributes the most points towards victory)

Your score is also used to determine your Ranking, which compares you to one of the following historical figures at the end of the game:

Rank	Leader	Score
1	Augustus Caesar	2,500+
2	Hammurabi	2,250-2,499
3	Abraham Lincoln	2,000-2,249
4	Charlemagne	1,900-1,999
5	Winston Churchill	1,800-1,899
6	Nelson Mandela	1,700-1,799
7	Marcus Aurelius	1,600-1,699
8	Joan of Arc	1,500-1,599
9	Charles de Gaulle	1,400-1,499
10	Simón Bolívar	1,300-1,399
11	Lech Wałęsa	1,200-1,299
12	Ivan the Terrible	1,100-1,199
13	Henry VIII	1,000-1,099
14	Herbert Hoover	900-999
15	Louis XVI	800-899
16	Neville Chamberlain	700-799
17	Andrew Jackson	600-699
18	Nero	500-599
19	Warren G. Harding	400-499
20	Ethelred the Unready	300-399
21	Dan Quayle	< 300

Downloadable Content

Main article: DLC (Civ5)

There are multiple downloadable add-ons to Civilization V. This includes two expansion packs that add a massive amount of content including new civilizations, maps, scenarios, wonders, buildings, units, and gameplay elements. They are:

• Gods & Kings
• Brave New World

Aside from the two expansion packs, several additional add-ons are available to add a few more contents. These include:

Pack name	Release date	Contents	Link
Civilization and Scenario Pack: Mongols (Genghis Khan)	October 25, 2010	Installs automatically for free over Steam; adds the Mongolian civilization and Rise of the Mongols scenario
Babylon (Nebuchadnezzar II)		Adds the Babylonian civilization	[1]
Cradle of Civilization Map Pack: Mediterranean	December 1, 2010	Adds maps for custom games	[2]
Cradle of Civilization Map Pack: Asia			[3]
Cradle of Civilization Map Pack: Americas			[4]
Cradle of Civilization Map Pack: Mesopotamia			[5]
Civilization and Scenario Double Pack: Spain and Inca	December 16, 2010	Adds the Spanish and Incan civilizations and the Conquest of the New World scenario	[6]
Civilization and Scenario Pack: Polynesia	March 3, 2011	Adds the Polynesian civilization and the Paradise Found scenario	[7]
Civilization and Scenario Pack: Denmark (The Vikings)	May 3, 2011	Adds the Danish civilization and the 1066: Year of Viking Destiny scenario	[8]
Explorer's Map Pack		Adds several maps for custom games	[9]
Civilization and Scenario Pack: Korea	August 11, 2011	Adds the Korean civilization and The Samurai Invasion of Korea scenario	[10]
Scenario Pack: Wonders of the Ancient World		Adds the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, the Statue of Zeus and the Temple of Artemis wonders along with the Wonders of the Ancient World scenario	[11]
Scrambled Continents Map Pack	October 15, 2013	Adds several maps for custom games	[12]
Scrambled Nations Map Pack	November 5, 2013	Adds several maps for custom games	[13]
Scenario Pack: Conquest of the New World	February 4, 2014	Installs automatically for free over Steam to all owners of the Civilization V: Brave New World; adds the updated version of the Conquest of the New World scenario

DLC Bundles

Alternatively, some of the DLC packs can be purchased in bundles.

Bundle name	Packs included	Link
Cradle of Civilization - DLC Bundle	Cradle of Civilization Map Pack: Mediterranean Cradle of Civilization Map Pack: Asia Cradle of Civilization Map Pack: Americas Cradle of Civilization Map Pack: Mesopotamia	[14]
Denmark and Explorer's Combo Pack	Civilization and Scenario Pack: Denmark (The Vikings) Explorer's Map Pack	[15]
Korea and Wonders of the Ancient World - Combo Pack	Civilization and Scenario Pack: Korea Scenario Pack: Wonders of the Ancient World	[16]

Scenarios

Main article: List of scenarios in Civ5

Box Art for Civilization V

Civilization V has multiple scenarios to play. All of them require downloadable content to be available.

• Rise of the Mongols
• Conquest of the New World
• Paradise Found
• 1066: Year of Viking Destiny
• Samurai Invasion of Korea
• Wonders of the Ancient World
• Into the Renaissance
• Fall of Rome
• Empires of the Smoky Skies
• American Civil War
• Scramble for Africa

Achievements

Main article: Steam achievements in Civ5

The Steam version of the game comes with over a hundred achievements, ranging in scope from "Discover an ancient ruin" to "Beat the game on the Deity difficulty level". They are listed on a separate page, along with explanations of the myriad of references to other works that are included in the achievement names... and there are many.

Images

You can see a lot of Civilization V images on http://ve3d.ign.com/images/game/62125/PC/Sid-Meiers-Civilization-V

Previews

• Strategy Informer Preview - By Joe Robinson, 9 August 2010
• Ars Technica's "The city-states in your pocket: first look at Civilization V" - By Casey Johnston, around 12 Sep 2010

Reviews

Site/Magazine	Score	Author	Date
Destructoid	9.5/10	Sean Carey	2010-09-17
The Escapist	5/5	Greg Tito	2010-09-17
Shacknews	?	Brian Leahy	2010-09-17
GamingNexus	A	Tyler Sager	2010-09-17
Wired	8/10	John Mix Meyer	2010-09-17
Joystiq	5/5	Alexander Sliwinski	2010-09-17
Game Informer	9.75/10	Adam Biessener	2010-09-17
IGN	9/10	Anthony Gallegos	2010-09-20
PC Gamer	93/100	Dan Stapleton	2010-09-20
Gamespy	4/5	Eric Neigher	2010-09-21
Gamespot	9/10	Kevin VanOrd	2010-09-22
1UP.com	C	Tom Chick	2010-09-22

Videos

Civilization V Announcement Trailer

Civilization V Gameplay Trailer

シヴィライゼーション5 日本語版 トレイラームービー ［HD］

See also

• Comparison between Civilization games

External links

• Official website
• CivFanatics
• Apolyton
• Well of Souls page for the Gods & Kings expansion pack
• Well of Souls page for the Brave New World expansion pack

Civilization V [edit]
Gods & Kings • Brave New World
Lists Buildings Civilizations Unique abilities Improvements Leaders Promotions Resources Social policies Technologies Terrain Units Unique units Wonders Natural wonders
Eras Ancient Classical Medieval Renaissance Industrial Modern Future† Atomic‡ Information‡
Concepts City-State Culture Espionage‡ Food Gold Great People Happiness Natural wonder Production Religion‡ Science Unique ability Unit Unique unit Tourism‡ Victory Cultural Diplomatic Domination Science
Miscellaneous DLC Mathematics Modding Major Patches Scenarios Soundtrack Steam Achievements
† Only in vanilla Civ5 ‡ Only in Gods & Kings and Brave New World

Civilization Series
Game	Expansion packs
Civilization	None
Civ II	Conflicts in Civilization Fantastic Worlds Test of Time
Civ III	Play the World Conquests
Civ IV	Warlords Beyond the Sword Colonization (Total conversion)
Civ V	Gods & Kings Brave New World
Beyond Earth	Rising Tide
Civ VI	Rise and Fall Gathering Storm New Frontier Pass
Official Spinoffs	Sid Meier's Colonization Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri Alien Crossfire Civilization Revolution CivWorld Civilization Revolution 2 Sid Meier's Starships Civilization: Eras & Allies
Other Games	Pirates! Railroad Tycoon XCOM (IP) Freeciv Imperialism C-evo Civilization: Call to Power Call to Power II FreeCol Pirates!: Live the Life CivCity: Rome Railroads! NewCol Unciv Humankind
Comparisons	Comparison between Civilization games Civilizations Glossary of Civilization terms