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This page provides definitions for terminology used in the Civilization series. This is an incomplete list, which may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. Currently, there is no standard for what terms belong on this page, but that may change depending on how this page evolves.

Contents: Top - 0–9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

0–9[]

1 unit per tile (1UpT)
Mechanic introduced in Civilization V limiting the number of units allowed on a single tile to one.[1]
Compare with Stack.
2K Games
Parent company of Firaxis since 2005; publisher of Civilization IV, V, VI, Revolution 1 & 2, and Beyond Earth.
4X
Abbreviation of "explore, expand, exploit, exterminate"; a strategy game subgenre to which Civilization belongs.

A[]

Alpha Centauri cover

Alpha Centauri game cover

Alpha Centauri
  1. The closest star system to our Solar System. Destination of the Spaceship (Science Victory) in most Civilization games.
  2. Nickname for Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri, a spinoff of the Civilization series set on the planet.
Apolyton
Roughly, Greek for "Absolute"; a popular Civilization fansite. (https://apolyton.net/)

B[]

Christopher_Tin_-_Baba_Yetu_(Official_Music_Video)

Christopher Tin - Baba Yetu (Official Music Video)

Official "Baba Yetu" music video

Baba Yetu
English: "Our Father", orchestral arrangement of the Lord's Prayer in Swahili composed by Christopher Tin and performed by the Soweto Gospel Choir. Main menu music of the original Civilization IV.
Barbarian (Barb)
Non-playable civilization permanently hostile to all other players throughout the game. Does not conduct diplomacy, and does not require a formal state of war to combat.
Beaker
Name of science production/yield in most Civilization games.[1] Technically, the icon is a flask, not a beaker.
Beaker (Civ2) Civ2  Science (Civ3) Civ3   Beaker (Civ4) Civ4  Science Civ5   Science Civ6  Science CivBE  
See also: Bulb
Beeline
Strategy to obtain a specific advance or civic as quickly as possible, disregarding research options that are not prerequisites thereto.[1] Can be part of a meta play.
Beyond Earth
Nickname for Sid Meier's Civilization: Beyond Earth, a science-fiction spin-off and the spiritual successor to Alpha Centauri.
Borders
Outer bounds of a civ's controlled territory. Borders are first delineated on the map in Alpha Centauri; beginning in Civilization III, borders expand and shift organically through city culture.
Build order (BO)
Also known as build queue/production queue: the sequential order in which a city produces units, buildings, Wonders, etc.[1]
Bulb
Nickname for science production in Civ I, represented by a lightbulb icon: Science (Civ1)
See Beaker.

C[]

Carpet of Doom
In games featuring 1-unit-per-tile, spreading a large number of units over the map.[1][2]
Contrast with Stack of Doom.
Citizen
A unit of population in a city. Automatically works available tiles to obtain yield.
City
Map entity that serves as a civ's primary economic and productive engine. Consists of citizens that work surrounding tiles for their yield, and improvements and Wonders to bolster their effects.
Civilization
  1. Shorthand for the Civilization series as a whole; the capitalized abbreviation Civ typically refers to a Civilization title (Civ 1, Civ 2, Civ 3, etc).
  2. The player's "character" in the Civilization games. Can represent a historical culture, empire, and/or nation-state. The non-capitalized abbreviation civ typically refers to the player entity (e.g., "my civ", "rival civs").
Civilization Fanatics' Center (CivFanatics/CFC)
A popular Civilization news site and fan forum. (https://www.civfanatics.com/)
Civilopedia - Infantry (Civ6)

The Civilization VI Civilopedia page for Infantry.

Civilopedia
In-game help menu and reference manual, iconic for providing historical background on suitable subjects.
Civil disorder
State of anarchy in cities with sufficiently unhappy citizens that suspends all production and commerce. Named drone riot in Alpha Centauri.
Contrast with We Love the King Day.
Civil war
  1. A game mechanic in Civilization I and II by which the fall of a civ's capital creates a splinter civ as a rebel faction in existing cities.
  2. Several scenarios based on the American Civil War.
Combat
  1. Game mechanics governing the interaction of opposing civilizations' units when in a state of war.
  2. A battle between enemy units.
Commerce
One of the three basic yields, alongside Food and Production; generates gold and science based on the civ's tax rate. Named Trade in earlier games.
Gold (Civ3) Civ3  Coin (Civ4) Civ4
Culture
Quantified mechanic representing a civilization's artistic, philosophical, and social development, primarily generated and tracked through individual cities. Controls a civ's borders in games that feature them.
Culture (Civ3) Civ3   Culture (Civ4) Civ4   Culture Civ5   Culture Civ6   Culture CivBE
Culture Bomb
Tactic for rapidly expanding borders mid-turn through cultural mechanics. Originates in Civilization IV, where Great Artists can be used to instantly increase a city's culture (and thereby its borders), potentially flipping land held by rival civs.[3]

D[]

Deity
The highest difficulty level in many Civilization games, literally meaning "god".[4] A common colloquial expression of "very difficult" by Civilization fans.
Domination victory (Civ5)

Domination Victory screen in Civilization V.

Domination
A victory condition in several games. In Civ III and IV, it it achieved through majority control of map territory and global population; in Civ V and VI, it is achieved through control of all starting civs' capital cities.

E[]

Eternal War
A Civilization II game by Reddit user Lycerius, played intermittently for over a decade. The world has become a "hellish nightmare of suffering and devastation" in which all civilizations have been locked in a 1700-year war. The Reddit post about the game, posted in 2012, attracted considerable press, spawning fan fiction and its own wiki.

F[]

Firaxis
Game development company founded by Sid Meier, Jeff Briggs, and Brian Reynolds in 1996 after splitting from MicroProse. Current developer of the Civilization series.
Firaxite
Fictional resource in Beyond Earth, named after Firaxis Games.
Food
One of the three basic yields, alongside Commerce and Production. Primarily used for city population growth.
Future Tech (Civ6)

Future Tech Icon in Civilization VI

Future Technology (Future Tech)
Unique repeatable advance representing scientific discoveries beyond the game's historical timeline. Can be researched perpetually, providing bonus points to the player's score.

G[]

Gold
  1. Civilization's in-game currency. Used to rush city production and pay maintenance for city improvements, and in later games, units. In games through to Civ IV, generated from Commerce proportionate to the civ's tax rate. Can be traded in diplomacy, and awarded from goody huts, as plunder from city conquest, and through combat with barbarians.
  2. A dedicated yield in Civ V and VI for the currency.
    Gold Civ5  Gold Civ6
  3. The resource of the same name.
Golden Age
  1. Mechanic in several games that provides a civilization-wide bonus to Commerce and Culture for a set number of turns, invoked by unique units, Great Wonders, and/or Great People.
  2. Name for "We Love the King Day" in Alpha Centauri.
Goody hut
Tile feature that provides rewards (or barbarian ambushes) when entered (explored) by a player civ's unit. "Goody hut" is an umbrella term, as the name varies between games, including (Tribal/Native) Village, Minor Tribe, Ancient Ruins, and Lost City Rumors. In Alpha Centauri and Beyond Earth, goody huts are termed supply pods and resource pods, respectively.

H[]

Hammer
Name for the production yield in Civilization IV and V, and the |Colonization series.
Hammer (Civ4) Civ4   Production Civ5   Hammer (Col) Colonization
See also: Shield.
Happiness
Abstract representation of citizens' wellbeing. Depending on the game, a majority happy population can celebrate, while a sufficiently unhappy population may riot. Named Amenities in Civilization VI.
Happy Face (Civ3) Civ3 Happiness (Civ4) Civ4 20xHappiness5 Civ5 Amenities Civ6

I[]

Infinite city sprawl (ICS)
Strategy of founding cities as densely on the map as possible. Also known as "smallpox" in Freeciv.[5] Logical extreme of wide build.

M[]

Map
The playing board of the Civilization game. A map comprises a number of tiles.
Meta
Abbreviation of "metagame" and/or acronym of "most efficient tactic available"; a strategy or tactic considered to be the most optimal, especially in competitive play.
MicroProse Logo

MicroProse Logo

MicroProse
Video game company founded in 1982 by Bill Stealey, Sid Meier, and Andy Hollis. The original design studio and publisher of the Civilization series.
MP
Abbreviation of "Movement Points", an attribute that indicates how far a unit can move in one turn.

N[]

Natural wonder
Tile feature in Civilization V and VI that appears once per map. Provides unique bonuses to the discovering civ, its controlling civ, and/or nearby units and cities.
See also: Wonder.
Wikipedia
Wikipedia has a page called:
Nuclear Gandhi

Nuclear Gandhi Meme

Nuclear Gandhi
A community meme based on an urban myth that Gandhi in Civ I suffered a coding bug that caused extreme aggression in the late game, in total defiance of his historical non-violence. The meme was eventually canonized in Gandhi's AI logic in Civ V.

O[]

One-City Challenge (OCC)
Game mode in which the human player can only possess a single city: additional conquests must be razed or disbanded. Originally a "house rule"; later games enable OCC as a dedicated mechanic. Logical extreme of tall build.
Welcome_to_CivAnon

Welcome to CivAnon

Official Civilization ad spoofing Civilization addiction.

One More Turn
A phrase describing the addictive play of turn-based video games.[6] Adopted as an unofficial Civilization series motto, and used in official marketing.[7]

P[]

Production
  1. One of the three basic yields, alongside Food and Commerce. Used to create units and city improvements.
    See also: Hammer and Shield.
  2. The process of a city creating an item.
    See also: Build order

R[]

RoP rape
Exploit tactic in Civ III; abusing right of passage to station military units outside a target civ's cities in preparation for a sneak attack. Unlike in other games, breaking the treaty does not immediately expel the units.

S[]

Settle in place (SIP)
Founding the first city at the settler's starting location, rather than scouting around.[1]
Sid Meier cropped

Sid Meier

Sid Meier
American game developer, co-founder of MicroProse and Firaxis, and the creator of the Civilization series. His name a brand in itself, and features in the full title of the main Civilization and Colonization games, as well as a number of spin-offs.
Shield
  1. Name of the production yield in Civilization I, II, and III.
    Shield1 Civ1   Shield (Civ2) Civ2   Shield (Civ3) Civ3
    See also: Hammer.
  2. Icon accompanying the unit sprite in Sid Meier's Colonization, Civ II and Alpha Centauri, displaying its owner and current orders. Features in Freeciv as the civ's flag.
Sneak attack
Initiating combat against a rival civilization ahead of a formal declaration of war. In some games, this has unique mechanical effects.
Stack
Multiple units occupying a single tile.
Compare with 1 unit per tile.
Stack kill
In titles prior to Civilization III, a combat mechanic by which defeating the defending unit eliminates all other units in the stack.
Stack of Doom
Strategy in Civilization III and IV of stacking units to diffuse combat damage across the defenders, specifically the meta play in Civ IV.[8]
Contrast with Carpet of Doom.

T[]

Tall (play style)
"Quality over quantity" strategy that emphasizes developing a small number of cities to their maximum potential, at the expense of territorial expansion.
Compare with Wide.
See also: One-City Challenge.
Tile
Basic spatial unit of the game map, representing a particular type of terrain. A single tile can comprise a number of features including tile improvements, units, and cities. Earlier games use rectangular grids; from Civ V on, tiles are hexagonal.
Trade
  1. Name in early games for one of the three basic yields, alongside Food and Production; see Commerce.
    Trade1 Civ1  Trade (Civ2) Civ2
  2. The eponymous advance.
  3. The trade route mechanic.

U[]

Unit
A mobile map actor. Performs a variety of functions depending on its type, including tile improvement and engaging rival civilizations' units in combat.

W[]

War
A state of hostile diplomacy between different civilizations, during which rival units can combat each other and invade cities. In later games, being at war can have additional mechanical effects.
We Love the King Day (WLtKD)
State of celebration by cities with majority happy citizens, typically providing bonus production and commerce. Named Golden Age in Alpha Centauri.
Contrast with Civil disorder.
Wide (play style)
"Quantity over quality" strategy that emphasizes territorial control by founding many cities quickly, at the expense of their individual development.
Compare with Tall.
See also: Infinite city sprawl.
Wonder
Unique city improvement that provides special benefits to its controller.
See also: Natural wonder.
Great Wonder: can only be built once per game, and permanently lost if its host city is destroyed.
National Wonder: can be built once per civ. Named Small Wonder in Civ III.

Y[]

Yield
The resources collected by a city when a citizen works the tile. Primary yields include Food, Production and Commerce; later games feature additional yield types.

Z[]

Zone of control (ZOC)
Rules governing movement by units from rival civilizations occupying adjacent tiles. Exact mechanics vary by game: in Civ I and II, ZOC prevents movement altogether; in Civ III, designated units have a chance to inflict one hitpoint of damage to units moving through their immediate vicinity.

See also[]

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Browd (20 October 2016). "Civ VI - Common Acronyms and Terms". Civilization Fanatics' Center. Retrieved 16 July 2023.
  2. zero_space (23 August 2015). "Deity, how do you deal with the never ending carpet of doom?". Reddit. Retrieved 16 July 2023.
  3. GarfieldSpiritAnimal (4 July 2018). "What do culture bombs do exactly?". Reddit. Retrieved 16 July 2023.
  4. ndjensdnbddju (28 July 2020). "Deity tips for civ 6". Reddit. Retrieved 16 July 2023.
  5. "Civilization IV/Gameplay § Infinite City Sprawl". StrategyWiki. 14 September 2021. Retrieved 16 July 2023.
  6. Utica (30 May 2010). "One More Turn Syndrome". Urban Dictionary. Retrieved 16 July 2023.
  7. "Take 'One More Turn' in Civilization VI". civilization.com. Retrieved 16 July 2023.
  8. HughFran (20 May 2016). "Stacks of Doom". Civilization Fanatics' Center. Retrieved 16 July 2023.
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