Glossary of Civilization terms

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.

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 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)

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. Technically, the icon is a flask, not a beaker.

Civ2   Civ3   Civ4   Civ5   Civ6   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. 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.

Bulb

Nickname for science production in Civ I, represented by a lightbulb icon:

See Beaker.

C

Carpet of Doom

In games featuring 1-unit-per-tile, spreading a large number of units over the map.

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/)

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.

Civ3   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.

Civ3   Civ4   Civ5   Civ6   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.

D

Deity

The highest difficulty level in many Civilization games, literally meaning "god". A common colloquial expression of "very difficult" by Civilization fans.

Domination Victory screen in Civilization: Beyond Earth.

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 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.
   Civ5   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.

Civ4   Civ5   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.

Civ3  Civ4  Civ5  Civ6

I

Infinite city sprawl (ICS)

Strategy of founding cities as densely on the map as possible. Also known as "smallpox" in Freeciv. 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

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.

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

Official Civilization ad spoofing Civilization addiction.

One More Turn

A phrase describing the addictive play of turn-based video games. Adopted as an unofficial Civilization series motto, and used in official marketing.

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.

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.
   Civ1   Civ2   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.

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.
   Civ1   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

• Acronyms (Civ4)
• Civilization glossary on the Strategy Wiki