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The map is the world on which a game of Civilization VI takes place. The map consists of a rectangular set of hexagonal tiles, with sections of terrestrial land divided into continents. The map may be generated with various map scripts, and comes in six sizes.

In most cases, the map will be cylindrical with wraparound on an east–west axis, with impassible ice caps at the northern and southern edges. However, there are some map scripts, such as Inland Sea, that do not feature wraparound, with hard borders on all four edges.

Map scripts[]

Maps can be randomly generated through scripts. These scripts arrange the continental land and open sea into various configurations, with extra settings in Advanced Setup to further modify how land is generated.

Vanilla Civilization VI allows players to choose from eight different types of maps, with more added by DLC and update.

Icon Name Added in Description Notes Playable civilizations
Map Continents (Civ6) Continents Civilization VI A few large landmasses. Default map when generating a new game.
Map Fractal (Civ6) Fractal Civilization VI Unpredictable map that can result in many or few landmasses.
Map Inland Sea (Civ6) Inland Sea Civilization VI One large ocean in the center of the map. No wraparound.
Map Island Plates (Civ6) Island Plates Civilization VI Islands ranging from small to large.
Map Pangaea (Civ6) Pangaea Civilization VI One massive landmass with surrounding islands.
Map Shuffle (Civ6) Shuffle Civilization VI What secrets will this map reveal?
Map 4 Leaf Clover (Civ6) 4-Leaf Clover Civilization VI Civilizations start in four balanced regions. The map forces players toward the center. Sets map size to Tiny. No wraparound. No map customization options.
Map 6 Armed Snowflake (Civ6) 6-Armed Snowflake Civilization VI Civilizations start in six balanced regions, with City-States on nearby islands. The map forces players toward the center. Sets map size to Small. No wraparound. No map customization options.
Map Earth (Civ6) Earth Winter 2016 Update A representation of Earth with resources, terrain, and features reflecting their historic locations. Sets map size to Standard. No map customization options.
Map True Start Earth (Civ6) True Start Location Earth Australian Summer 2017 Update Civilizations start at the location of a historic capital on an Earth map.
Map Earth Huge (Civ6) Earth Huge April 2021 Update A larger sized representation of Earth with resources, terrain, and features reflecting their historic locations. Sets map size to Huge. No map customization options.
Map True Start Earth Huge (Civ6) True Start Location Earth Huge April 2021 Update Civilizations start at the location of their historic capital on an Earth map.
Map Mediterranean (Civ6) Mediterranean Large April 2021 Update A large map of the greater Mediterranean region with resources, terrain, and features reflecting their historic locations. Sets map size to Large. No wraparound. No map custimizationan options.
Map True Start Mediterranean (Civ6) True Start Location Mediterranean April 2021 Update Civilizations start at the location of their historic capital on the large Mediterranean map. Arabia, Babylon, Byzantium, Egypt, England, France, Gaul, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Macedon, Ottomans, Persia, Phoenicia, Poland, Portugal, Rome, Spain, Sumer
Map Archipelago (Civ6) Archipelago Rise and Fall Lots of small islands with a few larger islands.
Map Seven Seas (Civ6) Seven Seas June 2019 Update

Added to all rulesets in September 2019 Update

Several large bodies of water surrounded by land. Islands can be found in these waters.
Map Small Continents (Civ6) Small Continents June 2019 Update

Added to all rulesets in September 2019 Update

The world will consist of a few medium landmasses and some smaller islands.
Map East Asia (Civ6) East Asia Fall 2017 Update A representation of East Asia with resources, terrain, and features reflecting their historic locations. Sets map size to Standard. No wraparound. No map customization options.
Map True Start East Asia (Civ6) True Start Location East Asia Fall 2017 Update Civilizations start at the location of their historic capital on the Asia map. China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Khmer, Korea, Mongolia, Scythia, Vietnam
Map Europe (Civ6) Europe Rise and Fall A representation of Europe with resources, terrain, and features reflecting their historic locations. Sets map size to Standard. No wraparound. No map customization options.
Map True Start Europe (Civ6) True Start Location Europe Rise and Fall Civilizations start at the location of their historic capital on the Europe map. Byzantium, England, France, Gaul, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Macedon, Netherlands, Norway, Ottomans, Poland, Portugal, Rome, Russia, Scotland, Scythia, Spain, Sweden
Map Continents (Civ6) Continents and Islands September 2019 Update A few large landmasses surrounded by islands.
Map Lakes (Civ6) Lakes September 2019 Update A world without oceans, only lakes and inland seas.
Map Mirror (Civ6) Mirror September 2019 Update Randomly generated balanced four-player map ideal for competitive multiplayer matches. Sets map size to Tiny.
Map Primodial (Civ6) Primordial September 2019 Update A map from an early time with unpredictable continents and islands. More volatile conditions exist with extra coastal lowlands and volcanoes.
Map Splintered Fractal (Civ6) Splintered Fractal September 2019 Update A highly random map that will often form thin, snaky continents and islands.
Map Terra (Civ6) Terra September 2019 Update A continents map where all major civilizations start on the largest continent.
Map Tilted Axis (Civ6) Tilted Axis September 2019 Update A polar centered continents map. No wraparound.
Map Highlands (Civ6) Highlands Byzantium & Gaul Pack A large region dominated by hills and mountain ranges. Limited map customization options.
Map Wetlands (Civ6) Wetlands Portugal Pack A continents map flooded with rivers and marsh. There are extra Woods, Flood Plains, and Rainforests as well. Limited map customization options.

Map size[]

As mentioned above, Civilization VI separates maps into six distinct sizes. The size of a map determines the default and maximum numbers of players and city-states, the maximum number of religions that can be founded, and also the number of natural wonders and continents, as shown in the table below.

Size Dimensions Players* City-States* Maximum Religions Natural Wonders Continents
Duel 44×26 2/4 3/6 2 2 1
Tiny 60×38 4/6 6/10 3 3 2
Small 74×46 6/10 9/14 4 4 3
Standard 84×54 8/14 12/18 5 5 4
Large 96×60 10/16 15/22 6 6 5
Huge 106×66 12/20 18/24 7 7 6

* Default/Maximum values

Regardless of map size, the minimum numbers of players and city-states are 2 and 0, respectively.

Related achievements[]

Alfred Wegener's Legacy
Alfred Wegener's Legacy
Win a regular game on the Pangaea Map.
Alfred Wegener was the first to come up with the idea of plate tectonics and the theory of Pangaea.
Dirty Dozen
Dirty Dozen
Win a regular game on a Huge Map.
A reference to The Dirty Dozen, a 1967 war film.
Eight is Enough
Eight is Enough
Win a regular game on a Standard Map.
A reference to the 1970s comedy-drama series Eight Is Enough.
Four Corners Offense
Four Corners Offense
Win a regular game on a Tiny Map.
Four corners offense is an offensive stalling tactic in basketball.
Here's Looking At You Kid
Here's Looking At You Kid
Win a regular game on a Duel Map.
A famous quote from Casablanca, a 1942 romantic drama film.
Island Hopping
Island Hopping
Win a regular game with a Domination victory on any difficulty with any leader on a Huge Island Plates map.
Tactic used by Douglas MacArthur against the Japanese during World War II.
Mare Nostrum
Mare Nostrum
Win a regular game on the Inland Sea Map.
Latin for 'our sea', it was also a Roman name for the Mediterranean Sea.
Master and Commander
Master and Commander
Win a regular game on the Archipelago Map.
Refers to the Aubrey-Maturin series film of the same name, about combat during the Age of Sail - relevant to the islands present on an Archipelago map.
Riffle and Bridge
Riffle and Bridge
Win a regular game on the Shuffle Map.
The 'Riffle and Bridge' is a complex but impressive method of shuffling a deck of cards.
Six Shooter
Six Shooter
Win a regular game on a Small Map.
A six shooter is a revolver with six cartridges.
Tectonic Shift
Tectonic Shift
Win a regular game on the Continents Map.
Tectonic shifts are phenomena related to continents.
Ten Commandments
Ten Commandments
Win a regular game on a Large Map.
The Ten Commandments are a set of biblical laws that play a fundamental role in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
The Taste of Victory
The Taste of Victory
Win a regular game on the Island Plates Map.
A play on the meaning of 'plates', which are used to carry food.
Unique Snowflake
Unique Snowflake
Win a regular game on Fractal Map.
The Koch or 'snowflake' curve is a famous fractal shape first defined by the Swedish mathematician Helge von Koch.

See also[]

  • Map in other games
Civilization VI [edit]
Rise and FallGathering StormNew Frontier PassLeader Pass
Lists
Concepts
Miscellaneous
R&F-Only Added in the Rise and Fall expansion pack.
GS-Only Added in the Gathering Storm expansion pack.
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