Monopolies and Corporations game mode icon
Monopolies and Corporations is the sixth game mode in Civilization VI, introduced in the Vietnam & Kublai Khan Pack. Inspired by the mechanics of Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword, it focuses on economy and resource management and control, offering players the chance to secure their place in capitalist history.
Mechanics[]
Monopolies and Corporations mode is all about managing luxury resources. Just like the real world, controlling as many sources of a particular resource as possible grants you the opportunity to control global trade and make maximum profit out of it. In this mode you have the opportunity to construct new, very powerful improvements which grant their parent city great bonuses and pave your path towards global monopolies!
Thus, the main path towards success with this mode is to find and establish control over as many copies of the same luxury resource as possible. For the purposes of the mode, "control over a resource" is defined as either having the particular resource in your territory and improved with the necessary tile improvement, or being the Suzerain of a city-state which has this resource improved in its territory. Luxuries which you acquire via diplomatic deals, 
Great People, or Zanzibar don't count as being under your control.
From a strategic standpoint, control over a resource is achieved primarily via settling cities in the necessary locations, but for the more aggressive player, it may also mean conquering cities which control the resources they want.
Industries[]
The backbone of the mode is the new Industry tile improvement, unlocked with the Currency tech. It is placed by a Builder on a luxury resource tile, but unlike normal improvements a necessary condition for building it is to control at least 2 copies of the same resource. An Industry will grant great yields on its tile, but also provide its host city with a unique bonus (usually a percentage increase of some yield), which depends on the Industry's resource. For the list of possible bonuses, see below.
Note, however, that there is a limit of one Industry per city and resource type. You usually have opportunities to build Industries for the same resource in multiple cities, so you have to make a strategic decision exactly where to build your Industry. Sometimes you have the opportunity to build two or more Industries in the same city - again, you should plan ahead. If, for example, City A can build Industries Y and Z, but City B can only build Industry Z, then you should build Industry Y in City A and Industry Z in City B; otherwise, you will be wasting an Industry opportunity.
If a luxury resource with an Industry is lost (e.g., due to rising sea levels submerging its tile or Anansi consuming it with Anansi's Tricks), you will not be able to create a new Industry for that resource on another tile even if you still control enough copies of the resource to allow creating an Industry or Corporation.
Corporations and Products[]
Once Economics has been researched, you gain access to the next level of capitalist development: the Corporation. This is essentially a turbo-charged Industry, which may only be established on an existing Industry if you have control of at least three copies of the relevant resource. The big twist is that a Corporation may only be established by a 
Great Merchant, which will be consumed in the process. That means that you will forgo the opportunity to use this Merchant's special ability, so you will need to carefully consider which Merchant, if any, you want to use sacrifice to establish each Corporation. Unfortunately, a Great Merchant with multiple charges requires all charges to be unspent in order to be used to establish a Corporation.
Having a Corporation also grants you access to another aspect of the mode: 
Products, a special type of Great Work that can only be stored in Stock Exchanges and Seaports and give the Corporation's special benefits to its home city. You produce Products by running a special type of city project in the city with the Corporation. Use them not only to spread bonuses to other cities of your empire, but also as an alternative to Great Works for a Cultural Victory. Each Corporation can produce 5 Products.
Monopoly[]
The last stage of capitalist development is Monopoly. A Monopoly on a luxury resource is created when a single civilization controls a dominating world share of it. It grants that civilization a dominant position within the world market, which manifests as an increased percentage of 
Gold income per turn and a multiplier to its outgoing 
Tourism to every other civilization in the game. Note that, unlike other aspects of the mode, establishing a Monopoly doesn't require any special action on your part, but ensuring the necessary control over certain resource. Of course, this is often a task much more complicated than placing an improvement or getting a Great Person, and the player would do well to plan ahead of time how to gain control of as many copies of a certain resource as possible.
Conditions for a Monopoly[]
A luxury resource is considered "monopolized" if there is a civilization that controls at least 60% of all nodes (i.e., copies) of that resource on the map. The definition of "control" is the same when you establish an Industry or a Corporation: the resource needs to be improved on the map inside your or your tributary city-states' territory. There are no other conditions to establish a Monopoly, which means:
- An Industry or a Corporation is not required for a Monopoly.
- There is no minimum number of nodes that need to be under your control - only control percentage counts. That means if there is a luxury resource with only one node on the map, the control of that node will grant a complete (100%) Monopoly.
- Currency, Economics, and Mercantilism are not required for a Monopoly, although in order to check the resource distribution on the Global Resource Report, Mercantilism is needed.
If at any given point the level of control drops below 60% (e.g., due to cities changing hands, pillaging, city razing, Anansi's resource destruction, or Maui's resource creation), the Monopoly will be broken and thus will cease to grant any bonus.
Trading away luxury resources through trade deals does not break a Monopoly, nor does it lessen the Tourism multiplier.
Bonuses from Monopolies[]
For each Monopoly, you gain a flat (non-modifiable) amount of Gold as follows:
- +5
Gold for each Monopoly where you own at least 60% of the resource nodes (the minimum threshold for a Monopoly). - +10 Gold for each Monopoly where you own at least 75% of the resource nodes.
- +25 Gold for each complete (100%) Monopoly.
If you own at least 1 Monopoly, you also gain 5 Gold per turn for the first 
Trade Route with each major civilization. (This is a flat bonus; the actual Trade Routes are not enhanced.)
Monopolies also boost the Tourism influence you have over other civilizations especially when an Industry or Corporation is built. It is calculated as follows:
- If the player does not have an Industry or Corporation of the monopolized resource:
- 1% global Tourism for each improvement times the number of civilizations who do not control the resource.
- 1% global
- If the player has built an Industry or Corporation of the monopolized resource:
- 3% global Tourism for each improvement times the number of civilizations who do not control the resource.
- 3% global
- Examples:
- Player has a 2-resource Monopoly (2/2 or 2/3) in a 4-player game:
- 1% * 2r * 3p = 6% (no Industry or Corporation, single controlling player)
- 3% * 2r * 3p = 18% (Industry or Corporation built, single controlling player)
- 3% * 2r * 2p = 12% (Industry or Corporation built, one other controlling player)
- Player has a 3-resource Monopoly (3/3 or 3/4 or 3/5) in a 10-player game:
- 1% * 3r * 9p = 27% (no Industry or Corporation, single controlling player)
- 3% * 3r * 9p = 81% (Industry or Corporation built, single controlling player)
- 3% * 3r * 7p = 63% (Industry or Corporation built, two other controlling players)
- Player has a 6-resource Monopoly (6/6 or 6/7 or 6/8 or 6/9) in a 12-player game:
- 1% * 6r * 11p = 66% (no Industry or Corporation, single controlling player)
- 3% * 6r * 11p = 198% (Industry or Corporation built, single controlling player)
- 3% * 6r * 8p = 144% (Industry or Corporation built, three other controlling players)
- Player has a 2-resource Monopoly (2/2 or 2/3) in a 4-player game:
Monopolies also work for the AI. The Tourism bonus is applied to all civilizations, even those that own the resource - it's just that the overall bonus is smaller for everyone.
Luxury resources and their bonuses[]
The "base bonus" refers to the effect provided by the Industry or Product to its home city. This bonus is doubled in cities with a Corporation.
| Resource | Base bonus |
|---|---|
+25%  Faith in the city.
| |
+30%  Production towards military units in the city.
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+20%  Population growth and +3  Housing in the city.
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+20%  Culture in the city.
| |
| +25% Gold in the city.
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| +30% Production towards civilian units in the city.
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| +30% Production towards buildings in the city.
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+15%  Science in the city.
|
Product yields[]
All Products yield +1 Tourism in addition to the yields in the table below.
| Resource | Yield |
|---|---|
 Amber
|
+3 Culture
|
 Citrus
|
+3  Food
|
 Cocoa
|
+6 Gold
|
 Coffee
|
+3 Culture
|
 Cotton
|
+6 Gold
|
 Diamonds
|
+6 Gold
|
 Dyes
|
+4 Faith
|
 Furs
|
+3 Food
|
 Gypsum
|
+2 Production
|
 Honey
|
+3 Food
|
 Incense
|
+4 Faith
|
 Ivory
|
+2 Production
|
 Jade
|
+3 Culture
|
 Marble
|
+3 Culture
|
 Mercury
|
+3 Science
|
 Olives
|
+2 Production
|
 Pearls
|
+4 Faith
|
 Salt
|
+3 Food
|
 Silk
|
+3 Culture
|
 Silver
|
+6 Gold
|
 Spices
|
+3 Food
|
 Sugar
|
+3 Food
|
 Tea
|
+3 Science
|
 Tobacco
|
+4 Faith
|
 Truffles
|
+6 Gold
|
 Turtles
|
+5 Science
|
 Wine
|
+3 Food
|
 Whales
|
+2 Production
|
Strategy[]
This mode is one of the more straightforward ones - at the same time easy to understand and suitable to all playstyles, but also difficult to master. The main vehicle of the mode, the Industry, is available right from the start of the game, and is a great early yield booster. Look to expand to locations containing similar luxury resources so that you can work towards constructing Corporations later on, and ultimately towards securing Monopolies. This goes a bit against the common game logic to secure the greatest possible variety of luxuries for their 
Amenities, but it is well worth it.
As discussed above, try to build a strategy about which Industry you will build in which city - you can have no more than one per city per resource in your empire, ibid for Corporations. Your ultimate goal is to have an Industry for each 2 resource nodes you have access to in your empire, and it is usually an achievable goal...if you plan your expansions and/or conquests well.
Expansion strategy[]
In order to use the Monopolies and Corporations mode's potentially awesome might, you should start planning your expansions as early as possible (probably around 
Turn 10, since you can barely see outside your immediate area in the initial turns). Look for nodes of the same resource, and target their locations for future expansions and/or conquest. An aggressive military expansion is also an awesome way to use the mode - you just need to target the right cities (i.e., those controlling nodes of resources you already control). Early exploration and good military strategy are the keys to success here. Remember that you don't need to control enemy 
Capitals unless you're pursuing a Domination Victory, or unless their territory encompasses the luxuries you're after.
Securing multiple (and preferably all) copies of a particular resource is the way to go. Besides Monopolies, you also secure opportunities for Corporations this way. These give you access to Products, which are another great element of this mode - they can distribute a luxury resource's special bonus to other cities which don't contain its Industry/Corporation. You just need to build either a Stock Exchange or a Seaport in the target city. Of course, you should try to pay attention to which Product you place in which city - for example, you will waste a military unit building bonus in a city which rarely builds military units.
This mode being essentially an economic booster, it will aid in pursuing all types of victory. Its yield/resource boost will upgrade most aspects of any economy, and permit a rapid scientific, cultural, and military advance. But its greatest potential lies in pursuing a Cultural Victory - thanks in part to the Products' Tourism bonus, but mostly to Monopolies' awesome power to influence other cultures. Just like in real life, if your civilization holds all the supply of, say, Diamonds, all other cultures will admire it more. So, try to secure as many Monopolies as you can and watch your Tourism influence go sky high even if you can't pursue a Cultural Victory by the standard means.
Related achievements[]
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Jack of all Trades, Master of None
Win a game on a Standard sized map or larger with 5 or more Industries, but no Corporations.
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Robber Baron
Control 5 Luxury Resource Monopolies at once on a Standard sized map or larger.
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Top Hat and Monocle
Control a 100% Monopoly on a given Luxury Resource on a Standard sized map or larger.
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| Civilization VI Game modes [edit] |
|---|
| Apocalypse1 • Barbarian Clans • Dramatic Ages1 • Heroes & Legends1 • Monopolies and Corporations1 • Secret Societies1 • Tech and Civic Shuffle • Zombie Defense1 |
| 1 Requires DLC |