Observatory (Civ6)

Observatory
District of the Ancient Era
Introduced in Maya & Gran Colombia Pack
Unique to	Mayan
Unique to	Mayan
Replaces	Campus
Replaces	Campus
Unlocked by	Writing
Plunder	Science
Cost
Production	27
Production	27
Maint.	1
Maint.	1
Yields
Great Person Points	+1 Great Scientist point per turn.
Adjacency Bonus	+1 Science from every 2 adjacent Farm and district tiles +2 Science from each adjacent Plantation
Citizen Yields (per citizen)	+2 Science
Trade Yields	Domestic Destination: +1 Food. International Destination: +1 Science.
Unlocks
Buildings	Library  University  Research Lab
Projects	Campus Research Grants  Occult Research  Dark Signal

Back to the list of districts

The Observatory is a unique District of the Mayan civilization in Civilization VI. It replaces the Campus.

• Effects:
  • Lower Production cost (27 vs. 54).
  • Major bonus (+2 Science) for every adjacent Plantation.
  • Major bonus (+2 Science) for each adjacent Great Barrier Reef tile.
  • Major bonus (+2 Science) for each adjacent Pamukkale tile.
  • Minor bonus (+½ Science) for every adjacent Farm or district.
  • +1 Great Scientist point per turn.
  • Specialists add +2 Science each

Buildings

The following buildings can be constructed in an Observatory:

• Library
• University
• Research Lab

Projects

• Campus Research Grants: Grants Science equal to 15% of Production used and Great Scientist points
• Occult Research (Secret Societies mode only): Grants lots of Gold while active. Grants Great Scientist, Great Merchant and Great Engineer points, as well as Science for each Ley Line in this city, when finished. Requires the Aiwass title of the Hermetic Order.
• Dark Signal (Zombie Defense mode only): Brings all Zombies in this city under your control for an increased number of turns.

Strategy

Considering how important Science and the Campus are in Civilization VI, just having a permanent 50% discount on building Campus alone is really impactful. The Mayan Observatory, instead of gaining adjacency bonuses from Mountains, Reefs, and Geothermal Fissures, gain a Major bonus from each adjacent Plantation and a Minor bonus from each adjacent Farm or District. This is the true winning condition of the Maya, since they will race towards a Scientific Victory in a pace that can be matched only by a few other civilizations. Since the Maya has tier 2 starting bias towards Plantation Resources and tier 1 bias towards Grassland and Plains, it is quite simple to get an Observatory with at least +4 Science adjacency in every city, since just 1 Plantation and 4 Farms surrounding an Observatory will give it +4 already. This district is also a good reason why the Maya is not afraid of waging early wars to claim land around their Capital, since its Science potential will help you tremendously in catching up in scientific advancement. The raw potential of this district even eclipses the Seowon, since it is easy to get it up to the starting adjacency bonus of the Seowon, and it scales upward dramatically with each adjacent Plantation.

Civilopedia entry

The Maya, who were both intensive agriculturalists as well as consummate mathematicians, took an intense interest in the movement of the heavens. At observatories in Mayan cities such as Palenque and Chichén Itzá, Mayan astronomers used an artificial horizon – a flat, circular platform of regular size – on which they marked carefully the points at which stars, planets, the moon and sun rose and fell each year. The Mayans used these observations to create detailed calendars. We are familiar with a solar one – our 365-day calendar is based upon the length of time that it takes for the sun to complete one cycle, but many cultures also use a lunar calendar (i.e. the length of time it takes for the moon to wax and wane 12 times). The Mayans added more and more cycles to this. For instance, the planet Venus takes 584 days to return to the same spot on the rim of one of the Mayan observatories’ artificial horizons. Noticing and recording this, the Maya also developed a Venusian calendar. Finally, to these astronomical observations, the Mayans added a 260-day calendar, one that lines up with the average time from human conception to birth.

The function of this astronomy was astrology, religion, agriculture, and politics combined. The stars and planets (as were, at times, Mayan rulers) were Mayan gods. As calendars interlinked, different activities – planting, warfare, festivals, the fortunes of a particular leader – would become more or less auspicious. Astronomy via the observatory was, for the Mayans, a way of tracking how the natural world, the supernatural world, and the political world were interlinked. Today, astronomical observations and calendrical cycles still influence how present-day Maya practice indigenous religion and divination.

Gallery

Observatory in game

Historic Moment for building the Observatory

See also

• Observatory in other Civilization games