Civilization VI: The 10 Best Civs For Beginners (2023)

The hit strategy game Sid MeiersCivilization VI can be somewhat overwhelming to new players, and not just because of its many-layered, interacting systems that players must become familiar with. New players may find themselves overwhelmed simply at the first couple of menu screens when asked to decide which among many they should choose as their first civilization.

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Generally speaking, it's recommended for newcomers to use generalist Civs that can pursue many different victory types, or those with powerful and easy-to-use bonuses to gain an early advantage in a specific pursuit. At the end of the day, though, familiarity with the game and its many mechanics is more important than Civ selection.

10 Cree

The Cree are a generalist Civ that enjoy strong bonuses to production and food through their excellent unique improvement, the Mekewap. The real engine of Cree victory, however, is the trade route. Not only do the Cree gain a trader early on, bolstering their early economy, but traders can actually claim territory for the Cree if they move into unoccupied tiles within three spaces of a friendly city.

Cree trade routes become even more powerful later on, as they enjoy bonuses based on how many pastures and camps there are in their origin and destination cities, encouraging internal trade within the empire. All of this makes the Cree an excellent Civ to learn trade mechanics with and all but ensures that a player will build strong economic foundations in the Ancient and Classical eras.

9 Canada

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Canada is a powerful pacifist Civ and one that's well suited to beginners looking to get a grasp of how to win the game with a diplomatic victory. Firstly, the Civ's leader ability, The Last Best West, allows Canada to enjoy numerous bonuses for building improvements on snow and tundra tiles. This allows them to settle territory that other Civs will likely ignore, giving them a ton of flexibility when it comes to city placement.

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The most attractive element of Canada for newcomers, however, is the ability Four Faces of Peace, which prevents Canada from declaring surprise wars, as well as being targeted by surprise declarations. This gives Canada a lot of peace of mind in the early game, as aggressive neighbors can be hard to deal with without a hefty amount of game experience.

8 China (Qin)

China often plays a defensive posture in Civilization thanks to their unique improvement, the Great Wall, which confers powerful combat bonuses to units occupying the improvement. China also enjoys larger bonuses from eureka moments, allowing them to push through the tech and civics trees more quickly.

It's generally agreed that Emperor Qin is the more beginner-friendly of the two Chinese leaders, largely because his is among the best leader abilities in the game. Not only do his builders come with an additional charge, but they can use those charges to speed along the production of wonders. This allows China to spam Civilization VI's best world wonders faster than any other Civ, which can earn them a much-needed lead in their desired victory early on in the game.

7 Germany

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Germany is a Civ that likes to aim for a domination victory and is generally regarded as probably the most beginner-friendly option within that archetype. Firstly, the Civ's leader bonus ensures that early battles against barbarians and city-states will be trivial, allowing Germany to secure impressive territory early on, which new players often struggle with.

Second, and more importantly, Germany enjoys some of the best production bonuses in the game thanks to their unique district, the Hansa. The Hansa provides massive bonuses to production through a flat reduction of production costs coupled with a range of fearsome adjacency bonuses. Germany can easily outproduce its rivals, making conquest a much more easygoing affair.

6 Australia

Australia is an incredibly versatile Civ. The Australian player will enjoy strong bonuses for coastal cities, bonuses to specialty districts based on appeal will help keep production high and costs low, and borders can be expanded peacefully by building pastures that trigger culture bombs in nearby territories.

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What really makes Australia attractive to newbies, though, is its leader's special ability Citadel of Civilization. With this ability, Australia receives an enormous production bonus if it is targeted by a declaration of war. New players often neglect their military, so this ability gives them the flexibility to generate an army quickly if they're targeted by a surprise attack.

5 Nubia

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Nubia is considered one of the most flexible Civs in the games thanks in large part to the hefty production bonuses they enjoy when building mines over strategic resources, as well as the wildly adaptable Nubian Pyramid which confers a wide array of adjacency bonuses depending on where the player wants it.

These bonuses allow a Nubia player to build what they want when they want, which meshes particularly well with a flat bonus to the production of ranged military units. Ranged units are essential to military success in the early eras, allowing Nubia to expand and stack production quickly and efficiently.

4 Greece (Pericles)

Greece on its own is a highly versatile Civ, but it's generally agreed that Pericles is more beginner-friendly than his counterpart, the Queen of Sparta. This is because Sparta demands a thoroughly aggressive playstyle that newcomers may find challenging.

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For his part, Pericles enjoys hefty culture bonuses per city-state that Greece holds suzerainty over. This, coupled with the free wild card policy slot afforded to the Civ, ensures that Greece will be afforded early game bonuses locked off to most other Civs.

3 Korea

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Korea is one of those hyper-specialized Civs that typically aren't recommended to new players on account of their lack of flexibility, but it works out in this case because Korea is so outrageously good at pursuing a science victory that all other shortcomings can be forgiven.

The centerpiece of Korea's game plan is the Seowon, a district that replaces and upgrades the campus. That base science bonus is nice, but their real strength comes from the powerful adjacency bonuses they confer on mines and farms built around them. The Seowon will have Korea charging towards a science victory from early on in the game, with the added bonus of being a great tool for new players looking to hone their city planning skills, which is one of the most important tips forCivilization VIbeginners to get a handle on.

2 Rome

Regardless of how players rank every Civilization game, Rome is a common factor between nearly all of them. The name of the game with Rome is versatility; where some Civs are specialized towards a specific type of victory, Rome has the tools to adapt and overcome in nearly every situation, which is precisely what makes them good for beginners.

Looking to build an economic powerhouse? Each of Rome's new cities comes with a trading post and free roads between each of the empire's cities. Moreover, each new city starts with a free building in the city center thanks to Trajan's leader bonus, allowing for rapid urbanization. For those looking to play aggressively, the legion will outclass most other melee units of its era, making this Civ a tough one to fight against.

1 Sumeria

One of the challenges most frequently encountered by Civilization beginners is that of aggressive early game Civs and barbarians looking to make the player's life miserable. With likely only a handful of units and meager production in the cities, these nuisances can pose a serious threat to a fledgling empire looking to carve out its territory.

Sumer, lead by the formidable King Gilgamesh, has the answer to this issue in the form of the War Cart. This unique unit is bafflingly strong for an Ancient Era soldier and will allow the player to strike down any early game threats they encounter. Planting good roots is important for Sumeria, as well, because their unique Ziggurats help support an array of different victories later on.

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