Civilization 6: How To Get A Culture Victory (2024)

Out of the many victory conditions in Civilization 6, the Culture Victory is generally the least understood by new players. It can take some getting used to, since it relies on a mechanic that doesn't appear until the mid-to-late game, but you need to lay a strong foundation before that point in order to be successful.

If you love building around getting Culture, Great Works, and Tourism, but have trouble turning them into a win, never fear! This guide has everything you need to know about a Culture Victory, plus some great tips for making it happen.

What Is Tourism?

WInning a Culture Victory means generating as much Tourism as possible throughout the game, though the vast majority of it will be produced from the Modern Era forward. Tourism is generated by Wonders, Great Works, and tile improvements such as Ski Resorts.

Tourism doesn't do anything on its own; instead, the game tracks how much Tourism you've created over the course of the entire game. Getting a head start with early Relics, Great Works of Writing, and Wonders can help you edge out the competition in the late game.

Foreign And Domestic Tourists

The in-game metric for determining a Culture Victory is the number of Tourists visiting a civilization; specifically, Foreign Tourists coming from elsewhere. To win, you need to have a higher number of Foreign Tourists than any single opponent's count of Domestic Tourists.

Domestic Tourists are earned simply by generating Culture over the course of the game. Every 100 Culture that a player produces, including Culture earned through Civic Boosts, creates a Domestic Tourist.

Foreign Tourists are calculated from each opponent individually. Each point of Tourism that you generate in a turn gives you progress toward Foreign Tourists with each civilization that you've met. Getting a single Foreign Tourist requires, at base value, 200 Tourism for each player in the game, including yourself.

Your progress toward a Foreign Tourist from a specific civilization can be modified by factors like trade routes and open borders. Having lots of Traders and good relations with as many players as possible can dramatically speed up the rate at which you attract Foreign Tourists.

Early-Game Strategy For A Culture Victory

If you know right from the start that you're going for a Culture Victory, laying the groundwork early can be a huge advantage. Luckily, many of the things that you need to do during the Ancient, Classical, and Medieval Eras are great ideas for multiple victory types, so you don't need to have a laser-focused strategy just yet.

Start by exploring as much as you can, training at least two Scouts (and two Galleys, if you have a coastal start) to explore as much as possible. Not only does this increase your chances of finding a Natural Wonder for that all-important Astrology boost, but it also means you'll meet other civilizations faster and start generating Tourism against them.

Build an early Wonder to get the boost for Drama And Poetry, then start building Theater Squares with the best adjacency bonuses you can get. Try building your Wonder(s) near the border of two of your cities so that you can place multiple Theater Squares next to them and maximize their bonuses.

Mid-Game Strategy For A Culture Victory

Once you have Amphitheaters, start expanding your economy with Commercial Hubs and Harbors. You'll want to have lots of trade routes, and you can put the extra Gold income toward hurrying buildings or buying Great Works from other players.

Continue to expand your Holy Sites, even if you aren't actively seeking to convert cities. Having a healthy Faith output will let you recruit Rock Bands and Naturalists later, and in the meantime, you can use extra Faith to snatch up Great Writers and Artists.

By the end of the Industrial Era, you'll want to have multiple Museums with the full Theming Bonus; for Art Museums, that means three Great Works of the same type but by different artists, and for Archaeological Museums, that means three Artifacts from the same Era but different civilizations.

Late Game Strategy For A Culture Victory

The final Eras of the game should be focused solely on outpacing your opponents with Tourism. Build Seaside Resorts, Ski Resorts, and Wonders on any tile that they'll fit, and adopt Policies that increase Tourism at the expense of every other priority.

When you reach the Modern Era, check to make sure that you have open borders and at least one trade route with every player possible. This is also the time to end any wars that you're fighting, unless a complete victory or major city conquest is within immediate reach.

At this point, it's all about creating a snowball effect, generating more and more Tourism until you win the game. The good news is, since you're essentially on a waiting game, you can dedicate more resources to disrupting other players' win conditions than you would normally be able to! Spies are great for this, especially if you can level them up to specialize in Disrupt Rocketry,Great Work Heist, and Recruit Partisans.

Best Wonders For A Culture Victory

Any and all Wonders generate Tourism, but you should prioritize these to help ensure a win.

Next: Civilization 6: How To Get A Science Victory