How to establish Cities in Civilization 7

Cities in Civilization 7 are the cornerstone of your empire. Each new City allows you to expand your domain and claim new resources, fueling the overall growth. However, before you get to the point where your Cities are capable of churning out the means of production every turn, there are a few things you need to do.

For starters, there is a limit as to how many Cities (Settlements) you can build in Civilization 7. Of course, you will be able to overcome this limit, but initially, this will hamper progress. But before we dive into that aspect of Cities, here is how to construct Settlements during the early game and establish your dominance.

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To create Cities in Civilization 7, you must first found a Settlement at the start of the game

Settlements can be expanded (Image via 2K Games)

At the start of the game, you have only one way to establish a Settlement, which can then potentially be upgraded to a City. After selecting your Civilization and Leader, you will be able to select a Tile on which you'll found your first Settlement.

If you're new to the genre, be sure to explore and look for Tiles with multiple Resources before founding a potential City. If you manage to find a River Tile close to a Coast Tile, you've hit proverbial Gold. When you are ready, click on "Found Settlement" to establish one of the very first potential Cities in Civilization 7.

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How to make more Cities in Civilization 7

Towns and Cities work hand in hand to boost progress (Image via 2K Games)

Once your Settlement is booming, expansion becomes a top priority. For this, you will need a Settler Unit, which costs 90 Production. Once created, send it out to build another potential City. This could take some time, so there's no need to rush. Just be sure to create Settlements within 10 Tiles of each other, or else you'll miss out on having Roads running between them.

When you have enough Gold, Settlements (Towns) can be upgraded to Cities. They are powerful centers of production and development. Obtaining new Cities allows you to streamline Resource production via the Production Menu and boost overall output.

However, avoid converting every Town into a City, as the former is necessary for overall development. The "Town Focus" ability allows you to grow rapidly, heal Units, and gather resources — which, in their case, gets converted to Gold in Civilization 7.

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Read more Civilization 7 articles:

• All Leaders in Civilization 7: Unique Ability, Attributes, Agendas, and Starting Bias
• All civilizations in Civilization 7 and how to unlock
• All Trophies in Civilization 7 and how to unlock them