How to win a Cultural Victory in Civilization 7

Achieving a cultural victory in Civilization 7 involves showcasing your civilization's cultural dominance by constructing wonders, spreading your religion, and collecting artifacts. This path requires strategic planning and a focus on cultural development throughout the game's three distinct ages: Antiquity, exploration, and modern.

We’ll guide you on how you can set up your civilization from the antiquity age and will cover strategies in the modern age.

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Cultural victory walkthrough for Civilization 7

Unlike other victory conditions, a cultural victory requires long-term planning and quick adaptation. You will be competing against other civilizations for wonders, religious influence, and historical artifacts.

If you want to succeed, you need to expand wisely, produce culture efficiently, and use diplomacy to prevent rivals from surpassing you.

Antiquity age: Building wonders

Antiquity age in Civilization 7 (Image via 2K Games)

In the antiquity age, your primary goal is to construct seven unique wonders within your empire. These monumental structures not only enhance your civilization's capabilities but also signify your cultural prowess. To achieve this:

1) Prioritize cultural and production outputs: Focus on increasing your cities' culture and production yields. High culture accelerates progress through the civics tree, unlocking essential policies and wonders. Enhanced production enables faster construction of these wonders.

2) Expand and upgrade settlements: Since wanders can only be built in cities, not towns, it's crucial to upgrade some towns into cities. This expansion provides more opportunities to construct the required wonders.

3) Strategic civic research: Many wonders are unlocked through specific civics. Prioritize researching these to gain access to wonder construction before rival civilizations.

Constructing these seven wonders establishes a strong cultural foundation and sets the stage for advancements in subsequent ages.

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Exploration age: Spreading religion and collecting relics

Creating religion is crucial for culture victory (Image via 2K Games)

Transitioning into the exploration age, the focus shifts to religion and the accumulation of holy relics. The objectives during this period include:

1) Establish and spread your religion: Research the piety civic to build temples and establish your religion. Train missionaries to convert foreign settlements, expanding your religious influence.

2) Collect and display relics: Each successful conversion can yield relics, which are sacred artifacts that embody your civilization's spiritual achievements. Aim to collect and display 12 relics across your empire in structures like temples, palaces, or specific wonders.

This religious expansion not only enhances your cultural influence but also brings you closer to achieving a cultural victory.

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Modern age: Excavating artifacts and hosting the World's Fair

In the modern age, the emphasis is on unearthing historical artifacts and culminating your cultural journey by hosting the World's Fair. Key steps include:

Legacy points are required to unlock World's Fair (Image via 2K Games)

1) Train explorers and build museums: Research the natural history civic to unlock explorers and museums. Deploy explorers to excavate artifacts from various sites, especially those from earlier ages.

2) Display artifacts: Collect and showcase a total of 15 artifacts in your museums and other cultural institutions. This display demonstrates your civilization's rich history and cultural depth.

3) Construct the World's Fair Wonder: Completing the cultural legacy path unlocks the World's Fair Wonder. Building this wonder in one of your cities signifies the pinnacle of cultural achievement and secures your cultural victory.

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Throughout these ages, maintaining strong diplomatic relations and avoiding unnecessary conflicts can provide a stable environment for cultural development.

By strategically focusing on cultural advancements, religious influence, and historical preservation, you can lead your civilization to a cultural victory in Civilization 7.