Sid Meier’s Civilization 7has taken some big strides to help make the seriesmore accessible for new players. While older games weren’t necessarily impossible to get into, and short game times or lower difficulty levels helped a lot, players were still asked to absorb a lot of information to get started.Civ 7does its bestto both keep the complexity of the game that long-time fans expect while also making it easier to onboard new players.
Although streamlining the game may have resulted in losing some of the finer nuances of the olderCivgames, and even a few strategies, that doesn’t necessarily mean these changes are bad. It doesn’t matter how deep a game is if players are too intimidated to plunge into those depths. Thanks toCiv 7’s new Age mechanics,players won’t be nearly as overwhelmed by information at the start of a new game. Other steps to streamline the game have also cut back on the need to have too much foreknowledge before getting started.
Civilization 7 Breaks The Game Up Into Distinct Ages
Each Age Has Its Own Tech Tree
Civilization 7’s new Age structure is one of the best changes to help new players get into the game. In previousCivilizationgames, the world progressed through time somewhat seamlessly. In contrast,Civ 7breaks the game into three distinct Ages: Antiquity, Exploration, and Modern. While the older games may have flowed a bit more smoothly, the new Age structure adds some interesting new features that can help out new players.
One major change here is that not all units transition from one age to the next. This can helpprevent one civilization from snowballing out of controlthanks to their early game lead. While experienced players were the ones snowballing, this change could cause some frustration. However, newer players will likely be glad that these checkpoints throughout the game can help even the playing field a bit if they are falling behind at a given age.
This benefit also carries over to the technology tree. Players aren’t allowed to advance beyond the current Age in terms of technology. This prevents a civilization from investing all their research into military upgrades and marching into a new player’s borders armed with muskets and cannons while they still only have medieval military units. When a new Age begins, older military units also get an upgrade to the new base unit for the era, again helping to keep things a bit more balanced.
Civ 7’s New Structure Lets Players Take The Game One Step At A Time
Players Are Confronted With Less Information And Fewer Choices At One Time
Civ 7’s new Age mechanic isn’t just nice for preventing snowballing, but also in the way that it doles out information. OlderCivgames would drop players into the game with the entire technology tree visible from the get-go. This would show how their research decisions would impact the rest of the game, andcould be somewhat overwhelming for new players. Before getting to know the tech tree well, it felt necessary to read every future branch of the tree. Alternatively, players may have opted to simply pick with the short term in mind not wanting to read ahead.
InCiv 7,players can only see the technology tree for the current age. By splitting up the information like this into smaller sections, players can more easily interact with the menu without getting overwhelmed by information. This makes it easier to make strategic decisions within a given age while not having to stress as much about future ones, since the tree starts over when the Age advances.
Civ 7 Roadmap 2025: Leaders, Civilizations, & Update Schedule
Civilization 7 is going to give players a lot more after the game releases, and it has a roadmap for updates and events in the future.
Another nice addition toCivilization 7is the introduction ofdifferent civilizations for each age. Older games had players pick a leader and a civilization with a list of bonuses. Players had to lock in the bonuses for their civilization at the start of the game, which required a decent understanding of how they would effect their civilization throughout the ages. Now,Civilization 7gives players a unique society for each Age. This means that players only have to worry about how their chosen civ effects the stage of the game they are in.
This new mechanic also adds some flexibility to one’s gameplay. Maybe someone picks a civilization that focuses on production in the early game, but realizes they’re falling behind on science. They can look for a civilization that better fits their needs when they progress to the next age, so their initial decision won’t necessarily sink their entire game. This is a big plus for a game likeCivilizationwhere games take a long time, and it can be frustrating to be locked into a losing strategy from the jump.
Civ 7 Has Streamlined Other Areas of Gameplay To Consolidate Information
Civ’s Combat And City Building Have Been Simplified
Civilizaiton 7has taken several other steps to help make it easier to track information in the game and not be overloaded with information or inputs. One new change that helps with this isthe game’s new city expansion and upgrading system.The mechanics of expanding settlements and upgrading tiles within their borders has been streamlined into a single menu. There are also very clear indications of what each upgrade or new building will provide based on the tile they are placed on.
Although not all of these changes are going to be universally loved byCivilizationfans, it seems clear that the intention is to focus on making the game more accessible to newer players.
Even combat has been streamlined inCivilization 7with the addition ofthe new Commander units. Older games tasked players with upgrading individual units. This required a lot of micromanaging, and also forced players to make decisions without having a solid knowledge of what their future held. It was hard to decide, for example, what specific terrain one should specialize in fighting on without seeing much of the world. Now, Commanders are the only units with upgrades, and they provide bonuses to units in their radius. Commanders can collect a lot of upgrades, making any single decision feel less stressful.
Although not all of these changes are going to be universally loved byCivilizationfans, it seems clear that the intention is to focus on making the game more accessible to newer players. Anyone who has been intimidated by the amount of information thrown at them in previous installments of the series should giveCivilization 7a try. Streamlining may take away some of the game’s nuance, but it certainly makes it less of a chore to play.
