Sid Meiers Civilization III Prima Official Eguide PDF

SID MEIER’S CIVILIZATION III STRATEGY
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Platform: PC
Complete coverage of all

Civilization advances
Tips for building and

controlling your armies
®
Essential strategy for diplomacy,
politics, and commerce
PRIMA’S OFFICIAL
How to use Great Leaders
Tactics for understanding and
GUIDE
developing the new Culture element
Advice for immersive

single-player gaming
Detailed information
on the game editor
DETAILED
TABLES!
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Prima’s Official Strategy Guide
David Ellis
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P RIMA ’ S O FFICIAL S TRATEGY G UIDE
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House, Inc., registered in the United States and other countries.
Contents
Primagames.com is a registered trademark of Random House, Inc., Chapter I In the Beginning
registered in the United States.
© 2001-2004 by Prima Games. All rights reserved. No part of this Chapter II Starting Off on the Right Foot
book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any
means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, Chapter III Resources and City Construction
or by any information storage or retrieval system without written
permission from Prima Games. Prima Games is a division of Random Chapter IV City Management
House, Inc.
Chapter V Empire Management
Project Editor: Jill Hinckley
Editorial Assistant: Etelvina Hernandez
Chapter VI The Advance of Knowledge
Product Manager: Sara E. Wilson
© 2001-2004 Infogrames Interactive, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Chapter VII City Improvements and Wonders
All trademarks are the property of their respective owners. of the World
Sid Meier’s Civilization®, Civ®, Civilization®, are U.S.
registered trademarks. Chapter VIII Units and Combat
Firaxis Games is a trademark of Firaxis Games, Inc. Chapter IX The Many Paths to Victory
All products and characters mentioned in this book are trademarks
of their respective companies. Chapter X The Editor in the Civilization III
Game
Please be advised that the ESRB rating icons, "EC", "K-A", “E”, "T",
"M", "AO" and “RP” are copyrighted works and certification marks
owned by the Entertainment Software Association and the
Chapter XI Conversing with the Creator
Entertainment Software Rating Board and may only be used with
their permission and authority. Under no circumstances may the
rating icons be self-applied or used in connection with any product
that has not been rated by the ESRB. For information regarding
Acknowledgements
whether a product has been rated by the ESRB, please call the ESRB Writing a strategy guide is a collaborative effort, so I’ve
at 1-800-771-3772 or visit www.esrb.org. For information regarding got a lot of people to thank. First, thanks to the folks
licensing issues, please call the ESA at (212) 223-8936. Please note at Prima—Sara Wilson, Jill Hinckley, Teli Hernandez,
that ESRB ratings only apply to the content of the game itself and and Asha Johnson for being so easy to work with and
does NOT apply to the content of this book. having the confidence in me to get it done under such
Important: a tight schedule. Also, thanks to the QA folks at Firaxis—
Prima Games has made every effort to determine that the information Barry Caudill, Rex Martin, Jason Gleason, and Ellie
contained in this book is accurate. However, neither the publisher Crawley—for providing me with pages of great tips that
nor its licensors make any warranty, either expressed or implied, as I would have never thought of on my own. The testers
to the accuracy, effectiveness, or completeness of the material in this are always the most experienced players, and the book
book; nor does the publisher or its licensors assume liability for is much better thanks to their input. Also, a huge thanks
damages, either incidental or consequential, that may result from
goes to John Possidente, my intermediary with the
using the information in this book. The publisher cannot provide
development team, who made sure that information flowed
information regarding game play, hints and strategies, or problems
with hardware or software. Questions should be directed to the smoothly and that I was always kept up to date on the
support numbers provided by the game and device manufacturers in latest changes.
their documentation. Some game tricks require precise timing and Last, but never least, thanks to my wife, Meghan, who
may require repeated attempts before the desired result is achieved. always supports me in whatever I do (and, as a Civ junkie,
provided some helpful tips for the guide as well).
ISBN: 0-7615-3645-0
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2001095679 Thanks, love!
ii
I
IN THE BEGINNING
I n the 20-year history of computer games,
arguably no game is better known
and more admired than the Sid Meier’s
HOW TO USE THIS BOOK
This guide introduces beginning and
Civilization® game. Including the original intermediate Civ players to the basic
game, which was released in 1992, there strategies of effective civilization growth
have been seven Civilization® products— and management. It also presents detailed
five stand-alone games and two scenario information and statistics on every vital
collections. Millions of strategy gamers concept—information that can be used by
have lost countless hours of sleep pursing veterans to develop new strategies and
the perfect empire into the wee hours of hone time-tested techniques so that they’ll
the morning, ignoring the real world in work with the many new rules and subtle
favor of “just one more turn.” changes that are present in Civilization III.
Now, just when you Civ® junkies have A step-by-step walkthrough is impossible—
finally caught up on your shuteye, it’s time each Civilization game is different from the
to begin your empire building efforts anew. one before it. Play the tutorial game for a
Kiss the spouse and kids goodbye, give good game basics primer. Therein, you’ll
the pets plenty of food, shut the door, and master the game mechanics and interface.
boot up your PC. It’s time for Civilization III.
primagames.com 1
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Civilization III relies on many interwoven And, for those of you who like to know
concepts and activities, each of which has the “why” as well as the “how,” the book
its own set of strategies. These concepts ends with Chapter XI, an exclusive inter-
form a coherent game strategy that, while view with Civilization’s creator, game god
not ensuring victory, will certainly improve Sid Meier, who provides some insight on
your chances of winning. the latest installment of one of the most
This book is divided into conceptual popular game series of all time.
sections that mirror those of the game Read the guide from cover to cover or
itself, and the concepts are discussed in use it as a reference tome. Either way, the
roughly the order you’ll deal with them. information you’ll find here should help
• Chapter I goes over the basic differences you in your quest to build an empire that
between Civilization III and the previous stands the test of time.
Civ games.
• Chapters II and III deal with the decisions WHAT’S NEW IN
you make prior to building your first
city, such as game setup options and the
CIVILIZATION III?
concepts of resources and terrain. The ultimate world building game is back
with a vengeance. After giving us a taste
• Chapter IV deals with all of the issues in Alpha Centauri of the new ideas and
involved in managing and maintaining features in Civilization, Sid Meier, Jeff
your cities. Briggs, and the rest of the Firaxis team
• Chapter V talks about empire management have gone back to basics, bringing Civ into
issues such as government, diplomacy, the new millennium.
and trade. Civilization III, like its predecessors,
• Chapters VI, VII, and VIII discuss the has something for everyone. While the
details of advances, improvements and basic game remains much as veteran
Wonders, and units (respectively), plus all players remember it, the new features and
the concepts and strategies tied to them. rules throughout will delight—and some-
times confound—experienced world leaders.
• Chapter IX offers general strategies
The next few sections will give you
for achieving each of the six victory
an overview of the new features you
conditions.
can expect to encounter—and the old
• Chapter X gives you the lowdown on the features that have gone the way of the
Civilization III editor and provides the Roman Empire.
basic information that advanced players
need to customize the game to their
hearts’ content.
2
CHAPTER I: IN THE BEGINNING
Sweeping Changes it can build. Chapter II talks more about

the civilizations, and chapter VIII provides
Most of the changes in Civ III are subtle
details on the civilization-specific units.
and specific, but a few broad updates
affect many facets of the game. The most
prominent are: Terrain and Resources
• Culture: Every city now generates Civ III incorporates a number of changes
Culture Points based on its improvements to the terrain and resources you rely on
and Wonders. Culture Points determine throughout the game. Terrain and resources
your civilization’s sphere of influence— are covered in detail in chapter III.
essentially, the borders of your empire. • Special resource categories: Special
This means that your civilization isn’t resources—Silk, Wine, Coal, Gold, and
just an unconnected collection of city- so on—are now divided into three
states—it’s a potentially contiguous categories: bonus, luxury, and strategic
empire. Chapters IV and V discuss Culture resources.
and its effects in more detail. • Resources tied to unit construction:
• Barbarians: Yes, you still have to deal Some units cannot be built without
with these marauding outsiders, but their access to certain strategic resources.
activity has been subtly altered. No • Fresh water irrigation: Early in the
longer nameless hordes that materialize game (prior to the discovery of
from the ether, they are named, minor Electricity), you can only build irrigation
tribes that operate from small villages on terrain that has access to fresh water.
that actually appear on the map. They
are also unable to capture your cities, • Colonies: You can build colonies
which gives you a little less to worry outside your empire to harvest strategic
about. Discover the specifics of dealing resources.
with Barbarians in chapter VIII. • Better visibility: Units can “see”
• Civilization diversity: The civilizations farther when they’re on top of hills and
(usually referred to as “tribes” in the mountains.
previous games) are no longer just • Impassible terrain: Some units are
different in name, temperament, and unable to move through certain terrain
unit color. In Civ III, every civilization types. See the unit descriptions in
has game-specific advantages. Each chapter VIII for details.
civilization also has one unit that only
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Advances number of new units available. Other units

have been changed or abolished altogether.
Subtle changes in scientific research
See chapter VIII for details.
abound in Civ III. Veterans will recognize
many of the advances from the previous
games. Some technologies have been added, NEW UNITS
some have been renamed, and others have Army Musketmen
been removed altogether. See chapter VI Cossack* Nuclear Submarine
for details on the science of Civ III. F-15* Panzer*
Hoplite* Radar Artillery
NEW ADVANCES
Immortals* Rider*
Ecology Nationalism
Impi* Samurai*
Education Printing Press
Jaguar Warrior* Spearman
Free Artistry Satellites
Leader Swordsman
Integrated Defense Scientific Method
Longbowman Tactical Nuke
Military Tradition Smart Weapons
Man-O-War* War Chariot*
Music Theory Synthetic Fibers
Modern Armor War Elephant*
Other scientific changes include: Mounted Warrior* Worker
• Interactive research tree: The science * Civilization-specific unit
advisor screen now maps out the entire
research tree for you. Use this tree Additional unit and combat changes
to plan your research path and even include:
to queue up multiple advances for • Home cities eliminated: Your units are
future research. now part of your empire as a whole
• Better-defined ages of civilization: The rather than being attached to and
four ages of civilization (Ancient Times, supported from a single city.
Middle Ages, Industrial Ages, and Modern • The Gold standard: Units are now
Times) are now explicitly mapped out on supported strictly through the Gold in
the research tree. your treasury. No units in Civ III require
food or shields for support.
Units and Combat • Unit upgrades: Obsolete units can now be
There have been quite a few changes in upgraded to their modern equivalents—
both military units themselves and in the for a price, of course.
way they interact. There are, of course, a
4
CHAPTER I: IN THE BEGINNING
• Settlers build only cities: The new Wonders of the World

Worker unit handles all terrain improve-
As with the city improvements, Civ III’s
ment duties.
Wonders have gone through some functional
• Bombardment: Artillery units and renovation (and the occasional name
ships now bombard targets rather than change). This game also introduces Small
attacking them directly. Wonders—those that can be built by more
• Capturing units: Units with a zero than one civilization. For more details,
defense no longer die when attacked. check out chapter VII.
Instead, the attacking enemy instantly
captures and takes control of them. NEW WONDERS OF THE WORLD
• Leaders and Armies: The new Leader Battlefield Medicine
unit can be used to group multiple units Forbidden Palace
into a single, powerful Army unit.
Heroic Epic
Intelligence Agency
City Improvements Iron Works
As is true with advances and units, there
Longevity
have been additions, deletions, and changes
to the improvements you can build in Military Academy
your cities. Strategic Missile Defense
The Pentagon
NEW CITY IMPROVEMENTS Wall Street
Hospital
SS Cockpit Interactions with
SS Docking Bay Other Civilizations
SS Planetary Party Lounge Diplomacy and other interactions with your
SS Storage/Supply neighbors have been revised as well. More
SS Thrusters options are open to you now, and others
have either disappeared or radically
Most of the city improvement changes are changed. Notable changes include:
functional differences and new characteristics • More negotiation options: During
that improve and/or alter the function of negotiations, you can trade many
the improvements. See chapter VII for details. enticing things, from military treaties
and maps, to vital resources, Workers,
and cities.
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• No more Diplomats or Spies: All of your and rules that have been removed. Some
espionage activities are now carried out of these will come as a welcome surprise
through your embassies. to Civ veterans, while others will topple
• No more Caravans or Freight units: tried-and-true strategies used since the
Trade is now a function of connectivity first game was released in 1992. The most
via road, railroad, air, or sea. The trade salient deletions include:
units have been eliminated. • Zones of Control: You are no longer
prevented from moving within one map
For more information on diplomacy and
square of an opposing unit or city.
other civilization interactions, see chapter V.
(Some units can still take certain liberties
against others that pass through an
More Ways to Win adjacent square, though. See chapter VIII
In the previous Civilization games, you for details.)
had two primary choices when it came to • Bribery: It is no longer possible to bribe
victory: build a spaceship and be the first opposing units to join your army—and
to colonize Alpha Centauri or wipe all of they can’t bribe your units to join theirs.
your opponents off the face of the planet. The only units that can be taken over by
You still have those options in Civ III, but another civilization are Workers, who are
you have other options as well. traded in diplomatic negotiations, and
• Cultural Victory: Win through Culture units with a zero defense, which can be
Points. captured in combat.
• Diplomatic Victory: Get elected to the • Fundamentalism: Sorry, warmongers.
head of the United Nations. This form of government is history.
• Domination Victory: Win through • Automatic improvement sales: Your
territorial expansion. cities no longer sell improvements
without your permission when your
• Histographic Victory: Win by having
treasury runs low. (At least, not on the
the highest Civilization Score.
easier difficulty levels.)
Find a complete discussion of the • The Senate: Remember how those guys
various paths to victory in chapter IX. were always going behind your back and
making peace treaties during a nice,
Notable Exclusions enjoyable war? Well, that’s a thing of the
Knowing what has been added and updated past! Before you get too excited though,
is vital to formulating a sound strategy, the Senate has been replaced by the
but equally important are the concepts concept of war weariness, which has
similar effects. (See chapter V for details.)
6
II
STARTING OFF ON
THE RIGHT FOOT
E xperienced players know that the
decision-making processes in the
Civilization® games begins before you build
CHOOSE YOUR WORLD
your first city. In fact, it begins before you
even see the map!
Civilization III includes a wide variety
of setup options that can radically affect
how the game plays out. Depending on the
options you select, each new game can be
fundamentally different than the last.
This chapter talks about your up-front
decisions, including world size and climate,
difficulty level, level of competition, and
tribe selection. By the end of the chapter, Choosing your world
you’ll know exactly how to set the options
so that they best suit your preferred style The first set of options are primarily associ-
of play. ated with the size, land/water composition,
and weather. (Barbarian activity is covered
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here as well.) These options greatly affect Larger worlds lend themselves to a
the level of conflict and the availability of more leisurely game that revolves around
resources in the game. prolonged exploration, peaceful expansion,
and science-based victory. Depending
World Size on the number of opponents you select,
you could be well into the Middle Ages
The size of the
or beyond before you encounter your
world determines
neighbors. By that time you will have
the amount of
(hopefully) expanded to the point where
terrain available
your neighbors cannot easily bully you.
for exploration—
If you prefer a peaceful strategy, large-
the larger the
world games are for you.
world, the more
room there is
to explore. Five Land Mass and
world size options Water Coverage
are available:
• Tiny (60x60 terrain squares)
• Small (80x80 terrain squares)
Land mass and the ratio of water to land
• Standard (100x100 terrain squares)
affect the game in a number of ways. The
• Large (140x140 terrain squares) three land mass selections are:
• Huge (180x180 terrain squares) • Pangaea: This world is dominated by
Size does matter in Civilization III. one large interconnected landmass.
When you play on a smaller world, the • Continents: Large bodies of water
world map can be completely explored separate many large landmasses.
early in the game. Thus, you’re likely to • Archipelago: Many small landmasses are
encounter most or all of your opponents scattered across a large, continuous body
very early on. Games on small worlds of water.
tend to be shorter because they usually
degenerate into territorial squabbles that Land mass type greatly affects your
then turn into full-scale wars. Conquest strategy throughout the game. For example,
Victories are the most common way to on an Archipelago world, you have less
win in a small-world game. room to explore on your starting continent.
To grow your empire, you must take to the
sea early and find new islands to conquer.
8
C HAPTER II: STARTING OFF ON THE RIGHT FOOT
Your opponents are in the same boat (no

pun intended) and, with all that exploring NOTE
going on, you’re bound to run into one If you want to play on an Earth-like
another sooner than you might on a world, stick to the defaults for land
Continent world. Archipelago worlds foster mass and water coverage: 70 percent
water with Continents.
a greater dependence on naval dominance.
Continents offer the most balanced
game possibilities, though large continents Climate
are no guarantee against running into your
neighbors early in the game. Starting
positions are random, and you could end
up next to a would-be conqueror on the
first turn.
Pangaea worlds greatly reduce the need
for naval units because everybody’s on the
same big continent. Ground and air units
are the most useful here. On a big world,
you usually have enough room to expand
before you start running into your neighbors
but, again, random chance might not
operate in your favor.
The amount of available moisture affects the
NOTE availability of certain terrain types, which,
The Wonders of the World that affect in turn, affects your food production and
every city on a continent—Hoover Dam, city growth possibilities. Your choices are:
for example—tend to be more effective
on worlds with large land masses. You • Arid: A dry world has an abundance of
can fit more cities on a large land mass. dry terrain types, such as Plains and
Deserts.
In addition to land mass choices, you • Normal: This world has an average
can set the amount of water on the world. distribution of all terrain types.
This determines the ratio of land tiles to
water tiles. The more land you have, the • Wet: A rainy world has an abundance
less likely that you’ll be fighting with of wet terrain types such as Flood Plains
your neighbors early in the game to take and Swamps, and a greater-than-normal
advantage of the limited resources. occurrence of rivers.
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Empire growth can be difficult in either • Cool: This climate has a larger number
of the extremes. Arid climates don’t lend of Tundra squares but fewer Deserts
themselves well to food output, which means and Jungles.
slow city growth. Wet climates and their
attendant terrain types, while abundant Once again, moderation is the key to an
food producers, are less conducive to easier game. At either temperature extreme,
commerce. Disease also plagues wet you’re bound to run into more undesirable
worlds, making it difficult to keep your terrain than you’d like. Both Desert and
cities growing. Tundra are extremely difficult to deal with
The Normal climate, with its even mix in terms of resource production. If you
of terrain types, is the easiest to deal with. don’t want that headache, stick to the
(For more information on terrain types, see Temperate setting. Play on a Warm or Cool
chapter III.) world only if you’re looking for a challenge.
Temperature Age
The Age option affects not only the

Temperature also affects the available
terrain types. Your choices are: frequency of occurrence for certain terrain
types, but their distribution on the map
• Warm: This climate has few Tundra as well. The Age choices are:
squares but a higher number of Desert
• 3 Billion: In a young world, Mountains
and Jungle squares.
are more prevalent than Hills, and
• Temperate: This climate is similar to large tracts of similar terrain types
Earth’s, with an even mixture of “hot” occur together.
and “cold” terrain types.
10
• 4 Billion: In a world of average age, • Sedentary:

average terrain distribution broken up This is the
by occasional tracts of like terrain. closest you
• 5 Billion: In an old world, Hills are can come to
more prevalent than Mountains and like turning the
terrain type tends to vary widely over Barbarians off.
short distances. This restricts
their activity to
Age can have a profound effect on their villages,
city growth throughout the game. A well- where they can do you no harm (unless
balanced city needs a variety of resources you seek them out).
to prosper—a good balance of food,
• Roaming: Barbarian villages appear from
shields, and commerce. On young planets,
time to time, but with low frequency,
with their huge swathes of similar terrain,
throughout the game. Expect infrequent
such a balance can be hard to find at any
Barbarian incursions at this setting.
given site. In fact, city sites can be at
a premium if you start the game in the • Restless: Barbarian villages pop up with
middle of a mass of unfriendly terrain greater frequency and produce more
such as Desert or Jungle. The unpredictable Barbarians. Attacks are more of a
terrain distribution on an old world can be nuisance at this level.
almost as bad. Again, stick to the default • Raging: Barbarian villages appear
unless you’re looking for a challenge. quite frequently and produce enough
Barbarians to pose a serious threat to
NOTE nearby cities. At this level, seek out and
Except for World Size, all of the world
destroy the Barbarian village as soon as
customization options can be set to the Barbarians rear their ugly heads.
Random. This adds an unpredictable • Random: Add some excitement to the
edge to every game. game! You won’t know how bad the
Barbarian problem is until they’re
swarming all over you.
Barbarians
Those pesky Barbarians—you can’t live At anything but “Raging” level,
with them, and you can’t live without them. Barbarians in Civ® III aren’t that difficult to
What you can do, however, is set their deal with, especially on the lower difficulty
activity to a level that you’re comfortable levels. In fact, having them pop up with
with. Your choices are: moderate frequency tends to fatten your
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treasury—you get a reward every time you Your Civilization/

take out one of their villages.
For more information on dealing with
Your Opponents
Barbarians, see chapter VIII.
PLAYER SETUP
One of the biggest changes in Civilization III

is greater differentiation between the various
civilizations. Instead of simply having
different faces and different general game-
play attitudes and habits, tribal differences
now include differing philosophies, special
advantages, different combinations of
starting advances, and even one civilization-
specific unit that only that civilization
The Player Setup screen can build. (Civilization-specific units are
described in detail in chapter VIII.)
After you’ve got your world squared Tables 2-1 and 2-2 summarizes
away, it’s time to select your civilization, the abilities and characteristics of the
opponents, rules, and game difficulty. 16 civilizations in the game.
While many of these options and their
effects are pretty obvious—especially to
Civ veterans—Civilization III adds several
new features and twists to the game that
are worth noting.
12
TABLE 2-1. CIVILIZATION CHARACTERISTICS

CIVILIZATION COMMERCIAL EXPANSIONIST INDUSTRIOUS MILITARISTIC RELIGIOUS SCIENTIFIC
Americans X X
Aztecs X X
Babylonians X X
Chinese X X
Egyptians X X
English X X
French X X
Germans X X
Greeks X X
Indians X X
Iroquois X X
Japanese X X
Persians X X
Romans X X
Russians X X
Zulus X X
TABLE 2-2. BONUSES BASED ON CHARACTERISTICS

CHARACTERISTIC STARTING ADVANCE SPECIAL EFFECT 1 SPECIAL EFFECT 2
Commercial Alphabet Extra commerce in city square Lower corruption
Expansionist Pottery Better booty from villages Starts game with a Scout
Industrious Masonry Workers work faster Extra shield in city square
Militaristic Warrior Code or Reduced military improvement costs Unit promotions more likely
The Wheel
Religious Ceremonial Burial Reduced religious improvement costs No Anarchy between governments
Scientific Bronze Working Free random advance at the start of Reduced science improvement
each era costs
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As you can see, choosing your civilization more opponents you can choose. If you
is now more than just a matter of choosing don’t select any, the computer picks the
which unit color and leader image you like number and identity of your opponents at
the best. This decision now determines random. If you want to know what you’re
important factors that affect the course of up against, pick them yourself. Otherwise,
your entire game! anything goes.
Choose your civilization based on your
preferred style of play. Although a savvy
player can match any civilization to any
RULES
style of play with some degree of success,
certain civilizations lend themselves better
to achieving certain victory paths. Here are
some guidelines:
• Domination Victory: Americans, The rules and their implications are
Chinese, English, Germans, Iroquois, explained in detail in the game manual, so
Russians, Zulus there’s no point in belaboring them here.
• Diplomatic Victory: Aztecs, Babylonians, Basically, the game allows you to deactivate
Chinese, Egyptians, Greeks, Indians, victory conditions. Doing so makes the
Iroquois, Japanese, Russians game harder to win because your paths to
• Cultural Victory: Aztecs, Babylonians, victory are limited. You can also deactivate
Egyptians, English, French, the civilization-specific characteristics
Germans, Greeks, Indians, Iroquois, and units.
Japanese, Romans
• Conquest Victory: Aztecs, Japanese, NOTE
Persians Romans, Zulus If you long for the good old days, use
the Rules section of the Player Setup
• Space Victory: Americans, Babylonians, screen to approximate the original
Egyptians, French, Greeks, Persians, Civilization experience. Turn off “Allow
Russians Civ-Specific Abilities” and all of the
victory options except “Space” and
Of course, the civilization-specific “Military.” There are still differences,
characteristics apply to your computer of course, but this is as close as you
opponents as well. Civilization III allows can get. Enjoy!
you to select the opponents you want to
play against—the larger the world, the
14
Difficulty • Content Citizens: The number of citizens

in each city that are “born” content.
All citizens added after this number are
automatically unhappy. (See chapter IV
No game would be complete without the for details.)
ability to adjust the gameplay to make it • Opponent Build/Advance Rate:
painfully easy or excruciatingly difficult. A multiplier that determines how fast
That’s where the game difficulty settings your opponents build units, improvements,
come in. Veteran players will immediately Wonders, and complete research
recognize the six difficulty settings, which compared to you. For example, if this
range from Chieftain (easiest) to Deity number is 200 percent, your opponents
(most difficult). take twice as long as you to complete
Table 2-3 shows how difficulty level these tasks.
affects the game. The game features and • Barbarian Combat Bonus: This multi-
statistics listed in the table are as follows: plier is added to your units’ stats when
they fight Barbarian units.
TABLE 2-3. EFFECTS OF DIFFICULTY LEVEL

GAME FEATURES CHIEFTAIN WARLORD PRINCE KING EMPEROR DEITY
Content Citizens 4 3 2 2 1 1
Opponent Build/Advance Rate 200% 120% 100% 90% 80% 60%
Barbarian Combat Bonus +400% +200% +100% +50% +25% +0%
There are also a number of general • On all levels, your first few units require no
difficulty effects: support. On Chieftain and Warlord levels,
• On Chieftain and Warlord levels, units several additional units are support-free.
do not automatically disband when you • Corruption increases with difficulty level.
run out of Gold to support them. • The lower the difficulty level, the more
• On Chieftain and Warlord levels, improve- likely it is that you’ll receive a reward
ments aren’t automatically sold off when of some sort when you visit a village
you run out of Gold to maintain them. (goodie hut).
• Your opponents are more lenient during
negotiations at lower difficulty levels.
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• Your opponents are less aggressive and

less likely to break treaties at lower levels. NOTE
Game difficulty level no longer affects
• In all other situations (those not listed the amount of money you start with.
here or in Table 2-3), your opponents You start with 10 Gold in your treasury
play at Prince level. regardless of difficulty level.
WHAT OPTIONS ARE RIGHT FOR YOU? • Age: 3 Billion

Hitting the right combination of game • Opponents: 7; Aztecs, Romans, Persians,
options is the key to getting the best Zulus, Japanese, English, Germans
possible game experience for your level of
expertise. Although the potential options For a Cultural free-for-all:
combinations are endless, here are a few • World Size: Standard
general guidelines for setting up a game • Land mass and Water Coverage:
that’s right for you. Pangaea, 80 percent water
For a long, laid-back, • Climate: Normal
non-confrontational game: • Temperature: Temperate
• World Size: Huge • Age: 4 Billion
• Land mass and Water Coverage: • Opponents: 4–7; choose from Aztecs,
Continents, 60 percent water Iroquois, Egyptians, Babylonians,
• Climate: Normal Indians, Japanese, French, Greeks
• Temperature: Temperate For a challenging, all-out race
• Age: 4 Billion to Alpha Centauri:
• Opponents: 2–4; anyone non-militaristic • World Size: Huge
and non-expansionist • Land mass and Water Coverage:
Continents, 60 percent water
For a fast and furious
military confrontation: • Climate: Normal
• World Size: Tiny • Temperature: Temperate
• Land mass and Water Coverage: • Age: 4 Billion
Pangaea, 80 percent water • Opponents: 2–7; choose from Americans,
• Climate: Arid or Wet Russians, French, Greeks, Romans,
Egyptians, Babylonians, Chinese
• Temperature: Warm or Cool
16
III
RESOURCES AND
CITY CONSTRUCTION
N ow that you’ve selected your civilization
and the general conditions of the
game and game world, it’s time to start
with throughout the game—food, shields,
and commerce—as well as a detailed
look at the new ap resource model in the
building your empire. Your first task is to Civilization® III game.
build your empire’s capital city. But where
should you build it? This decision, made
when your empire is no more than a few
RESOURCES
fledgling units, is easily as important as AND TERRAIN
any you’ll make in the game. Throughout the game, you build and
The last section of the chapter discusses acquire cities. The location of these cities
selecting your first city site and improving defines their fate throughout the game. A
the surrounding terrain so that you can get well-placed city grows briskly and has rapid
your empire off to a strong start. We’ll production. A poorly placed city stagnates,
begin, however, with an in-depth look growing slowly and producing units and
at the resources you’ll be most concerned improvements at a snail’s pace.
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To build cities that prosper, you need to your cities in areas where the terrain
understand the game’s resources and their produces abundant food, you increase the
effect on your empire. city’s potential for rapid growth.
The “Big Three” NOTE

Although there are a dozen different terrain In previous Civilization games, food
types and more than 20 bonus, luxury, served a third purpose—it supported
Settler units in the field. Unit support in
and strategic resources in Civilization III,
Civilization III is paid in Gold for all units.
everything comes down to three basic Food is never used for unit support.
components, the stuff of which empires are
made: food, shields, and commerce. Every
terrain type produces these three major Shields
resources in different combinations.
Shields represent raw materials.
Your cities use them to produce
Food units, improvements, and Wonders
Food serves two roles in of the World. All the shields collected
Civilization III. First, it keeps by the city each turn are placed in the
the city’s population alive. Every production box, where they are applied
turn, each citizen in the city consumes to the city’s current production project.
two units of food. So, in a size 10 city, When enough shields are accumulated to
that’s 20 units per turn. If the surrounding cover the price of the unit, improvement,
terrain isn’t producing enough food to meet or Wonder being produced, that item is
the population’s needs, food is drawn from completed and the city can go on to produce
the city’s reserves (the food storage box). something else. The more shield-producing
When the food storage box is empty, people terrain that surrounds your cities, the
start dying—one per turn until the food faster your cities can produce things.
deficit is corrected.
The other function food serves is
population growth. Each turn, any food not
NOTE
consumed by the city population is placed Prior to Civilization III, shields supported
a city’s units. Now, all shields are used
in the food storage box. When the box fills
for production and unit support is paid
up, the city’s population increases by one. in Gold from the central treasury.
The greater your food production, the
faster your city grows. (See the game
manual for more details.) So, by locating
18
C HAPTER III: RESOURCES AND CITY CONSTRUCTION
Commerce
Commerce, which was known as
“Trade” in previous Civilization
games, is the most complicated of
the three major resources. The commerce a The science and entertainment sliders
city produces is divided three ways: on the Domestic Advisor’s screen.
• Science On either screen you can see the
• Taxes commerce percentage allocated to two
• Entertainment of the three commerce categories. The
difference in the percentages is the amount
Although the principles of commerce in of commerce allocated to the third category.
Civ® III are pretty much the same as those So, if the commerce bars on the City Display
in the previous games, veterans should show 60 percent taxes and 30 percent
note some subtle changes. science, the remaining 10 percent is allocated
The City Display now shows only two of to entertainment.
the three commerce categories—science and Each commerce component is important
taxes. The top line shows the percentage of in its own way:
commerce allocated to taxes—unit support, • Taxes: Taxes take on a new level of
improvement maintenance, and (if there’s importance in Civilization III. They now
anything left) your treasury. The bottom maintain city improvements and all of
shows the percentage of commerce your units. The taxes generated by your
allocated to science—researching new cities are combined and all improvement,
civilization advances. unit maintenance, and support is
subtracted from the total. The remaining
Gold (if any) is placed in your treasury.
• Science: This is, arguably, the most
important facet of commerce. Science
The commerce breakdown on the City Display. is used to research new civilization
The third component, entertainment, advances. As discussed in chapter VI,
is now monitored and controlled from the every advance has a research “cost” that
Domestic Advisor’s screen. The two sliders must be paid before it can be discovered.
represent science (top) and entertainment Every turn, the portion of commerce
(bottom). allocated to science is applied to the
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current research project. The more Basic Terrain Types

commerce you allocate to science, the The world map is divided into hundreds
faster the advance is discovered. of individual squares, each of which is
• Entertainment: This is commerce that is assigned one of 12 basic terrain types.
channeled into making the city’s residents Each terrain type produces a different
happy. Entertainment is added to any combination of food, shields, and
luxuries produced by terrain, and “happy commerce each turn. Different terrain
faces” produced by city improvements types also affect unit movement and line
and Wonders in the city, determining the of sight, as well as several other subtle
disposition of your population. The more aspects of gameplay.
entertainment your people have, the
happier they are. NOTE
Chapter IV goes into the finer details Veteran players should note that the
of optimizing your commerce and how Glacier terrain from Civ II (which was
known as Arctic terrain in the original
each of the three facets of this important
game) is nowhere to be found in
resource figure into the successful operation Civilization III.
of your cities.
Table 3-1 lists the following vital statistics

The Lay of the Land for each terrain type:
Now that you understand the three basic
• Food/Shields/Commerce: The combination
building blocks of Civilization survival,
of “big three” resources produced by the
take a look at where they come from—
terrain. For example, a terrain type that
the terrain itself. There are 12 basic
shows 0/1/0 in this category produces
terrain types, each with its own set of
no food, one shield, and no commerce
characteristics and resource ratios. There
each turn.
are also 22 special resources divided into
three different categories: bonus resources, • Move Cost: The base number of points
luxury resources, and strategic resources. a unit must expend to move into the
The next few sections look at all of terrain square.
these features in detail. • Defensive Bonus: The bonus applied to
a unit’s defense statistic when the unit
occupies the terrain square.
• Irrigation Bonus: The resource bonus
received when the terrain is improved
through irrigation.
20
• Mining Bonus: The resource bonus • Road Bonus: The resource bonus received
received when the terrain is improved when a road is built in the terrain
through mining. square. (In addition to this bonus, roads
always decrease the movement cost of
any terrain square to 1/3.)
TABLE 3-1. TERRAIN RESOURCES

TERRAIN FOOD/SHIELDS/ DEFENSIVE IRRIGATION MINING ROAD
TYPE COMMERCE MOVE COST BONUS BONUS BONUS BONUS
Coast 1/0/2 1 +10% — — —
Desert 0/1/0 1 +10% +1 food +1 shield +1 commerce
Flood Plain 3/0/0 1 +10% +1 food — +1 commerce
Forest 1/2/0 2 +25% — — +1 commerce
Grassland 2/0/0 1 +10% +1 food +1 shield +1 commerce
Hills 1/1/0 2 +50% — +2 shields +1 commerce
Jungle 1/0/0 3 +25% — — +1 commerce
Mountains 0/1/0 3 +100% — +2 shields +1 commerce
Ocean 1/0/0 1 +10% — — —
Plains 1/1/0 1 +10% +1 food +1 shield +1 commerce
Sea 1/0/1 1 +10% — — —
Tundra 1/0/0 1 +10% — +1 shield +1 commerce
Coast These squares have good commerce and

In the previous provide food. Occasionally, you’ll find
Civilization games, Coast squares with the Fish bonus resource.
large bodies of water Coastal cities built near these resources
were entirely composed tend to grow quickly because of the
of Ocean squares. In additional food the Fish provide.
Civ III, that one terrain
type has been split into NOTE
three: Coast, Ocean, and Sea. Coast squares The inland “seas” in Civilization III
are land/water squares that border a large are usually made up exclusively of
body of water. Coast terrain.
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Desert
NOTE
Avoid building cities
When you build a city on a terrain type
in areas surrounded by that produces no shields and cannot
Desert, and under no normally be upgraded to make it
circumstances should produce shields, the game automatically
you ever build a city provides the city square with a shield
on a Desert square. The production of one per turn.
only possible reason for
building near a Desert is to gamble on the
Forest
presence of Oil, an important strategic
resource. Even so, never include more than Forests have always
one or two Desert squares within your city been wonderful assets
radius—if you do, you run the risk of slow to a city. They provide
growth and starvation in that city. the most shields of any
terrain type while still
Flood Plain providing food. In
Flood Plains are new to Civilization III. Civilization III, Forests
They provide more food than any other offer an additional bonus—they can be
terrain type—that harvested for a one-time windfall of
means fast city growth 10 shields. This is a great way to hurry
in cities surrounded by the production of an important unit,
Flood Plains. improvement, or Wonder.
There is one drawback, Because Forests produce only one food
however. Flood Plains per turn, a city built on a Forest square
breed disease. When one grows at a slower-than-normal rate—but it
of your citizens is working a Flood Plains benefits from the Forest’s defensive bonus.
square, there is a chance each turn that Although you shouldn’t make a habit of
disease will strike the city, reducing building your cities in Forests, such a city
its population. Even so, disease strikes can be successful if the surrounding squares
infrequently enough that it’s worth the produce enough food to compensate.
risk for the extra food.
Grassland
Grasslands are one of the two most versatile
terrain sites, along with Plains. Each has
its indigenous advantage. In this case, it’s
food. The Grassland’s high food output
22
(which is further Cities built on Hills suffer the same slow

increased with irrigation) growth as those built on any other terrain
ensures fast city growth. type whose food production cannot be
Grasslands make decent improved. However, hilltop cities enjoy a
city sites. considerable defensive bonus. If you build
There are two types on a Hill, make sure the surrounding
of Grassland squares— terrain can produce enough food to
standard Grassland and enhanced Grassland. promote and sustain the city’s growth.
They look identical except that enhanced
Grassland has a small blue-white dot in the Jungle
center. Enhanced Grassland squares produce Jungles are inhospitable
one additional shield. places, and their
usefulness is limited.
They cannot be improved
TIP (except with roads),
When you have a choice between
and they produce only
building your city on a Grassland square
or a nearby enhanced Grassland square,
a single food unit each
choose the standard Grassland as your turn. On top of all that, they can introduce
city site. That way, you’ll get the “free” disease into your city (just like Flood
shield in the city square (see note Plains). Never build a city in a Jungle
earlier in this chapter) and can still square. Never.
exploit the bonus shield in the enhanced The only advantage of Jungles is that
Grassland square. they sometimes house Rubber—a strategic
resource that becomes very important in
Hills the later stages of the game—as well as a
Because of the number variety of luxury resources. Only if one of
of shields that Hills these is present should you even consider
produce when they’re building a city with a Jungle in its radius.
mined, building your
cities near at least one TIP
Hill is a good idea. When you want to reap the benefits of a
Hills are also better special resource but, for some reason,
than Mountains in that they they produce you don’t want the terrain square that
food as well as shields, making them more contains the resource inside your city
radius, consider having a Worker build a
versatile. Hills are also home to a large
road to it and set up a colony to harvest
number of special resources. the resource.
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Mountains Plains
Like Jungles, Mountains Plains are arguably the
are entirely unsuitable best city sites, especially
as city sites. Even the early in the game. Cities
massive defensive bonus built on Plains generate
your units receive in slightly less food than
this terrain doesn’t Grassland cities, which
compensate for the makes them grow a
total lack of food there. little slower. This keeps unhappiness at
Mountains are an excellent source of bay a little longer—a real boon on the
some of the most important strategic higher difficulty levels. Plains make up for
resources in the game, including Iron, this by offering a shield—something that
Saltpeter, and Aluminum. As such, it’s Grasslands lack.
useful to include mountains inside some
of your cities’ radii. TIP
Ocean When you build a city, the terrain square
on which you build it is automatically
Ocean is the deep water improved in every way possible:
that appears three irrigation, mining, and roads. That
squares and farther off means that the city square itself reaps
the coast. Most of the the increased benefits of the improved
Ocean squares on larger terrain. This makes the choice of terrain
worlds or worlds where for a city very important. Cities built on
land is sparse will go terrain that cannot benefit from one or
more terrain improvement method will
unused. However, one or more Ocean
accumulate fewer resources than those
squares usually fall within the city radius built on highly improvable terrain.
of each coastal city.
When possible, choose city sites where
the Ocean square(s) house a special Sea
resource, such as Fish or (better still) This intermediate water
Whales. These resource-enhanced Ocean terrain falls along the
squares are a vast improvement over the shoreline, between
standard variety. Coast squares and Ocean
squares. Every coastal
city includes at least
one Sea square in its
city radius.
24
Sea squares are just like Coast squares are divided into three categories, each of
except that they produce one less commerce. which provides a set of unique benefits.
As with Ocean and Coast squares, Sea terrain
is most valuable if it contains a special Bonus Resources
resource—in this case, Whales or Fish.
Tundra
Tundra is essentially
a Jungle without the
disease, though it is
slightly more improvable. Bonus resources increase the productivity
As is true of most of of normal terrain. Their presence causes
the inhospitable terrain a terrain square to produce more food,
types, several special shields, and/or commerce than it normally
resources that appear in Tundra squares would. Cities built with bonus resources
are worth having. Your best bet in this inside their city radius tend to be more
case is to set up a colony. Don’t include successful. For instance, a city with one or
Tundra within your city radius unless you more Wheat squares inside its city radius
absolutely have to, and never build a city has more food production potential and
on a Tundra square. grows faster as a result.
Table 3-2 lists all of the bonus
Special Resources resources, their effects on food, shield,
Scattered around the world are enhanced and commerce production, and the terrain
terrain squares that produce additional types on which they are found.
resources. In Civilization III, special resources
TABLE 3-2. EFFECTS OF BONUS RESOURCES

RESOURCE FOOD SHIELDS COMMERCE TERRAIN TYPES
Cattle +2 +1 +0 Grasslands, Plains, Tundra
Fish +2 +0 +1 Coast, Sea, Ocean
Game +1 +0 +0 Tundra, Forest, Jungle
Gold +0 +0 +4 Hills, Mountains
Whales +1 +1 +2 Sea, Ocean
Wheat +2 +0 +0 Flood Plains, Grasslands, Plains
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Unlike bonus resources, luxury resources

NOTE can be traded between your cities and with
Changing the terrain on a square your opponents. (See chapter V for more
containing special resources does not information on trading.)
remove or change the special resource. Table 3-3 lists all of the luxury resources,
For example, when you harvest a
their effects on food, shield, and commerce
Forest that contains Game, the Game
remains even when the Forest is production, and the terrain types on which
changed to Plains. they are found.
TABLE 3-3.
Luxury Resources EFFECTS OF LUXURY RESOURCES
RESOURCE FOOD SHIELDS COMMERCE TERRAIN TYPES
Dyes +0 +0 +1 Forest, Jungle
Furs +0 +1 +1 Tundra
Gems +0 +0 +4 Mountains
Incense +0 +0 +1 Hills, Desert
Ivory +0 +0 +2 Forest, Plains
Luxury resources improve terrain in the same Silks +0 +0 +3 Forest
manner as bonus resources—they allow the Spices +0 +0 +2 Forest, Jungle
terrain square to produce additional basic
Wines +1 +0 +1 Grasslands, Hills
resources (usually commerce). Luxury
resources also help keep your population
happy. Every luxury resource to which the Strategic Resources
city has access has the potential to make
one content citizen happy.
NOTE
To reap the happiness benefit of a
luxury resource, you must build a road
to it. You don’t have to have a citizen Strategic resources are, without a doubt,
working on the terrain square to reap the most important of the special resource
the happiness benefits of the luxury, nor types. Like luxury resources, they provide
does the luxury have to be within the city an increase in basic resources that the
radius. To collect the food, shield, and terrain they occupy produces (sometimes
commerce bonuses, however, the terrain shields, sometimes commerce, but never
must be within your city radius and one
of your citizens must be working on it.
26
food). They can also be traded between

your connected cities and between your CAUTION
civilization and others. Strategic resources that are connected
What makes strategic resources so vital to any civilization’s trade network have
is that certain units, improvements, and a chance of disappearing every turn.
This represents the depletion of the
Wonders of the World—not to mention
resource. The chance of resource
railroads—require that you have access to depletion is always low (never more
specific strategic resources before you can than 1% per turn), but don’t be
build them. If you don’t have access to surprised if your valuable resource
the resource, you can’t produce the item stash suddenly vanishes. Uranium and
in question. Oil are the most prone to depletion, but
Strategic resources are not all visible at Iron, Saltpeter, Aluminum, and Coal
the start of the game. Instead, they appear supplies can also run out.
as your research advances. Even so, it’s
Table 3-4 lists all of the strategic
possible to plan your city sites to take
resources, their effects on food, shield, and
advantage of these resources when they do
commerce production, and the terrain types
appear by noting the type of terrain where
on which they are found. Also listed is the
they can exist.
civilization advance that you must discover
before the resource appears.
TABLE 3-4. EFFECTS OF STRATEGIC RESOURCES

RESOURCE FOOD SHIELDS COMMERCE TERRAIN TYPES APPEARS AFTER
Aluminum +0 +2 +0 Desert, Hills, Mountains, Plains Rocketry
Coal +0 +2 +1 Hills, Jungles, Mountains Steam Power
Horses +0 +0 +1 Grasslands, Hills, Plains The Wheel
Iron +0 +1 +0 Hills, Mountains Iron Working
Oil +0 +1 +2 Desert, Plains, Tundra Refining
Rubber +0 +0 +2 Forests, Jungles Replaceable Parts
Saltpeter +0 +0 +1 Deserts, Hills, Mountains, Gunpowder
Tundra
Uranium +0 +2 +3 Forests, Mountains Fission
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• Any city that includes a river inside the

TIP city radius can build a Hydro Plant and/or
Early in the game, Iron is the most the Hoover Dam Wonder of the World.
important strategic resource for military
strategists. After you discover Iron • Any city that includes a river inside the
Working, locate Iron resources and city radius can build a Nuclear Plant.
secure them for yourself. The late-game
strategic resource of choice is Oil. You
must have access to Oil to build most TIP
of the modern naval and air units. Grassland and Plains squares bordered
by rivers make excellent city sites
because of the extra commerce they
Rivers produce. The defending units inside the
As in Civilization II, city also receive the defensive bonus
Civ III doesn’t treat if the city is attacked across the river.
rivers as distinct terrain
types. Instead, they
Villages
are a terrain feature
that appears in many Scattered across the world early in the
different terrain types. game are many small villages that house
In fact, they actually flow between terrain minor tribes. These
squares in this game. villages, often referred
Rivers provide the following benefits: to as “goodie huts” by
Civ veterans, belong to
• +1 commerce to the terrain squares no one—at least, they
they border. don’t belong to your
• A fresh water source for irrigation of opponents. Moving one
adjacent squares. of your units into a village often provides
• A 50 percent defensive bonus for a you with a reward.
defending unit that is attacked across The possible results of entering a village
a river. are as follows:
• Movement between two terrain squares • The village is deserted: You receive
divided by a river costs only 1/3 of a nothing for entering.
movement point (after you discover • The villagers attack: One or more
Engineering). hostile Barbarian units appear and
attack your unit.
28
• Gold: You receive a gift of Gold from

the villagers.
BUILDING CITIES AND
• Advance: The villagers impart their OPTIMIZING TERRAIN
ancient wisdom to you in the form of Even with the addition of culture and
a new civilization advance. empire borders, your civilization is at
heart just a collection of individual cities.
• Military unit: The villagers create a
By building effective cities that thrive
military unit that joins your civilization.
and grow, you create a prosperous,
• Settler: The nomadic villagers join your growing empire.
civilization in the form of a Settler unit. The remainder of this chapter focuses
• New city: The villagers are so impressed on selecting the right locations for your
with your civilization that they form cities and optimizing the surrounding
a new city that becomes a part of terrain to ensure that your cities prosper.
your empire.
Because the positive results of exploring Location, Location, Location
villages far outweigh the negative, Armed with the terrain knowledge you
always visit every village you come across. gained earlier in this chapter, you should
When possible, enter the village with a be ready to build a city. The site you select
military unit (as opposed to a Settler or for each city determines whether the city
a Worker) to prevent the certain loss of will thrive or stagnate.
a valuable unit should the results of your As explained in the game manual, every
visit be hostile. city generates resources by putting its
citizens to work in the city radius, the
NOTE 20 squares surrounding the city square
itself. Every time a city’s population
In Civilization II, village contents were
randomly generated at the moment you increases, the new citizen is automatically
visited them. This allowed you to save put to work on one of the terrain squares
the game prior to visiting the village and inside the city radius. You can see the type
keep reloading the game until you got and number of resources generated in each
the results you wanted. This is no longer terrain square by checking out the resource
the case. map on the City Display.
primagames.com 29
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Choosing a proper location for your first

city is one of the most critical decisions
you’ll make. Nowhere in the game is it
easier to fall behind your opponents than
right at the beginning, when everyone’s
resources are limited and your empires are
small. If your first city doesn’t grow, can’t
The resource map of an established city.
produce units and improvements quickly,
As you can see, the surrounding terrain and can’t generate enough commerce to
squares, as well as the city square itself, keep the research effort going, your game
produce resources. The city square maximizes is likely to be short.
resource production by automatically Build your first city on a square that
establishing all of the possible terrain produces at least one of each resource—
improvements—irrigation, mining, and food, shields, and commerce. (Remember to
roads—when it is built. For example, a take the automatic terrain enhancements
city built on a Plains square receives the in the city square into account.) Balance
normal one food and one shield provided growth versus production by choosing a
by Plains, plus an additional unit of food site that produces either more food or
(for irrigation) and one unit of commerce more shields.
(for roads). As for the surrounding terrain, make
sure that the nearby resources compliment
NOTE each other. Shield-rich Hills and Forests
You receive the irrigation bonus should be balanced by big food producers
regardless of whether the city is such as Grasslands and Flood Plains. Always
adjacent to a water source. However, be on the lookout for special resources,
the irrigation in the city cannot be especially luxury resources that can enhance
used as a water source for irrigating your population’s happiness and be traded
surrounding terrain squares. to induce happiness in other cities as well.
As your technology progresses, watch for
In addition to picking an optimum
the strategic resources you’ll need to
square on which to build the city, look at
complete pivotal units, improvements,
the surrounding terrain. Most terrain types
and Wonders. Rivers, with their added
can be improved through irrigation and
commerce, are a boon as well. Build near
mining, but that takes time. If your city
them if possible.
site isn’t surrounded by a good balance
of resources, the city will stagnate and
become a burden on your empire.
30
Finally, if you are near the coastline, Increasing Resource Yield

consider building a coastal city. Ships can
As a city’s population grows, resource
be built in coastal cities only, and the
production increases. Every new citizen
added ability to explore the world via the
means one more square within the city
ocean is a great aid in the rapid expansion
radius is producing resources for you.
of your empire.
Eventually, however, the natural resource
By following these basic guidelines, your
production for each square just isn’t
first city and, indeed, all of your cities,
enough. Luckily, there are a number of
should prosper. There is more leeway later
ways to increase resource production.
in the game to build cities on less-than-
perfect sites, as an established empire can
support one or two slow-growing cities with Terrain Improvements
little problem. However, unless there’s a The easiest way to increase a city’s resource
strategic reason not to do so, choose the yield is to improve the surrounding terrain.
best location possible for every city. Your Workers can do this in a number
of ways:
TIP • Irrigation: Increases food production by
One of the biggest debates between one unit of food per turn in Flood Plains,
Civ players is not where to build the first Grasslands, Plains, and Deserts.
city but when to build it. Many believe • Mining: Increases shield production in
that you should build your city on the Grasslands, Plains, Deserts, and Tundra
first turn in the square where you start
by one shield per turn, and in Hills and
the game. Their reasoning is that the
sooner the first city is built, the sooner
Mountains by two shields per turn.
research and unit production can begin. • Roads/Railroads: Increases commerce
Others feel it’s best to take your in all non-water terrain types by one
time—and we happen to agree. It per turn.
often pays to use your Worker and
• Harvesting Forests: Provides the city
Settler to explore the area for a couple
of turns to see if there’s a better with a one-time bonus of 10 shields and
potential city site nearby. Although this converts the Forest into Plains.
might put you a turn or two behind your
opponents in research, the long-term Workforce Adjustments
benefits could be great. Wouldn’t it be New members of your population are
a shame to build on a mediocre site
automatically put to work when a city
only to find a resource-rich site just a
few squares away? grows—but they don’t always end up on
the terrain square where you want them.
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The game tries to anticipate your needs

when it puts your people to work, but you
might not always agree with its choices.
Also, situations might arise from time to
time that necessitate the production of one
particular resource over another. Make
these adjustments by moving your citizens
to terrain squares that produce more of
the required resource.
Suppose you wanted to stimulate
shield production so you could finish an
improvement quickly. Consider the city
shown in the figure below. Although the The same city, with its shield output
greatly improved.
city is doing well enough, its shield output
is fairly low. Although the game generally does a
good job at balancing your workforce to
output a good mix of resources, breeze
through your city screens from time to
time to make sure resource output levels
meet your current needs.
Improvements and Wonders

Certain improvements and Wonders of
the World can increase food, shield, and
commerce production in your cities—some
locally and some over many cities at once.
Table 3-5 lists improvements and Wonders
A city with low shield output. that can help fix your various resource
dilemmas. Check the descriptions and tables
Now, look at the next figure. By simply in chapter VII for details on their effects.
moving the workers from the Coastal and
Sea squares to Forest, Plains, and Grassland
squares, shield output has more than doubled.
32
TABLE 3-5. RESOURCE-BOOSTING IMPROVEMENTS AND WONDERS

RESOURCE IMPROVEMENT WONDER
Food Granary, Harbor Longevity, The Pyramids
Shields Courthouse, Factory, Manufacturing Plant, Forbidden Palace, Hoover Dam,
Coal Plant, Hydro Plant, Nuclear Plant, Iron Works
Solar Plant, Offshore Platform
Commerce Airport, Bank, Harbor, Library, Copernicus’s Observatory,
Marketplace, Research Lab, University Newton’s University,
SETI Program,
Smith’s Trading Company,
The Colossus, Wall Street
NOTE Better Governments Equal

Most improvements and Wonders
More Resources
that affect commerce affect only one The type of government you choose has
aspect—taxes, science, or luxuries. a major impact on your cities’ resource
See the improvement and Wonder output. Primitive forms of government
descriptions in chapter VII for details. such as Despotism and Monarchy allow
for less resource production than more
advanced forms such as Republic and
Democracy. Sometimes, a revolution is all
you need to give your resource production
a much-needed kick in the pants. (For
details on governments and their effects,
see chapter V.)
primagames.com 33
IV
CITY MANAGEMENT
N ow that you know how to read the
terrain and select the perfect city
site, you can just sit back and watch your
YOUR CITIZENS
cities thrive, right?
Wrong! Finding a good location and Without your citizens, your cities
building the city are only the beginning. are nothing—literally! Cities in the
Despite the addition of smarter City Civilization® III game are defined by the
Governors and the production queue, your number of citizens that dwell in them. The
cities cannot function at peak efficiency citizens do all the work that produces your
without your intervention—especially resources and keeps your production going.
when they’re just starting out. They need So, it’s not surprising that many of the
you to mold and shape them into valuable top priorities of city management concern
cogs in the well-oiled machine that is your population.
your empire.
This chapter examines the inner workings Population Growth
of cities, giving you hints and strategies to Your cities grow as a result of the amount
help you deal with the common problems of food they generate each turn. When the
encountered in city management. food storage box on the City Display fills
up, the city gains another citizen.
34
C HAPTER IV: CITY MANAGEMENT
The amount of food required for a Chapter III discusses some important
city to grow is based on the city’s size. strategies for increasing your food supply
Civilization III divides cities into three and city growth potential through terrain
size classes: improvement and the construction of
• Town (population of 6 or less) certain city improvements and Wonders
of the World. If none of these tricks work,
• City (population of 7–12)
try switching to a more advanced form
• Metropolis (population of 13 or more) of government, where resource production
is more fruitful. (See chapter V for details
The amount of food required for a city
on the government types and their effects.)
to grow is based on its class. The smaller
the city class, the less food it needs to grow.
So, Towns require a small accumulation of TIP
food for growth, Cities need more, and Anarchy produces the least resources
Metropolises need the most. of any government type. When your
The higher your cities’ populations, the empire falls into Anarchy (when you’re
switching governments, for instance)
more resources you gather. You want your
your cities probably can’t produce
cities to show steady growth. If a city is enough food to support their populations.
not producing a food surplus every turn, it Make sure that all of your cities have an
cannot grow. If a city is producing less food adequate food supply reserve before
that its citizens require, food is taken from you switch governments.
the food storage box for that city every
turn to cover the deficit. When the stored If, after all of your efforts, you find that
food is depleted, your population decreases your city still has a growth problem, you
by one. This cycle continues until the chose a poor city site. Re-read chapter III
deficit is corrected. for helpful tips in that area.
TIP Dealing with Unhappiness

A new trick that can help increase your
food supply is clearing Forests. If you
have Forest squares inside your city
radius, have a Worker clear it. This turns After you get your people producing the
the Forest into a square (usually Plains) resources you need and growing your cities,
that you can irrigate to produce more
the real problems begin. Everything is fine
food for your city. And, in the process,
10 shields are added to the city’s
for a while, but eventually you begin to
current production project! notice rumbles of discontent throughout
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your empire. Your people are growing are magnified if you are the one who
unhappy. What are you going to do about it? declares war. (The effects are actually
decreased significantly if your neighbor
The Causes of Unhappiness declares war on you.) The longer the
At first, the most common cause of war goes on, the more pronounced the
unhappiness is the size of your cities. unhappiness effects.
A side effect of population growth is
increasing unhappiness among your cities’ TIP
populations. The first few citizens in every War weariness is the new version of the
city are “born” content. After that, all of Senate from the previous games—those
your citizens are automatically unhappy pesky guys who always overruled your
unless they’re appeased. The higher the decision to declare war. You’re no longer
game’s difficulty level, the more of an issue technically prevented from declaring war
under Republics and Democracies, but
this becomes. (Table 2-3 in chapter II
the effects of war weariness are so
shows the exact numbers.) great that you’d better make sure you
can win the war quickly. Otherwise,
NOTE you’ll be forced to end the war due to
In the previous Civilization games, the rampant civil disorder.
number of cities you controlled could
also cause unhappiness if your empire
Resistance
grew beyond a certain size. This
is no longer the case in Civilization III. Resistance goes hand in hand with war
weariness. When you capture an opposing
Although this is most frequently the city in Civilization III, the population of
root of your troubles, other factors affect the city retains its nationality. That means
your peoples’ happiness as well. that, when you’re playing the Romans
and you capture an Egyptian city, the
War Weariness existing inhabitants are still Egyptians
Another factor that causes unhappiness despite the fact that the city belongs to
is war weariness. Under Republics and the Roman Empire.
Democracies, war weariness arises when Resistance takes place in captured
you are at war or are maintaining a warlike cities when you remain at war with the
posture—stationing or operating units civilization that previously controlled
inside enemy territory—for an extended the city. Resisting citizens do not produce
period of time. The effects of war weariness resources for the city, and you must
36
compensate for this lack of productivity

and their bad attitude until they come TIP
around. The following factors determine Here’s a useful (if ruthless) trick
how quickly the resistance ends: you can use to quell resistance in
captured cities. If you’re governing
• Your level of Culture: The more Culture
with Despotism or Communism, you
Points you have, the faster they’ll can used forced labor—expending
calm down. citizens to rush production—to thin
• Availability of luxuries: The more out the indigenous population. Just
luxuries, the better, especially if your keep rushing production projects until
the city’s population is down to one,
luxury rate is much higher than that of
and then let it start growing again. All
their former empire. of the new citizens “born” in the city
• Your current form of government: are citizens of your empire, not that
Advanced governments, with their higher of the previous owner. (Under other
levels of personal freedom, tend to quell governments, you can achieve the
same effect by building multiple
the resistance faster.
Settlers or Workers.)
Resistance takes place in your own
cities as well. When an enemy captures one
of your cities, the resistance movement in Civil Disorder
the city might even be strong enough to
cause the city to revert back to your control
without your having to recapture it.
NOTE
Resistance doesn’t occur when you
recapture a city that originally belonged
to you. Because the citizens retain
their nationality for some time after
capture, citizens in liberated cities are
still your people. Why would your own
people resist? A city experiences civil disorder.
Unhappiness comes to a head when the

unhappy citizens outnumber the happy
ones. At this point, the city enters a
state of civil disorder. Avoid this situation
primagames.com 37
®
because a city in disorder cannot produce Preventing Unhappiness

units, improvements, or Wonders. No taxes
There are many means at your disposal to
and sciences are generated as long as the
rectify unhappiness when it becomes a
disorder persists.
problem. Better still, you can do lots of
This has devastating and potentially
things prevent it before it becomes a problem.
far-reaching effects on your empire. The
reduced tax revenues can tip your unit Increasing Luxuries
support and improvement maintenance
budget into the red, and the lost science
slows your research efforts.
Other effects of civil disorder include the
possible collapse of your government into
Anarchy (if you’re in a Democracy and the The luxury rate slider
state of civil disorder continues for multiple Luxury items make people happy, and
turns), and the possibility of Nuclear Plant Civ® III offers two means through which
meltdown in the affected cities. you can increase the level of luxuries your
When a city falls into this unfortunate citizens enjoy.
state, it’s not the end of the world—as long The first is a global luxury solution.
as you take care of the problem quickly. Raise the percentage of commerce that is
The following methods are all effective in dedicated to luxuries by adjusting the
eliminating civil disorder in the short-run: sliders on the Domestic Advisor’s screen.
• Rush-build a happiness-inducing This affects all your cities simultaneously.
improvement in the city. The global luxury solution is one of the
• Turn one or more of the city’s citizens most effective ways to prevent unhappiness,
into Entertainers. but it has a serious drawback. When you
increase the luxury rate, you’re drawing
• Increase the city’s luxuries, either by
commerce away from either taxes or science
raising your empire’s luxury rate or
(or both). If the tax rate’s too low, you’ll
connecting the city to luxury resources.
have trouble paying unit support and
All of these unhappiness solutions are improvement upkeep. If the science rate’s
discussed in detail in the next section. too low, your research efforts slow to a
crawl and your opponents have a chance
to get ahead of you technologically. If
you need to raise the luxury rate so far
38
that science and taxes suffer, seek other Entertainers

alternatives to your happiness problem.
Another option for raising luxury rates
is to make sure your cities have access
to as many luxury resources as possible.
One way to help eliminate unhappiness on
(Table 3-3 in chapter III lists all the available
a local level is to convert citizens to
luxury resources.) If any luxury resources
Entertainers. Entertainers are “specialists”—
lie within any city radius, build a road to
citizens who perform a specialized task
the resource and then build roads from that
rather than collecting resources for the city.
city to all of your other cities. Connected
(The two other specialists in the game are
cities share luxury resources, each of which
Scientists and Tax Collectors.) The game
makes one content citizen happy or one
manual explains how to create an
unhappy citizen content. Monitor the
Entertainer when you need one. Every
effects of luxury resources by checking
Entertainer makes one content citizen in
each city’s luxury box on the City Display.
the city happy.
Although there is technically no limit
to the number of Entertainers a city can
have, there is a practical limit. Every
citizen you remove from the workforce
to create a specialist decreases the city’s
resource output. If you create too many
The City Display luxury box. specialists, the city—and, eventually,
your empire—will suffer.
View Entertainers as a short-term
remedy for unhappiness. If you need
NOTE more than one Entertainer in each city
Each “happy face” icon indicates one to maintain happiness for long periods
citizen that is being made happy by
of time, it’s a pretty good indicator that
the item to which the happy face is
attached. For example, each luxury something’s wrong.
resource in the luxury box in the figure
above shows that one content citizen in
Martial Law
the city is being made happy by each Under any system of government except
luxury resource. Republic and Democracy, some of the
military units you station in your cities
contribute to happiness. Each eligible unit
primagames.com 39
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in your garrison makes one unhappy citizen Happiness-Inducing

content. (See the government descriptions Improvements and Wonders
in chapter V for details on how many units
can be used to induce happiness under
each system of government.)
This method is ideal for inducing
happiness early in the game, and it
becomes especially important when playing
at the higher difficulty levels. But don’t
become too dependent on martial law as a
source of happiness if you intend to switch
to a Republic or a Democracy later. If your
citizens are being kept at bay by your
garrison, all unhappiness will break loose
when you switch to a government that
doesn’t allow martial law. Transition to
more permanent happiness maintenance
methods before you move on to the more
advanced governments.
Another drawback to this strategy is The best way to ensure long-term happiness
the support costs for the units. If you have in your cities is by building happiness-
a large empire, the price of supporting inducing city improvements and Wonders
large numbers of garrisoned units becomes of the World. Their presence has a constant
prohibitive. effect on your population, keeping
unhappiness at bay in most situations.
Table 4-1 lists all of the improvements and
Wonders that affect happiness. Unless
otherwise stated, the improvement or
Wonder affects only the city in which it
is built.
40
TABLE 4-1. IMPROVEMENTS AND WONDERS THAT AFFECT HAPPINESS

IMPROVEMENT/WONDER EFFECT
IMPROVEMENTS
Cathedral Makes 3 unhappy citizens content
Colosseum Makes 2 unhappy citizens content
Marketplace Increases the number of “happy faces” produced by luxuries
Police Station Reduces the effects of war weariness
Temple Makes 1 unhappy citizen content
WONDERS
Cure for Cancer Makes 1 unhappy citizen content in every city
The Hanging Gardens Makes 3 unhappy citizens content in its city, and 1 unhappy
citizen content in all of your other cities
JS Bach’s Cathedral Makes 2 unhappy citizens content in every city on the continent
The Oracle Doubles the effects of all Temples in your cities
Shakespeare’s Theater Makes all unhappy citizens in the city content
Sistine Chapel Doubles the effects of all Cathedrals in your cities
Universal Suffrage Reduces the effects of war weariness in all of your cities
Although their effects on happiness We Love the King Day

are indirect, improvements and Wonders One way you know you’re keeping your
that increase commerce also have an effect people happy is We Love the King Day
on happiness. More commerce means (WLTKD). Cities celebrate WLTKD whenever
more luxuries. more than half of the city’s population is
happy, and it continues for as long as that
TIP condition exists.
You can instantly end civil disorder in Cities celebrating WLTKD receive a
a city by rush-building a happiness- healthy production bonus, significantly
inducing improvement or Wonder. This improving the state of your cities and your
can be an expensive proposition, but empire as a whole. Obviously, you want to
it’s a fast way to get your city back to
foster this situation if at all possible. To do
normal and keep it that way for a while.
primagames.com 41
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so, keep your luxury rate as high as you Manually Adjust Your
can, make sure all your cities are connected City Production
so that they can share their luxury resources,
As described in chapter III, you can adjust a
and build as many happiness improvements
city’s workforce to maximize the resources
and Wonders as you possibly can.
you need the most. Simply move your
workers to terrain types that produce more
SHIELDS AND shields—Hills and Mountains, for instance.
PRODUCTION Just don’t overdo it. In your quest for
shields, make sure that you don’t create
Your cities are your production centers. a food deficit!
They construct the units, improvements,
and Wonders that form the substance and Disband Old Units
military force of your civilization. At the
As the game progresses, it’s not uncommon
heart of these production efforts is the
to accumulate out-of-date military units.
city’s shield output. Dealing with production
Maybe they were out in the field for a long
is second only to population control when
time, or fortified and forgotten inside your
it comes to good city management.
cities. Either way, they pile up, and you
might as well put them to good use if you
Dealing with don’t need them anymore. Simply activate
Shield Shortages the unit, move it to the city that needs
As with any other resource, shields are shields, and disband the unit. The resulting
sometimes in short supply. Although shield shields are added to the city’s current
deficits are no longer a unit-support production project. Disbanding units doesn’t
problem in Civilization III (because unit give you a huge number of shields—it
support is now drawn from your treasury won’t even put a dent in the production of
rather than your cities’ shield output), lack a Wonder, for instance—but it beats paying
of shields can still become a problem. support for a unit you don’t need anymore.
The best solution to shield shortage is
prevention. Chapter III gives you some NOTE
good tips on finding the right mix of In addition to being on the “gold
terrain to maximize your cities’ resource standard,” your units are now supported
production. But, you can’t always build centrally—directly from your treasury.
your cities in shield-rich areas. Luckily, The concepts of unit “home cities” and
the direct support of units by individual
there are plenty of solutions to shield
cities no longer exist in Civilization III.
shortage problems.
42
Logging Shield-Enhancing Improvements

and Wonders
Civilization III offers a new way to give a

city’s shield output a one-time boost. If
you give the command, your Worker units
can clear Forest squares for resources. You
get 10 shields for each Forest cleared. The
Forest doesn’t have to be inside the city
radius to provide this benefit. When an
outlying Forest is cleared, the shields go
to the nearest city. A number of improvements and Wonders
While this is just the ticket to boosting enhance your cities’ shield output. Next
the production of a crucial unit, improvement, to building the city in a shield-rich area,
or Wonder, remember that, once the Forest building these structures is the most
is cleared, you lose the resources it effective and permanent way to keep
provided. (Forest squares generally revert your cities producing an adequate number
to Plains when they’re cleared.) of shields.
Table 4-2 lists all of the improvements
and Wonders that enhance shield output.
Unless otherwise noted, the improvement
or Wonder affects only the city in which
it’s built.
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TABLE 4-2. IMPROVEMENTS AND WONDERS THAT AFFECT SHIELD OUTPUT

Coal Plant* Increases Factory output by 50%
Courthouse Reduces the amount of waste in the city.
Factory Increases shield output by 50%
Hydro Plant* Increases Factory output by 50%
Manufacturing Plant Increases shield output by 50% (cumulative with Factory)
Nuclear Plant* Increases Factory output by 50%
Offshore Platform Causes all Coast, Sea, and Ocean squares in the city radius to
produce one shield.
Solar Plant* Increases Factory output by 50%
Forbidden Palace Gives the benefits of a second palace in the city (zero waste).
Hoover Dam** Acts as a Hydro Plant in all of the cities on the continent where
it is built.
Iron Works Increases shield output by 100% in the city where it’s built
(cumulative with existing improvements and Wonders).
* Only one type of power plant can exist in any one city.
** The effects of Hoover Dam are not cumulative with existing power plants.
Production Strategies
Starting on the turn you build your first
city, you are producing. Units, improve-
ments, Wonders—it never stops. Your cities
all have “Governors” that control their
various processes, including production.
(See the sidebar, “Governing the City
Governor,” later in this chapter for details.)
Even though you can let your cities run
on automatic, it’s best if you monitor
their progress and lend a guiding hand—
especially when it comes to production.
44
Here are a few general strategies to • Use the production queue. Ensure that
follow when it comes to your cities’ your city produces the items you want
production process: in the order you want them built by
• Prioritize your production needs. using the production queue. When you
Choose production items based on the open the Production menu on the City
needs of your city. Make sure the city Display, hold s and click the units/
is protected and the citizens’ needs are improvements/Wonders one at a time
provided for before you start building in the order you want them built. The
extravagant Wonders. city produces these items in the order
you specified until it either completes
• Don’t build beyond your means. the list or you change production
Remember, almost every improvement manually. This greatly reduces the
and unit sucks some Gold from your amount of micromanagement you have
treasury each turn. Watch your balance to perform.
sheet and don’t build more than you
can afford. • Build your Wonders in shield-rich
cities. Because of their high cost,
• You pick the projects. Your City Wonders take forever to build in cities
Governors try to anticipate your needs, where shield output is low.
but they’re often wrong. The only way to
make sure your cities produce what you • Think production changes through.
want them to produce is to make the Before you decide to switch production in
choices yourself. mid-stream, look at the relative costs of
the two items. If the item in production
• Read the production messages. Every is expensive and you’ve already spent
time a city produces something, a a lot of shields on it, switching to a
message appears telling you what was cheaper item wastes any extra shields
built and what Governor is planning to beyond the second item’s cost. Avoid
build next. Cities no longer build the this situation whenever possible.
same thing over and over until you
tell them to stop—they pick new items • Draft units in wartime: You are allowed
on their own. Make sure you change to draft a certain number of citizens into
production when the message appears military service in each of your cities
if you don’t want to build the item the (the number varies by government type).
City Governor has chosen. This can save you time and shields when
you’re at war. Use this method sparingly,
primagames.com 45
®
though—it depletes your population, Under Despotism and Communism,

and the units it produces have fewer hit the method of payment is different.
points (see Chapter VIII). Instead of paying Gold, you must sacrifice
members of the city’s population to rush the
NOTE project. Obviously, this isn’t something to
The Civilization II penalty for
undertake lightly.
switching production between units, No matter how you slice it, rush jobs
improvements, and Wonders in exact a high price. Rather than paying
mid-production no longer exists. that price, exercise other options before
You can now switch projects at will you empty your treasury or wipe out your
without suffering a penalty. population, such as:
• Clearing forests
The High Cost of Rush Jobs • Disbanding old units
• Temporarily relocating your workers to
shield-rich terrain
NOTE
You cannot rush the production of
Wonders or Small Wonders. The only
“Rush jobs”—paying to complete the way to speed their production (other
production of a unit, improvement, or than the normal shield-optimizing
Wonder—have always been quite expensive, tricks) is to use a Leader to finish
but in Civilization III, the price of this them off. See chapter VIII for more
action might be higher than you’re willing info on Leaders.
to pay. The cost depends on your form
of government.
Under Monarchy, Republic, and
Democracy, you pay dearly in Gold for the
completion of the project at hand—four
Gold for every shield remaining in the
project, to be precise. This is the rush job
payment method that’s familiar to veteran
Civ players.
46
GOVERNING THE CITY GOVERNOR the fine details of city production—whether

to produce certain unit types, what types
of improvements to build, and so on. The
specifics of each setting are explained in
the game manual.
When all of the City Governor General
settings are turned off, you’re on your own
city management-wise, with the exception
that your production queue tries to anticipate
what unit or improvement you want to build
next if you don’t specify a project. This is a
perfect for you veterans who like to control
your own cities.
For those of you who like things a little
The City Governor window more automatic, fiddle with the Governor
settings and watch the results. With a little
Most of your time in the game is spent practice, you’ll find the settings that best
managing your cities. This is especially true suit your style of play. Just remember—
later in the game, when you have dozens you have to specify exactly what you want
of cities to tend to every turn. It’s easy to if you want the City Governor to work for
lose track of what’s going on everywhere. you. Here are a couple of general tips:
That fact, more than anything else, leads
• Be specific. Leaving the Production
to mistakes that cause civil unrest and
settings on “Sometimes” across the board
other city management problems.
gives you the same random mix you get
Civilization III addresses this problem
when the Governor is turned off.
by adding the City Governor—a series of
detailed settings that you can set and • Fine tune for best results. Very seldom
forget that allow you to “program” your do you need all of your cities doing the
cities to run the way you want them to. same thing at the same time. When
The City Governor contains two sets of tweaking your Governor settings, set
controls. The General controls allows you options by continent or individual city
to dictate, in broad strokes, the duties you rather than using the “All Cities” setting.
want the game to attempt automatically—
Learning to squeeze the best results out
resource emphasis, whether or not to
of the City Governor takes a while but, when
manage production projects, and so on.
you do, the result is rewarding and relieves
The Production controls allow you to set
you of a lot of micromanagement duties.
primagames.com 47
®
From the time you build your first city,

TAXES AND FINANCE you can monitor your financial situation
While you’re busy managing your population from the Domestic Advisor’s screen. The
and production, it’s easy to forget to upper-left corner shows your current
monitor your treasury. At the start of the balance sheet and lets you see whether
game, it usually grows steadily, but as the you’re making money, losing money, or
game progresses, improvement maintenance just breaking even. (In fact, this screen
and unit support can cause it to dwindle. provides you with an at-a-glance report on
Money might not be your primary concern all of the resource production in each of
when it comes to city management, but your cities—it’s a valuable city and empire
you can’t ignore it entirely. managing resource!)
When your Gold income doesn’t cover
Dealing with your expenses, your treasury begins to
Financial Difficulties shrink. When you start receiving warnings
to this effect, take heed! When your treasury
You receive Gold from many different
runs out, some of your improvements
sources—gifts from other civilizations
might be sold or your units disbanded to
during negotiations, booty from villages
compensate for the deficit.
(“goodie huts”), and bounty for destroying
Barbarian strongholds are just a few of the
many ways to make money. Your primary NOTE
funds, however, come from your cities’ On the Chieftain and Warlord difficulty
commerce in the form of taxes. levels, the game doesn’t automatically
sell off your improvements or disband
your units when the treasury hits zero.
Monitor your financial situation

frequently throughout the game. As with
any resource deficit, prevention is always
preferable to compensation. However, if
you do run into financial difficulties, you
have a number of ways to bolster your
sagging treasury.
The Domestic Advisor’s screen
48
Increasing the Tax Rate Tax Collectors

One solution is to increase the amount of
incoming commerce that is dedicated to tax
revenue. Do this by adjusting the science
and luxury sliders on the Domestic Advisor’s Tax Collectors, like Entertainers, are
screen. The percentage of each of these specialists—citizens pulled from the
commerce components shows on their workforce to serve the greater good of
respective sliders. Add the two together the city. Every Tax Collector you add to
and subtract the number from 100, and a city increases the city’s tax income by
that’s your tax percentage. The higher the a small amount.
percentage, the more Gold you collect each Like raising taxes, creating Tax Collectors
turn. Watch the tax income increase and should only be used as a temporary solution
decrease on the balance sheet as you move to your money problems. Every Tax
the sliders. Collector robs your city of resources that
Increasing the tax rate has drawbacks. the citizens would otherwise harvest. This
First, increasing taxes decreases the can cause shortages of shields and food,
amount of commerce dedicated to science replacing one resource problem with another.
and luxuries.
Increasing the tax rate beyond a certain Disbanding Units
level also causes unhappiness among Now that unit support is drawn from your
your population. (Watch the faces on the treasury, just about every unit you build
Domestic Advisor’s screen as you move the costs you money every turn. One common
sliders—they react dynamically.) In fact, source of cash problems is the accumulation
if you bump the rate too high, you’ll send of outdated units that have been forgotten
cities into civil disorder, which actually in some obscure corner of the map.
decreases your tax income. When your finances dip into the red,
Use this method of increasing your search all of your cities and the terrain
income used as a stopgap measure until throughout your territory for units you’re
a more permanent solution can be found. not using anymore. Move these extraneous
Commerce is almost always better spent on units to your cities and disband them as
science and luxuries. soon as you can. Not only will you decrease
your expenses, you’ll also add some shields
to the production projects in the cities
where you disband the units.
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Selling Improvements When you need Gold—or, when there’s

When times are really tough, you can sell simply nothing else you need to build at
your city improvements for some quick the moment—have one or more of your
cash. You can only sell one improvement cities produce Wealth. This is a convenient
each turn. way to add to your treasury with very
This is obviously a last-resort method little fuss.
of raising Gold. If you get into a situation
where this is your only course of action, TIP
you’re doing something wrong. If you must If you use Wealth frequently for extra
sell improvements, chose them based first cash, research Economics as soon as
on their importance (the less it will impact you can. The conversion rate of shields
the city, the better) and second on the to Gold is twice as high after you
discover Economics.
maintenance cost (selling improvements
with high maintenance costs has a greater
impact on your per-turn outlay of Gold). Interest Income
There’s nothing like putting your
TIP cash reserves to work for you, and in
Never sell an improvement that is Civilization III there’s a Small Wonder that
generating tax revenue or commerce lets you do just that.
to make ends meet. That’s just plain If you build Wall Street in one of your
counterproductive.
cities, the money in your treasury earns
interest every turn. It’s as simple as that.
Wealth The higher your balance, the higher your
interest income (up to a maximum of
Right from the beginning of the game,
50 Gold per turn). No matter what your
there is an item called “Wealth” listed
financial state, do yourself a favor and
at the bottom of every city’s production
take the free money!
menu. This useful little item is unlike any
other production item. Instead of producing
a unit, improvement, or Wonder, cities
producing Wealth convert all of their shield
output into cold, hard cash that is added to
your treasury at the beginning of each turn.
50
Switch Governments Moneymaking Improvements

Sometimes, all you need to do to improve and Wonders
your finances is switch to a better form As is the case with most resource problems,
of government. The more advanced your one of the best ways to prevent money
government, the higher your commerce troubles is to equip your cities with
output. Better governments—especially improvements and Wonders that increase
Republics and Democracies—also exhibit tax revenue or commerce output in general.
lower corruption. Because corruption robs Table 4-3 lists the improvements and
you of valuable commerce, your tax income Wonders that do just that. Unless otherwise
potential rises as corruption declines. noted, the improvements and Wonders listed
affect only the city in which they’re built.
TABLE 4-3. MONEYMAKING IMPROVEMENTS AND WONDERS

Bank Increases tax revenue by 50% (cumulative with Marketplace).
Courthouse Reduces corruption
Marketplace Increases tax revenue by 50%
Wealth Converts shields output to Gold.
Forbidden Palace Provides the benefits of a Palace (eliminates corruption in
the city where it’s built).
Smith’s Trading Company Pays maintenance costs of all commerce-related improvements
in every city.
Wall Street Treasury earns 5% interest per turn (50 Gold per turn
maximum).
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pollution appears inside a city’s radius each

TIP turn is as follows: (Total Pollution Points)+
In addition to the tax-oriented Wonders, (1 per citizen over 12) = Percent chance of
consider building Wonders, such the pollution per turn.
Colossus, that increase commerce This equation is run for each of your
in general. More commerce means cities at the start of every turn.
more taxes.
Pollution Points replace the city’s shield
output as the primary pollution factor in
Civilization III. (That’s right—the number
POLLUTION of shields a city produces has no bearing
A negative byproduct of a growing on its pollution output.) The pollution-
civilization is pollution. In most cases, producing improvements and Wonders
you don’t have to worry about pollution and the number of Pollution Points they
until about the middle of the game, shortly generate each turn are listed in table 4-4.
after you and your opponents enter the
Industrial Age. From that point on, the TABLE 4-4.
threat of pollution is an ever-present IMPROVEMENTS AND WONDERS
demon that you have to deal with. THAT POLLUTE
IMPROVEMENT/WONDER POLLUTION POINTS
NOTE Airport 1
Pollution works differently in Civilization III Coal Plant 2
than it did in the previous games. Veteran
players should peruse this section and Factory 2
become familiar with the nuances of the Iron Works 4
new system. Manufacturing Plant 2
Offshore Platform 2
Research Lab 1
What Causes Pollution?
The primary contributors to pollution are You can monitor each city’s pollution
city population and the combined Pollution potential at a glance by looking at the
Points of the city improvements and pollution box on the City Display.
Wonders in all of your cities combined.
The equation used to determine whether
52
Pollution Effects Assign Workers to

You are notified every time a terrain Clean Up Detail
square in your empire becomes polluted, One of the functions your Workers can
and the affected terrain is marked with perform is cleaning polluted terrain. Simply
a pollution icon. move a Worker to the polluted terrain
square and click the Clean Pollution
icon. In the Industrial Age, when pollu-
tion often runs rampant and there are
no easy ways to stop it, assign a couple
of Workers in each geographic area of
Pollution sullies the land. your empire to perform cleanup tasks on a
full-time basis. If you automate the Worker
Pollution robs your land of vital using s+P the unit will clean up all of
resources. In fact, it reduces all resource the pollution in the area while ignoring all
production on the affected square by other Worker tasks.
50 percent! For example, a terrain square
that normally produces one food, two Eco-Friendly Improvements
shields, and two commerce, produces A number of improvements and Wonders
one food, one shield, and one commerce help reduce pollution output so there’s less
when polluted. chance of pollution occurring. The Hydro,
Nuclear, and Solar Plants are pollution-free
Pollution Solutions alternatives to the Coal Plant for increasing
Get rid of pollution as soon as possible shield output in a city. Avoid Coal Plants
when it starts to appear. The effects it has whenever possible. Table 4-5 lists several
on your resource output is bad enough other improvements that have a positive
when only one terrain square is polluted. effect in your fight against pollution.
If more pollution appears, things get
TABLE 4-5.
progressively worse.
You can do several things to deal with
POLLUTION-REDUCING IMPROVEMENTS
IMPROVEMENT EFFECT
pollution when it appears and to prevent
Mass Transit System Reduces the pollution caused
it from appearing in the first place. by population
Recycling Center Reduces the pollution caused
by improvements and Wonders
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Unfortunately, neither of these are The higher these numbers become, the
available until Modern Times. That means higher the chance of a global warming event.
that earlier in the game you must avoid As you might expect, when global
building too many improvements that warming occurs, the temperature rises all
pollute, mobilize your Workers to remove over the planet. This transforms terrain in
pollution when it occurs, and be ready to coastal areas into wetter terrain—Plains
build Mass Transit and Recycling Centers and Grasslands transform into Flood Plains
in all of your cities as soon as they and Jungles, for instance. Farther inland,
become available. the opposite occurs. Grasslands and Plains
are transformed into arid Desert Squares in
Global Warming many locations.
Obviously, you want to avoid global
Just as polluted
warming if at all possible. Unfortunately,
terrain is a result of
you have no control whatsoever over your
your empire’s pollution
opponents’ pollution. However, you can do
output, global warming is a result of
your part to help stop global warming by
worldwide pollution output. When the
making sure your cities are as pollution-
amount of pollution produced by all
free as possible. (See “Pollution Solutions”
civilizations combined reaches critical
earlier in this chapter for some helpful tips.)
levels, catastrophic environmental
effects result.
TIP
The chance of global warming
NOTE increases every time a nuclear
Global warming has also changed explosion occurs. Each successive
in Civilization III. If you’re used to atomic blast exponentially increases
the old system from the previous the chance for global warming. One
games, read on to discover of the best ways to prevent global
what’s new. warming is to avoid nuclear warfare
at all costs.
Global warming is no longer tied to the
number of polluted terrain squares that
exist in the world. Civilization III determines
whether global warming occurs by taking
into account the total population of all
cities in the world and the total number
of Pollution Points produced by the
improvements and Wonders in every city.
54
V
EMPIRE MANAGEMENT
A lthough good city management
skills are vital to your success in the
Civilization® III game, there’s a broader view
SYSTEMS OF GOVERNMENT
Five systems of government are available in
to consider. Your cities are but individual Civ® III (six, if you count Anarchy). Whether
cogs in the vast machine that is your you like it or not, you start out governing
empire. While you’re squaring away your through Despotism. The other government
city-related issues, always keep the welfare types become available over time through
of your entire empire in mind. research. Each government type favors a
This chapter takes a look at the elements different gameplay style, and you need to
that affect the macro-management of your know the benefits and drawbacks of each
civilization beyond the city level and your before you can decide which is right for you.
interaction with opponents. Here, you’ll The following sections describe the pros
gain valuable insight into choosing the and cons of each government type in
right government, dealing with the detail. Table 5-1 shows the government
new Culture element of the game, the effects and statistics at a glance. The
finer points of trade and diplomacy, and effects and statistics listed are as follows:
the backstabbing world of espionage. • Resource Output: The effects of the
government on the output of food,
shields, and commerce.
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• Corruption/Waste: The level of corruption garrison that have a positive effect on

and waste (shields and taxes lost to the happiness of the city’s population.
graft and inefficiency). (Each unit makes one unhappy citizen
• Free Units: The number of units per content.)
Town/City/Metropolis that do not require • Rush Job Method: The cost of rushing
you to pay the normal one Gold per turn production jobs (completing units or
support cost. improvements by paying for them).
• Martial Law Units: The number of units • Additional Features: Other miscellaneous
per city that can be placed in the city’s effects of the government type.
TABLE 5-1. GOVERNMENT EFFECTS AND STATISTICS

MARTIAL RUSH JOB
GOVERNMENT RESOURCE OUTPUT CORRUPTION/WASTE LAW UNITS METHOD ADDITIONAL FEATURES
Anarchy Food only Catastrophic 0 None Worker speed -50%;
(-1 food per square) cannot produce units/
improvements/Wonders;
no research; cannot use
propaganda
Despotism Max. 2 food/shields/ Rampant 2 Population Can draft 2 citizens
commerce per square loss per city
Monarchy Normal Problematic 3 Pay Gold Can draft 2 citizens
per city
Republic +1 commerce* Nuisance 0 Pay Gold Can draft 1 citizen
per city;
war weariness (low)
Communism Normal Communal 4 Population Can draft 3 citizens
loss per city; espionage
missions have a higher
chance of success
Democracy +1 commerce* Minimal 0 Pay Gold Can draft 1 citizen
per city; cities immune
from propaganda;
worker speed +50%;
war weariness (high)
* In terrain squares already producing commerce.
56
C HAPTER V: EMPIRE MANAGEMENT
Anarchy motivators to make your Despotic reign

a short one. Make it a point to strive for
Technically, Anarchy isn’t
either Monarchy or The Republic as early
a form of government—
in the game as possible. (See chapter VI
it’s actually a lack of
for some helpful research tips.)
centralized government.
When you declare a
revolution to change Monarchy
governments, your Monarchy is one of
society temporarily enters a state of the two government
Anarchy until the new government can be advances available in
established. You also experience Anarchy Ancient Times. This
when your government falls as a result of system of government
extended periods of civil disorder. offers many advantages
Anarchy lasts only a few turns or so, over Despotism, especially
but the results are always unpleasant. The if you decide to follow a military strategy.
huge drop in resource output, science, and Commerce is lower than in a Republic,
production brings your empire to a grinding and corruption and waste are considerably
halt. So, before you launch a revolution, higher. However, the greater number of
make sure there’s a good reason to do so. free units, the ability to use martial law to
And, to prevent an inadvertent slip into make your citizens happy, and freedom from
Anarchy, quell civil disorder as soon as the shackles of war weariness make Monarchy
possible when it occurs. your only logical choice if you choose to
follow a conquest-oriented strategy—at
Despotism least until Communism comes along.
What’s the price of all this military
At the start of the
freedom? Resources. Under a Monarchy,
game, Despotism is the
you enjoy no resource output bonus, and
only type of government
the shields and commerce you do produce
available. Of all the
are severely taxed by the high levels of
governments you can
corruption and waste. The commerce loss
actively choose, it is by
is offset somewhat by the large number of
far the worst. Despotism
support-free units, but the corruption and
allows you to expand your civilization and
waste problem becomes increasingly severe
build up your military without penalty,
as your empire grows.
but the resource output penalties and the
level of corruption and waste are excellent
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Republic Communism
Republic is your second Communism is the
advanced government advanced government
alternative in Ancient that offers the most
Times. Just as Monarchy benefits to those of you
favors the conquest- who enjoy the conquest
minded, Republic offers game. While it lacks
incentives to those who the resource bonuses of
prefer to win through peaceful coexistence. Republics and Democracies, it allows for the
The up side of a Republic is enhanced highest possible level of military activity.
resource output and usage. Your commerce The level of free unit support under
output is significantly increased, which lets Communism is identical to that of Monarchy.
you spend more on luxuries and science The martial law benefit is increased over
(not to mention taxes) than you would Monarchy, as is the draft rate. Corruption
have under a Monarchy. The significantly and waste, while still greater than they are
lower rate of waste and corruption further under a Democracy, are “communal.” That
increases your level of commerce and is, all cities outside the capital suffer the
boosts your effective shield output as well. same rate of corruption and waste—a
The cost of these benefits is lack of considerably lower overall rate than
military freedom and the increased that of a Monarchy. The best feature of
possibility of population unhappiness. Communism (from a military standpoint)
You can’t use martial law to make citizens is that there’s no war weariness—a very
happy, which forces you to compensate helpful feature indeed when you’re trying
through improvements and Wonders. You to take over the world by force.
must also pay support on every unit you Besides the lack of resource bonuses
have in service, which limits the number of there is one additional downside to
units you can effectively field at any given Communism: rush jobs. As with Despotism,
time. The topper is war weariness, which the only way to rush the completion of a
prevents you from engaging in warlike unit or an improvement under Communism
activities for extended periods of time. For is forced labor—that is, you sacrifice
these reasons, Republics are most effective citizens to rush the production job. It’s a
when you’re playing a peaceful game. small price to pay, perhaps, for being able
to wage war with reckless abandon.
58
That means that you must either stock up

TIP on happiness-inducing and war weariness–
Never adopt a conquest strategy under suppressing improvements and Wonders, or
any governments except Monarchy and refrain from engaging in warlike activities.
Communism. However, if you’re up
for the challenge of waging war in a
Democracy or a Republic, have plenty TIP
of Gold available to buy Culture and If you’re constantly increasing the
happiness-generating improvements number of Entertainers in your cities
in the cities you capture. Otherwise, to quell unhappiness, switch to a less
assimilating them into your empire demanding system of government.
is nearly impossible under the Don’t be ashamed, though—running
“peacetime” governments. a Democracy effectively is one of
the most difficult tasks in the game,
especially on high difficulty levels.
Democracy
Like the Republic before
it, Democracy is best CORRUPTION
suited for nonconquest AND WASTE
strategies. It’s the Corruption and waste exist to varying
game’s most advanced degrees under every form of government.
system of government— Corruption is the loss of commerce due to
but it also demands your dishonest practices (embezzlement, theft,
constant attention to detail, especially and so on). Waste is the inefficient use
when it comes to population happiness. of shields.
Of all the government types available, Your capital city doesn’t experience
Democracy has the lowest rate of corruption corruption and waste, but most of your
and waste. As in a Republic, you receive other cities do. The amount of corruption
a commerce bonus. Because they are so and waste a city suffers is based on the
happy and carefree, your Workers work at following factors:
150 percent of their speed under lower
forms of government. • Government type: Each system of
As always, there’s a tradeoff for all government experiences a different level
of these benefits. In this case, it’s war of corruption and waste.
weariness. The effects of prolonged warfare • The city’s distance from your capital:
under a Democracy cause unhappiness The farther away from your capital, the
much faster than they do under a Republic. higher the city’s corruption and waste.
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• The number of cities in your empire:

The level of corruption and waste in your
CULTURE
cities goes up incrementally. The more Culture is a new concept that has been
cities you have, the worse it gets. introduced in Civilization III. This very
subtle factor affects a wide variety of game
The best overall method to counteract elements from your empire’s territorial
the effects of corruption and waste is to boundaries to your opponents’ perception
change to a form of government where of you during negotiations.
corruption and waste are low. The corruption
and waste levels from lowest to highest are:
Accumulating Culture Points
1. Democracy
2. Republic
3. Communism
4. Monarchy
5. Despotism
Other methods of corruption and waste
reduction include:
• Courthouses: Cities with Courthouses
experience 50 percent less corruption
and waste.
• Forbidden Palace: This Small Wonder The Cultural Advisor’s screen
acts as a second Palace, eliminating Every turn, your civilization accumulates
corruption and waste in the city where Culture Points. These points are added to
it’s built. a running total kept throughout the game.
• Civilizations with Commercial tendencies: The number of points you generate each
When you play as a civilization with the turn and your total number of accumulated
civ-specific Commercial characteristic, points are displayed in the top right
you experience less corruption and waste. portion of the City Display. You can also
(See table 2-1 in chapter II.) monitor your empire’s Culture by checking
• We Love the King Day: When a city is in with the Cultural Advisor.
celebrating this event, the level of waste
(but not corruption) is slightly lower.
60
Certain improvements and all Wonders TABLE 5-3.

of the World and Small Wonders generate CULTURE POINTS GENERATED BY WONDERS
Culture Points. The more of these Culture- WONDER CULTURE POINTS PER TURN
generating structures you build in your
empire, the more Culture Points you Apollo Program 3
accumulate each turn. Check the Battlefield Medicine 1
Improvement Roster to see how many The Colossus 3
Culture Points are being generated by
each improvement or Wonder in your city. Copernicus’s Observatory 4
The number of music note icons next to Cure for Cancer 5
each Culture-generating structure shows Forbidden Palace 3
how many points that structure generates
each turn. The Great Library 5
Table 5-2 lists the improvements that The Great Lighthouse 2
generate Culture Points. Table 5-3 lists the The Great Wall 2
number of Culture Points generated by each
Wonder and Small Wonder. The Hanging Gardens 4
Heroic Epic 4
TABLE 5-2. Hoover Dam 3
CULTURE-GENERATING IMPROVEMENTS
Intelligence Agency 1
IMPROVEMENT CULTURE POINTS PER TURN
Iron Works 2
Cathedral 3
JS Bach’s Cathedral 5
Colosseum 2
Leonardo’s Workshop 2
Library 3
Longevity 3
Palace 1
Magellan’s Voyage 3
Research Lab 2
The Manhattan Project 2
Temple 2
Military Academy 1
University 4
Newton’s University 5
The Oracle 4
The Pentagon 1
The Pyramids 4
continued on next page
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TABLE 5-3, CONTINUED your cities’ cultural borders merge to form

CULTURE POINTS GENERATED BY WONDERS large contiguous areas of territory that
WONDER CULTURE POINTS PER TURN you command.
SETI Program 3
Shakespeare’s Theater 5
Sistine Chapel 4
Smith’s Trading Company 3
Strategic Missile Defense 1
Sun Tzu’s Art of War 2
Theory of Evolution 3
The United Nations 4 Culture expands the empire’s borders.
Universal Suffrage 4
Wall Street 2 TIP
Your borders cannot expand beyond
The Effects of Culture the borders of another civilization and
vice-versa. To prevent an opponent’s
Culture affects your civilization in many borders from expanding, build a couple
ways. Each Cultural effect plays an important of cities close to the opposing city and
role in the expansion and/or prosperity of start building up your Culture. Eventually,
your empire. you box in your opponent and keep his
or her territorial expansion to a minimum.
Border Expansion As a bonus, you might eventually
The most obvious effect of Culture is the assimilate the rival city. Once your
cities’ Culture levels are high enough,
progressive expansion of your empire’s
the rival city will eventually defect to
borders. Border expansion is triggered your empire.
by the Culture Points accumulated by
individual cities. Each time a city hits a
certain Culture Point threshold, the city’s
border expands. As the game progresses,
62
Border expansion is vital when you’re The amount of time that it takes to
attempting a Domination victory. To win in assimilate a city into your empire depends
this manner, your borders must encompass on several factors, one of which is the
two thirds of the planet’s surface (see number of Culture Points you have as
chapter IX). There are also a number of compared to the city’s previous owner.
other advantages to territorial control: The more Culture you have, the shorter
• Your rivals cannot move along your roads the period of resistance. The bigger
or railroads in peacetime unless they first the Cultural difference, the longer the
negotiate a right of passage agreement, assimilation period.
and you can always eject enemy units If your Culture is significantly better
from your territory during diplomatic than that of your nearby rivals, their cities
negotiations. begin defecting to your empire of their own
free will. This handy Culture effect often
• The terrain within your borders is visible
allows you to win through Domination
at all times.
without firing a single shot. To snare rival
• Strategic and luxury resources within cities, simply build up the Culture in the
your borders can be gathered without cities closest to the rival’s border. Eventually,
building a colony. they’ll be begging to be a part of your
Culturally-superior empire.
TIP City Liberation

Because your opponents cannot use Another handy side effect of Culture
roads in your territory without your
helps you keep your empire intact when
permission, a great way to keep them
from moving through your territory is to you’re under fire. When your Culture is
build roads in all of the terrain squares significantly higher than your enemy’s,
along common borders. your captured cities have a good chance
of liberating themselves and rejoining
your empire without your having to fight
City Assimilation for them. This is the same principle as
When you capture a rival city, its inhabitants assimilating rival cities through Culture,
initially resist your rule. Resisting citizens but your chances here are higher because
do not produce resources, and they must the citizens in the city are yours. This
be kept at bay by your military units (see facet of Culture alone should be enough
chapter VIII). to convince you to maintain a high Culture
Point level even if your ultimate goal
is conquest.
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Negotiating Power
NOTE
Although you never see it onscreen,
your Cultural Opinion of your opponents
follows the same set of rules as far
as the game is concerned (your
personal opinion of your opponents
notwithstanding) for the purpose of
determining the results of certain
diplomatic and espionage actions.
Your opponents’ perception of you

figures heavily in the way opposing leaders
act and react during diplomatic negotiations.
When you have a large number of Culture
Points compared to the empire you’re
negotiating with, their leader is more
Your opponents’ Cultural perception of you likely to react favorably to your proposals.
is based on the relative differences between Positive relationships, including trade
your Culture Point total and theirs. The agreements, peace treaties, and other
higher your Culture is compared to an pacts, are much easier to maintain when
opponent’s, the more respect the opponent you Culturally outrank your opponent.
has for you. Table 5-4 shows the perception
ratings and the Culture Point ratio required Propaganda
to achieve each.
The higher your Culture, the less you fear
propaganda—and the more it can work in
TABLE 5-4. DETERMINING THE CULTURAL
your favor! A city’s reaction to propaganda
PERCEPTION OF YOUR EMPIRE
is based on the relative difference between
CULTURE POINT RATIO
(YOURS:THEIRS) YOUR OPPONENT IS: the city’s Culture Points and those of the
3:1 In awe of your empire
empire launching the propaganda campaign,
2:1 An admirer of your empire
as well as government-based modifiers. The
1:1 Impressed with your empire
empire with the higher point value has a
3:4 Unimpressed with your empire
greater chance of launching a successful
1:2 Dismissive of your empire
propaganda campaign, and a better chance
1:3 Disdainful of your empire
resisting the propaganda of a Culturally-
inferior empire.
64
For more details on propaganda, see the Domestic Trade

“Espionage” section later in this chapter.
As the name implies, domestic trade takes
place between the cities within your
TRADE empire. This trade consists of the sharing
of strategic and luxury special resources
(see chapter III for a list of these resources).
Strategic resources are required for the
production of some units, and each luxury
resource makes one unhappy citizen in each
city with access to the resource content.
TIP
To take advantage of a luxury or
strategic resource, simply build a road
between it and one (or more) of your
cities. Your citizens don’t have to work
The Trade Advisor’s screen the terrain to get the resource. In fact,
the resource doesn’t even need to be
within the city radius of any of your
Trade has always been an important concept cities—it only needs to be within your
in Civilization but, in Civilization III it is territory. You also can take advantage
even more so. There are two types of of luxury and strategic resources
trade—domestic trade and foreign trade. outside your territory by having a
Each plays an important role in empire Worker construct a colony on the
management. Keep track of your domestic resource square.
and foreign trade by checking the Trade
Advisor’s screen. To trade with one another, your cities
must be connected. For cities on the same
NOTE land mass, this is as simple as building
The trade system has been completely roads or railroads to connect the cities.
revamped in Civ III. Veterans of the All cities connected in this manner share
previous Civilization games should study strategic and luxury resources available to
this section for info on how the new any of the connected cities.
system functions.
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Roads obviously cannot connect cities Because of the importance of strategic

on different continents. These cities must and luxury resources, it is absolutely
be connected in a different manner. Coastal imperative to connect all of your cities to
cities can trade with other coastal cities if your trade network. (You can see which
both cities have the Harbor improvement. cities aren’t connected to your trade
Distant cities can also trade with one network by checking the Unconnected
another over vast distances if both are Cities list on the Trade Advisor’s screen.)
equipped with Airports. Cities connected Cities that aren’t connected cannot share
via Harbors or Airports share resources with in the happiness effects of your luxury
all cities in the trade network just as if resources and can’t produce valuable units
they were connected by roads. on which their survival might depend.
A FEW FACTS ABOUT HARBORS NOTE

Harbors are tricky. For two cities to be Trade—domestic or foreign—cannot
connected, both must have Harbors with take place across enemy territory. If
an unobstructed path of water squares you are at war with a civilization whose
empire cuts across the roads that
between them (unexplored water terrain
connect your cities, the road doesn’t
doesn’t work). serve as a trade connection. The only
But wait, there’s more! Prior to the way to keep these cut-off cities in your
discovery of Astronomy, the trade route trade network is through the use of
must stretch exclusively through Coast Harbors or Airports.
squares. Astronomy allows trade to take
place across Sea squares as well, but not
across Ocean squares. (That’s not allowed Foreign Trade
until after you discover Magnetism or As long as all of your cities are connected
Navigation.) to your trade network, a single luxury or
Because an unobstructed route is strategic resource square is enough to
required, a naval blockade can prevent supply the needs of your entire civilization.
a Harbor city from conducting trade. If In other words, all of your cities benefit
opposing naval vessels block all of the from the happiness generated by a single
possible outbound water routes from the Silk square, and all can build mounted
city, overseas trade to that city is cut off. units if a single Horses square is accessible.
Any additional luxury or strategic resource
squares are considered surplus, and can
be traded with other civilizations during
66
negotiations. To trade resources with your that resource. Having a military advantage
neighbors, your empire must be connected over a neighbor is usually preferable to
to theirs, just as your own cities must be appeasing them in trade negotiations.
connected to share resources.
Luxury resources are some of your best TIP
bargaining chips in foreign trade. By When you are at war with a rival
trading luxuries with your opponents, you civilization, all trade with that empire
make them happy, and the luxuries you is cut off until hostilities cease. Make
receive in return make your people happy. an effort to maintain good relations
Whenever your opponents have luxuries to with your opponents with whom you
trade with you, take them up on their offer have a good trade relationship. This is
(or ask for the resources if they’re not especially true if you’re depending on
traded luxury resources to keep your
offering them on their own).
population happy.
TIP
Whoever controls the luxury resources DIPLOMACY
controls the game. Always take
advantage of as many luxury resources
as possible and guard them zealously.
Strategic resources are a little trickier.

You can offer them to your neighbors in
negotiations just as you can luxuries—but
be careful about it. Remember, strategic
resources allow you to produce military
units. If your rival has no access to a
particular strategic resource, that means
he or she cannot produce units that require
that resource. That could potentially give The Diplomacy interface
you a strong military advantage, depending
on the resource. As a general rule, never Diplomacy in Civilization III has been greatly
trade a strategic resource to your neighbors expanded, and it plays an important
unless you are sure you can defeat any role in your success. When you establish
units that that neighbor might build using communications with a civilization (usually
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by encountering one of their units in the description of their attitude in the text
field), you can engage in rudimentary box, which can be (from best to worst):
discussions and trades of Gold and • Gracious
technology. But that’s just the tip of
the iceberg. • Polite
After you discover Writing, you can set • Cautious
up embassies in your opponents’ capital • Annoyed
cities (double-click the Capital City icon
• Furious
next to your opponent’s capital to do so).
At that point, you can enter into treaty Controlling your opponents’ diplomatic
negotiations and military alliances. Once demeanor is a difficult balancing act.
you discover Map Making, you can trade Many factors combine to determine your
world maps. Finally, after you research opponents’ opinions of your civilization.
Nationalism, you can engage in mutual The most important include:
protection pacts and trade embargoes • Prior positive negotiations. The more
against other civilizations. On top of all times you have dealt fairly with a
of this, you can also trade strategic and civilization, the happier they are to see
luxury resources and even entire cities you in successive negotiations.
during diplomatic negotiations.
Obviously, the implications of all • Honoring treaties. The more treaties you
of these diplomacy options are huge, violate with the civilization in question,
and many strategies can assist you in the lower their opinion of you. Violating
the diplomatic process. treaties with others also figures into
this equation.
Manipulating • War. Civilizations you’ve been at war

with are less likely to hold you in
Diplomatic Attitude high esteem.
What you need to offer your rivals to
• Culture. The higher your opponent’s
successfully complete a diplomatic
Cultural perception of your empire, the
transaction depends on their attitude
better you’ll be treated. (See table 5-4.)
toward you at the time. This is clear both
from their facial expressions and the actual • Military strength. When your military
units outnumber your opponent’s, you
are treated with more respect.
68
• Scientific achievements. Your rivals TABLE 5-5.

tend to be nicer to you if you are CIVILIZATIONS BY GLOBAL CULTURE
significantly ahead of them advance-wise. GLOBAL CULTURE MEMBER CIVILIZATIONS
American Americans, Aztecs, Iroquois
NOTE Asian Chinese, Indian, Japanese
Your opponents’ actions, as well as European English, French, Germans,
their negotiations with you, reflect their Russians
attitude toward you. For example, if you
habitually break treaties with others,
Mediterranean Egyptians, Greeks, Romans
your opponents are more likely to do Mid East Babylonians, Persians, Zulus
the same to you. The Golden Rule of
Diplomacy is: Do unto other civilizations
as you would have them do unto
your own.
The Foreign Advisor
Global Cultures
This concept is not related to Culture Points,
but it affects negotiations in a similar way
in some cases.
The game’s civilizations are divided into
five global cultures. Each global culture
shares the same city style and their citizens
look the same. Generally, civilizations
within a given global culture start in the
same general area of the map.
Civilizations that share the same global
culture as the tribe you’re playing tend to
be more tolerant of you during negotiations.
Table 5-5 breaks down the civilizations by One of the most helpful diplomatic tools
global culture. at your disposal is the Foreign Advisor. All
of your advisors give you helpful pointers
when you consult them, but none compare
to the Foreign Advisor’s wisdom.
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When you’re working out a diplomatic world maps are the most valuable because
deal, watch the Advisor’s advice window. As they reveal a great deal more information.
you add items to the negotiation “table,” Use map trading to explore the world
the Advisor gives you a very accurate without sending units out. By simply
opinion of what your rival thinks of the trading maps with civilizations you meet,
deal as it currently stands. If you follow you greatly expand your knowledge of
his advice, your negotiations are bound world geography and the size of neighboring
to go well. When he tells you that your empires. Further exploit map trading by
opponent will “probably find this proposal negotiating with your neighbors for contact
acceptable,” he or she probably will. When with other civilizations that they have
he tells you that your opponent will “be encountered but you haven’t met yet. Once
insulted by this proposal,” watch out for you’re in contact with them, you can trade
the diplomatic consequences if you propose maps with them as well.
the deal in spite of the Advisor’s warning!
By heeding the Foreign Advisor’s advice, you TIP
can be assured of a viable deal every time. The relative value of your world map in
In addition to his wise deal-making diplomatic negotiations changes over
advice, the Foreign Advisor gives you lots of time. It is never more valuable to your
incidental information about your opponent. opponents as it is when you first meet.
You can find out your opponent’s Cultural Exploit this by offering to sell them your
perception of your empire (see table 5-4), world map for a high price. (Watch the
their military strengths and weaknesses, Foreign Advisor to make sure you’re not
asking for too much.) Further increase
and their relative level of technology. All
your map profits by negotiating for
of this information helps you prepare for communications with civilizations that
future diplomatic (and military) encounters. you haven’t met yet and then selling
them your map.
Map Trading Advice
As mentioned earlier, after you research Technology Trading Advice
Map Making, you can trade maps with your
opponents during diplomatic exchanges. One of the most common requests your
You can trade two types of maps—world opponents make in diplomatic negotiations
maps (which show the position and is for a trade of civilization advances. It’s
particulars of everything you’ve explored), always helpful when you receive advances,
or territory maps (which show only Cultural but be careful of what advances you trade
borders and city positions). Of the two, away to them.
70
As a general rule, nonviolent technologies— Don’t trade away your own cities except
Pottery, Alphabet, Code of Laws, and so in certain, very specific circumstances. If
on—are fairly safe trades. Always consult a hostile rival hopelessly outmatches you
the research tree, however, to make sure and they won’t sign a treaty with you no
that what you’re trading doesn’t give your matter what other items you offer them,
opponent access to a Wonder you want to a city might appease them. Don’t consider
build or a head start on a military unit that this last-resort tactic unless you’re going
poses a threat to your security. to be overrun anyway.
When possible, avoid trading advances Also consider trading away a city when
altogether, especially when you have a the city in question is a “deadbeat”—a city
significant scientific advantage. Instead, that’s not producing resources no matter
offer to trade maps, luxury resources, or what you do to improve the situation. (This
even cold hard cash for their advances. That is common among cities that you capture
way, you expand your knowledge without or assimilate.) If the city is doing you no
giving their research effort a boost. good, give it to a rival and let him or her
deal with the problem. He or she will love
CAUTION you for giving up the city, no matter how
It’s dangerous to trade an advance
lame it is.
that allows your opponent to upgrade
his or her military capabilities. TIP
Chivalry and Gunpowder are two prime If you want to go to war with someone,
examples. Trade such an advance only but you don’t want to take the
if you are positive that the opponent reputation hit for initiating hostilities,
doesn’t have access to the strategic enter trade negotiations with the rival
resources needed to build the military in question and repeatedly ask them
unit the advance allows. (As far as to give you a city. He or she might
Chivalry is concerned, remember that brush you off at first, but eventually
the Indians don’t need Horses to build become angry enough to declare war
their War Elephant units!) on you. Then, you can smite back in
self-defense with no consequences to
your reputation.
Trade Cities? Are You Crazy?
The ability to trade cities is of limited use
as far as bettering your own position. In
practice, your opponents seldom (if ever)
agree to a trade that involves surrendering
a city to you.
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DIPLOMATIC ACTIONS Diplomatic Actions

AND ESPIONAGE As soon as you establish an embassy with
a foreign power, you can start using it. At
first, your options are limited. You can use
the embassy to contact the civilization’s
leader (which you can do in other ways as
well). The other two options are a little
more interesting, however.
Investigate City
This option allows you to take a peek
inside any of your rival’s cities to see the
population, current production project,
garrisoned units, and so on—anything you
can see when you look at your own city
display. You can do this at any time with
little fear of being caught. It’s a great way
to scope out an enemy before you launch
an invasion.
Your dealings with other civilizations don’t Another, more scrupulous, method of
have to take place on the battlefield or using a spy to investigate a city is to save
over the negotiating table. At times you first, then scope out the city carefully.
want to take action against an opponent When you’re finished, return to your
without ever facing him or her. That’s previous save. Your spy is not lost and can
where diplomatic actions and espionage scope that same city again later or perform
come in. other actions.
Steal Technology
NOTE
By exercising this option, you instruct your
The methods of performing diplomatic
diplomat to steal a random advance (that
actions and espionage have changed
considerably in Civilization III. Veteran you haven’t yet researched) from your rival.
players should peruse this section This activity is pricey in more ways than
for helpful tips on the new covert one. First, your chance of success depends
action rules. on how much Gold you’re willing to spend.
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Spending more Gold gives you a better To engage in these activities, you must
chance. (The average chance of success first plant a spy in the embassy. This
is about 75 percent.) Second, if you get operation has about a 50 percent chance
caught, this is considered an act of war. of success, so don’t undertake it lightly. If
Stealing an advance from a rival is risky your attempt to plant a spy fails, you’ve
business and shouldn’t be attempted if you made an instant enemy of the victim
want to maintain peaceful relations. civilization. Don’t attempt espionage
against any civilization you want to remain
NOTE friendly with.
No diplomatic actions are possible
Assuming you’re willing to take the risk
against civilizations you are at war with. to implant the spy and you are successful
Your embassy is closed for the duration in doing so, a wide variety of nefarious
of the conflict—if no spy is present in options become available when you access
the embassy. If a spy is present, the your embassy.
flow of information is uninterrupted.
NOTE
Under Communism, your spies are
Espionage Actions more experienced at their duties.
Therefore, all espionage attempts
under Communism have a slightly
better chance of succeeding.
Espionage Activities
Spies carry out the following activities:
• Sabotage: If successful, the spy destroys
the unit, improvement, or Wonder
currently being produced in the selected
After you research Espionage (and build the city. This is a great way to keep your
Intelligence Agency Small Wonder) you can rivals from building a Wonder that
engage in a wider array of covert activities you want.
in empires where you have established • Propaganda: This is an attempt to get a
an embassy. target city to defect to your civilization.
The chances vary widely depending
on the Culture Point ratio between
your empire and theirs (see table 5-4).
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When the same city is subjected to ensuing • Expose Spy: Recalls your spy back to
propaganda campaigns, their resistance your capital to expose an enemy spy (if
diminishes somewhat. The chances of there is one). This mission is the best
successfully launching a propaganda reason for having a spy; enemy spies
campaign are shown in table 5-6. can damage you as much as your spies
The chances of the target civilization damage them.
resisting said campaign are shown
in table 5-7. These factors are further
modified based on the governments of NOTE
the attacker and the defender. (More The chance of success for each
advanced governments resist propaganda espionage activity (with the exception
more efficiently, especially when launched of propaganda) is complicated. The
by less advanced governments.) average rate of success for each
is about 75 percent. This does not
indicate the chance of your spy being
NOTE caught in the act—that can happen
Cities under Anarchy are immune to whether the spy is successful or not.
propaganda. If your spy is caught, any of these
activities is considered an act of war.
• Steal Plans: A useful activity to attempt

before you launch an attack, this TABLE 5-6.
action reveals the position of all CHANCE FOR PROPAGANDA SUCCESS
of your opponent’s military units on
TARGET IS: CHANCE FOR SUCCESS
the Military Advisor's mini-map for
the remainder of the current turn. In awe of attacker 30%
Move your cursor over any unit on An admirer of attacker 25%
the Advisor's screen for the affected
Impressed with attacker 20%
civilization to reveal its position.
• Steal World Map: Reveals all the territory Unimpressed with attacker 10%
that the rival has explored. In most Dismissive of attacker 5%
cases, it’s simpler (and far less risky) to Disdainful of attacker 3%
simply trade for your opponent’s map.
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TABLE 5-7. CHANCE TO RESIST PROPAGANDA

TARGET IS: INITIAL CHANCE TO RESIST CONTINUED CHANCE TO RESIST
In awe of attacker 40% 30%
An admirer of attacker 50% 40%
Impressed with attacker 60% 50%
Unimpressed with attacker 70% 60%
Dismissive of attacker 80% 70%
Disdainful of attacker 90% 80%
your empire produces one extra unit of

TIP each of the big three resources: food,
In most cases, it’s easier to win over shields, and commerce. The effects of the
an opponent’s city by building up your Golden Age continue for 20 turns.
Culture. When your Culture is sufficiently It’s important to plan for your Golden
better than theirs, your rival’s cities will Age if at all possible. Although it’s beneficial
start defecting to your empire without
at any time during the game, it is more
your having to resort to propaganda.
useful if your empire is large. The more
cities you have, the more resources
you’ll reap as a result of the increased
THE GOLDEN AGE terrain productivity.
The Golden Age can occur once every If you can, avoid triggering the Golden
game. It’s usually triggered when your Age until you have 10 or more cities and a
civilization’s unique military unit wins high rate of resource production. Obviously,
a battle for the first time, but it can also it’s easier to wait if your civilization’s unit
be triggered when you build the right appears late in the game. The Americans,
combination of Wonders (see the Civilopedia with their F-15 unit that doesn’t appear
for details). until Modern Times, stand to reap the
This has major implications for your highest rewards from their Golden Age,
empire as a whole because, during the while the Aztecs, with their Jaguar
Golden Age, your resource output goes Warriors, have little hope of defeating
through the roof. Every terrain square in an enemy beyond Ancient Times.
primagames.com 75
VI
THE ADVANCE OF
KNOWLEDGE
T hroughout the history of the world,
one of the driving forces behind
humankind’s development has been the
quickly. Make a bad decision and head
down the wrong research path and
you could be left behind militarily or
quest for knowledge. New developments technologically, leaving the road to victory
in sociological and scientific fields are the wide open for your opponents.
cornerstones of every advanced civilization, This chapter is dedicated entirely to
in the game as well as in the real world. research. In the first section, you’ll learn
The Civilization® III game is one of many how the research system works and what
fabrics, all of which are important pieces of you can do to optimize your scientific
a complex tapestry. However, if you had to efforts. The second portion of the chapter
point to one element that is most important, takes you on an age-by-age tour of all of
it would have to be research. The discovery the civilization advances, providing a
of new civilization advances is central to complete description of the benefits of
every other element of the game. If you each. Finally, you’ll be introduced to some
fall behind in your research efforts, your basic research strategies that will help you
opponents will make quick work of you and follow the research path that best suits
your primitive society, ending your game your needs and style of play.
76
C HAPTER VI: THE ADVANCE OF KNOWLEDGE
of turns it will take to research any given

SCIENCE 101 advance based on the amount of research
You start each your empire is generating. Research
game with two projects become progressively pricier as
civilization you go through the game.
advances. In Civilization III, research is clearly
The advances divided into four ages of development—
vary depending Ancient Times, Middle Ages, Industrial
on which Ages, and Modern Times. Although you
civilization don’t have to research every advance in
you’re playing a given age to move on to the next age,
(see chapter II you do have to research most of them. The
for details), but they’re always two of the advance descriptions later in this chapter
five basic advances in Ancient Times. To reveal which technologies you can skip and
grow beyond this basic level of knowledge, still progress to the next age.
you must build a city and start accumulating
commerce. Within a turn or two of building
your first city, you’ll be asked to select Maximizing Your
the first advance you’d like to research. Research Capabilities
The speed at which you research Every city you build generates some
civilization advances is primarily determined commerce, so you can carry out research
by the amount of commerce that your simply by allocating some of that commerce
empire is producing. As discussed in to science. Of course, there are ways to
chapter III, commerce is divided into taxes, improve your science capacity.
luxuries, and science. At the start of every
turn, commerce is totaled and divided Adjust Your Commerce Levels
based on the percentages you’ve set on
the Domestic Advisor’s screen.
The number of science icons your
empire generates each turn is applied to
the current research project. Each advance
has a set research cost. When enough
science icons accumulate, the advance is The most obvious way to increase your
discovered and you are prompted to select empire’s science output is by increasing the
the next research project. The Science percentage of commerce that is dedicated
Advisor’s screen shows you the number to scientific research—the higher the
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percentage, the faster your research. This is that generate commerce by default, but you
actually one of the only courses of action can remedy this by having your Workers
available to you early in the game, and it’s build roads on every available square within
an excellent way to give your science an the city radius. Every terrain type (except
early boost. Ocean, Sea, and Coast, of course) generates
After you build your first city, visit one unit of commerce when it’s improved
the Domestic Advisor’s screen and set your with a road.
science as high as you can—90 percent is Also, be on the lookout for special
the maximum. Until your empire starts to resources that increase commerce. Gold is
grow, you don’t have a pressing need for one of the best but, if possible, look for
tax income, and the citizens (the first few, strategic or luxury resources. That way,
anyway) are content without your having the resource increases your commerce and
to allocate any commerce to luxuries. provides either a valuable component for
Keep an eye on your treasury. As soon the construction of units and improvements
as it starts to dwindle (due to unit support or a source of happiness for your population.
and improvement maintenance) readjust
your commerce levels to compensate. On TIP
the higher difficulty levels, also watch Luxury resources—Silk and Gems in
your population’s attitude, and be prepared particular—are excellent double-duty
to compensate when unhappy citizens resources when you want a city
are “born” in your growing cities. In any to produce more commerce (and,
case, you should be able to keep the ultimately, more science). They provide
science flowing for quite a while before a significant amount of commerce, and
it becomes a problem. the presence of the luxury items allows
you to channel some of your luxury
Later in the game, when terrain-
commerce into science without affecting
generated luxuries and happiness- and your citizens’ happiness.
tax-generating improvements are in
place, use this tactic again to generate
extra science. Improvements and Wonders
You can build a number of improvements
Build Cities in and Wonders to increase your cities’
Commerce-Rich Areas research output. The more of these
Because science is a component of commerce, structures that you have in place, the
the more commerce your empire generates, faster your research progresses. Table 6-1
the higher its potential science output. lists the science-enhancing improvements
Coast and Sea are the only terrain types and Wonders and their effects.
78
TABLE 6-1. RESEARCH-ENHANCING IMPROVEMENTS AND WONDERS

IMPROVEMENTS
Library Increases the city’s science output by 50%
Research Lab Increases the city’s science output by 50%
(cumulative with Library and University).
University Increases the city’s science output by 50%
(cumulative with Library).
WONDERS
Copernicus’s Observatory Increases city’s science output by 100%
Newton’s University Increases city’s science output by 100%
SETI Program Doubles science in the city where it’s built
The Great Library Automatically gives you any advance already discovered
by at least two other civilizations.
Theory of Evolution Grants two automatic civilization advances.
Convert Citizens into Scientists

NOTE
The Colossus, which increases
commerce, also bolsters your science
effort, though less directly than
the science-specific improvements
and Wonders.
As described in chapter IV, you can relieve
your citizens of their resource-gathering
duties and convert them into specialists.
Just as Entertainers increase population
happiness and tax collectors increase tax
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income, scientists improve the city’s science Government commerce output (from
output. Every scientist you create generates lowest to highest) is:
additional science icons in that city. • Despotism
Creating a scientist is a double-edged
sword, especially in a small city. Every • Monarchy
citizen you remove from resource-gathering • Communism
duties decreases the city’s resource base. • Republic
This can lead to stagnation and slow
• Democracy
production in that city. In fact, if the
citizen you convert was working a terrain
square that generated a lot of commerce, THE CIVILIZATION
turning that citizen into a scientist could
be counterproductive. Make sure the
ADVANCES
commerce you lose doesn’t equal or A frequently occurring questions is “What
outweigh the science you gain. do I research next?” You can simply follow
the Research Advisor’s advice, or you can
pick advances at random—but that often
NOTE leads to undesirable results. It’s always best
Veteran players should note that a city to have a plan and, to plan effectively, you
no longer needs a population of five or
need to know the benefits of researching
more before you can create a scientist.
Scientists can now be created in cities one advance over another. Analyze your
of any size. situation and decide what advance best
suits your needs and your strategy.
Civilization III divides the advances
Switch Governments into four distinct ages, and this chapter
One final way of increasing commerce— explores the advances on an age-by-age
and, hence, science—is by choosing a form basis. Table 6-2 consolidates all of the
of government that is conducive to free advances into a single, alphabetical table
trade. As a general rule, commerce output so you can quickly reference the vital
increases as government types become statistics of any advance. The following
more advanced. The governments’ effect information is listed for each advance:
on corruption also has a bearing on • Prerequisites: The earlier advance(s) you
this decision—the more corruption you must discover before you can research
experience, the less commerce you have the advance.
to devote to science. • Units: The units that you can produce
after you research the advance.
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• Improvements: The city improvements • Advances Allowed: The new advances

you can build after you research the you can research after you research
advance. the advance.
• Wonders: The Wonders of the World and
Small Wonders that you can produce after
you research the advance.
TABLE 6-2. CIVILIZATION ADVANCES AT A GLANCE

ADVANCE PREREQUISITES UNITS IMPROVEMENTS WONDERS ADVANCES ALLOWED
Advanced Flight Flight, Radio, Helicopter, — — —

Motorized Paratrooper
Transportation
Alphabet — — — — Mathematics,
Writing
Amphibious War Mass Production Marine — — —
Astronomy Education Caravel — Copernicus’s Navigation, Physics
Observatory
Atomic Theory Scientific Method — — — Electronics
Banking Education — Bank — Democracy,
Economics
Bronze Working — Spearman, — The Colossus Iron Working
Hoplite, Impi
Ceremonial Burial — — Temple — Mysticism
Chemistry Gunpowder — — — Metallurgy, Physics
Chivalry Monotheism, Knight, — — —
Feudalism Samurai,
War Elephant
Code of Laws Writing — Courthouse — The Republic
Combustion Refining, Steel Destroyer, — — Flight, Mass
Transport Production
Communism Nationalism — Police Station — —
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TABLE 6-2. CIVILIZATION ADVANCES AT A GLANCE, CONTINUED

Computers — Mech Infantry Research Lab SETI Program Miniaturization,

The Laser
Construction Iron Working, — Aqueduct, The Great Wall —
Mathematics Colosseum
The Corporation Industrialization — — — Refining, Steel
Currency Mathematics — Marketplace — —
Democracy Printing Press, — — — Free Artistry
Banking
Ecology — — Mass Transit — —
System,
Solar Plant
Economics Banking — — Smith’s Trading —
Company
Education Theology — University — Astronomy,
Banking,
Music Theory
Electricity Steam Power — — — Replaceable Parts,
Scientific Method
Electronics Atomic Theory — Hydro Plant Hoover Dam Motorized
Transportation,
Radio
Engineering — — — — Invention
Espionage Nationalism, — — Intelligence —
Industrialization Agency
Feudalism — Pikeman, — Sun Tzu’s Art Chivalry, Invention
Rider of War
Fission — Nuclear — The Manhattan Nuclear Power,
Submarine Project, The Superconductor
United Nations
Flight Combustion Bomber, Airport — Advanced Flight
Fighter
Free Artistry Democracy — — Shakespeare’s —
Theater
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Genetics Miniaturization — — Cure for Cancer, —

Longevity
Gunpowder Invention Musketman, — — Chemistry
Musketeer
Horseback Riding The Wheel, Horseman, — — —
Warrior Code Mounted
Warrior
Industrialization Steam Power — Coal Plant, Universal Espionage,
Factory Suffrage The Corporation
Integrated Defense Superconductor, — — Strategic —
Satellites, Missile Defense
Smart Weapons
Invention Feudalism, Longbowman — Leonardo’s Gunpowder
Engineering Workshop
Iron Working Bronze Working Swordsman, — — Construction
Immortals,
Legionary
The Laser Nuclear Power, — SS Planetary — Robotics,
Computers Party Lounge Smart Weapons
Literature Writing — Library The Great Library —
Magnetism Physics Frigate, Galleon, — — —
Privateer,
Man-O-War
Map Making Writing, Pottery Galley Harbor The Great —
Lighthouse
Masonry — — Palace, Walls The Pyramids Mathematics
Mass Production Combustion, Battleship, — — Amphibious War,
Replaceable Parts Carrier, Motorized
Submarine Transportation
Mathematics Masonry, Catapult — — Construction,
Alphabet Currency
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Medicine — — — — Sanitation,
Scientific Method
Metallurgy Chemistry Cannon Coastal Fortress — Military Tradition
Military Tradition Metallurgy Cavalry, — Military —
Cossack Academy
Miniaturization Computers — Offshore — Genetics, Robotics
Platform
Monarchy Warrior Code, — — The Hanging —
Polytheism Gardens
Monotheism — — Cathedral — Chivalry, Theology
Motorized Mass Production, Tank, Panzer — — Advanced Flight
Transportation Electronics
Music Theory Education — — JS Bach’s —
Cathedral
Mysticism Ceremonial Burial — — The Oracle Polytheism
Nationalism — Rifleman — — Communism,
Espionage
Navigation Astronomy Explorer — Magellan’s —
Voyage
Nuclear Power Fission — Nuclear Plant — The Laser
Philosophy Writing — — — The Republic
Physics Astronomy, — — — Magnetism,
Chemistry Theory of Gravity
Polytheism Mysticism — — — Monarchy
Pottery — — Granary — Map Making
Printing Press Theology — — — Democracy
Radio Electronics — — — Advanced Flight
Recycling Ecology — Recycling Center — Synthetic Fibers
84

Refining The Corporation — — — Combustion

Replaceable Parts Electricity Artillery, — — Mass Production
Infantry
The Republic Philosophy, — — — —
Code of Laws
Robotics The Laser, AEGIS Cruiser, Manufacturing — —
Miniaturization Radar Artillery Plant
Rocketry — Cruise Missile, SAM Missile — Space Flight
Jet Fighter, Battery
F-15
Sanitation Medicine — Hospital — —
Satellites Space Flight ICBM SS Thrusters Integrated —
Defense,
Smart Weapons
Scientific Method Medicine, — — Theory of Atomic Theory
Electricity Evolution
Smart Weapons Satellites, — — — Integrated Defense
The Laser
Space Flight Rocketry Tactical Nuke SS Cockpit, Apollo Program Satellites,
SS Docking Bay, Superconductor
SS Engine
Stealth Synthetic Fibers Stealth Bomber, — — —
Stealth Fighter
Steam Power — Ironclad — — Electricity,
Industrialization
Steel The Corporation — — — Combustion
Superconductor Fission, — SS Fuel Cells, — Integrated Defense
Space Flight SS Life Support
System
Synthetic Fibers Recycling Modern Armor SS Exterior Casing, — Stealth
SS Stasis Chamber,
SS Storage/Supply
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Theology Monotheism — — Sistine Chapel Education,

Printing Press
Warrior Code — Archer, Bowman — — Horseback Riding,
Monarchy
The Wheel — Chariot, — — Horseback Riding
War Chariot
Writing Alphabet — — — Code of Laws,
Literature,
Map Making,
Philosophy
NOTE
The advances at the start of each age
are listed as having no prerequisites.
That’s not exactly true. To research
these advances, you must progress
past the previous age. For example,
to research Computers, you must first
discover all of the required advances
in the Industrial Age.
Ancient Advances The research tree for Ancient Times

The advances in Ancient Times are the To begin research on Middle Ages
cornerstones for all of your future advances, you must research all of the
technologies. They’re the least “expensive” Ancient Times advances except:
to research—but, then again, you have
• Horseback Riding
fewer science resources available at this
point in the game. • Literature
• Monarchy
• Republic
86
them, make Bronze Working your first

TIP research project of the game. Depending on
Just because you can skip an advance Warriors to defend your cities can make for
and still move on doesn’t necessarily a very short game. Bronze Working is also
mean that you should. In most cases, the first step along the path that leads to
even if you skip them initially, go back Construction (Colosseums, Aqueducts, and
and research these technologies when
The Great Wall).
you get a chance. Many of them provide
valuable benefits that you don’t want
to miss. You can even go back to a Ceremonial Burial
previously-unresearched advance once After you get your early
you’ve progressed beyond the age that military needs out of
it was initially offered in. the way with Bronze
Working, think about
keeping your population
Alphabet happy. Ceremonial
The importance of the Burial, which allows
Alphabet isn’t readily you to build Temples, the first of the
apparent because it “happiness” improvements, should be high
provides you with no on your list (if you didn’t start the game
immediate units, with it, that is). The higher the difficulty
improvements, or level, the more important it is to research
Wonders. But, like so this advance early. At higher difficulty
many of the game’s advances, the long-term levels, you need to pacify your population
benefits of the Alphabet make it important early on. And Ceremonial Burial is the
to pursue at your earliest convenience. This first step toward an advanced form of
advance is the first rung on the intellectual government (Monarchy).
ladder that leads to important discoveries
such as Mathematics and Literature. Code of Laws
Code of Laws is an
Bronze Working important advance
Bronze Working is for two reasons:
the first military Courthouses and The
advance available. Many Republic. In the short
civilizations start the term, Courthouses help
game with this advance, reduce the rampant
but if yours isn’t one of corruption and waste under Despotism.
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In the long term, this is one of the can always come back to this advance at
two prerequisite advances (along with a later time if need be. In fact, you have
Philosophy) that allow you to research to—you can’t get to the Middle Ages
The Republic, arguably the second best without it!
government available in the game. If you’re
following any nonviolent strategy, head Horseback Riding
down this path as soon as possible so you Horseback Riding is one
can switch to a Republic. of the four “skippable”
Ancient advances, but
Construction there are two very good
Construction is one of reasons not to skip it—
the most significant especially if you’re
advances of Ancient following a military
Times. By far the most strategy. First, it allows you to build
important benefit of Horsemen, the most mobile military units
this advance is the of Ancient Times. It also makes the Horses
ability to build strategic resource appear on the map.
Aqueducts. Without them, your cities Without Horses, you can’t build the
stop growing. If you have problems with important Knight and Cavalry units that
population unhappiness, reach Construction are such a mainstay of your military
as quickly as possible so that you can reap during the Middle Ages. Although you can
the benefits of the Colosseum. safely put this advance off if there is no
immediate military need for it, don’t let it
Currency fall by the wayside when you advance to
Currency is one of the the next age.
few Ancient advances
you can afford to put on Iron Working
the back burner for a Just as Bronze Working
while in favor of other, provides your first
more pressing matters. effective defensive unit,
While the Marketplace Iron Working provides
improvement is very useful for increasing your first effective
commerce (and, hence, science, luxuries, offensive unit—the
and taxes), its effects are less important Swordsman. Research
than those of Libraries (Literature) and the this important advance early if you’re
two advanced forms of government. You building up your offensive forces for an
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early rout of a neighboring civilization. Map Making

However, if you have no pressing need In the previous
for a strong attacker, put Iron Working incarnations of
aside in favor of intellectual pursuits such Civilization, the
as Alphabet or spiritual pursuits such as importance of Map
Ceremonial Burial. Come back to this Making was primarily
line of research when you need a strong tied to your dependence
military or are ready to make a run for on naval units for
Construction. exploration early in the game. While
this is still true, Map Making now has
Literature a more important purpose: Harbors.
Early discovery of Harbors are an integral part of your trade
Literature is important network, allowing you to share strategic
to both military and and luxury resources with cities that can’t
nonmilitary strategies. be connected to your empire by roads. If
For the pacifist, this you are playing on a world where your
advance offers the cities are likely to be separated by water,
scientific benefits of make Map Making a priority so you can
the Library, which gives your early research get your Harbors up and running early in
efforts a boost. For you warmongers, the game.
building the Great Library is a great way to
compensate for the lagging research that NOTE
often accompanies a militant strategy—the
Another new bonus provided by Map
free advances help you keep up with your Making is the ability to trade maps
enemies in the research race. with other civilizations during trade
negotiations. This makes exploring
TIP the world a lot easier.
Although the game allows you to skip
Literature and still move on to the
Middle Ages, don’t even consider letting
this important advance slip through the
cracks. If you do, the impact on your
ongoing research efforts could be
devastating.
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Masonry Monarchy
After Bronze Working Monarchy is one of
and Ceremonial Burial, the two alternatives
Masonry is your next to Despotism available
best early-game research in Ancient Times
choice. It provides (the other being The
immediate benefits for Republic). You must get
growth (The Pyramids) away from Despotism as
and defense (Walls). It is also a key soon as possible to maximize your empire’s
advance in the research path that leads to resources. Whether you choose Monarchy
both Currency and Construction (through or Republic depends on your ultimate goal.
Mathematics). Unless you need the Monarchy is the better choice if you’re
immediate offensive benefits of Iron following a warlike strategy—you won’t
Working or Warrior Code, Masonry should have to worry about war weariness, and
be no later than third on your research many advances that lead up to Monarchy
“to do” list. are military in nature.
Mathematics TIP
The immediate benefit Monarchy is one of the skippable
of Mathematics is advances of Ancient Times, but don’t
offensive in nature: skip it even if you never intend to
namely, the ability govern by Monarchy. The Hanging
to build Catapults. Gardens, a major “happiness” Wonder
that used to be available when you
The more important
researched Pottery, is now available
benefits of Mathematics, through Monarchy. If you want to
however, are the research opportunities it build The Hanging Gardens, you’ve
opens up—Currency and, more importantly, got to fit Monarchy into your busy
Construction. While Writing and Mysticism research schedule.
should take precedence unless you have
a pressing need for Catapults, don’t put
Mathematics off for too long.
90
Mysticism
The most obvious NOTE
benefit of Mysticism is The “free advance” bonus imparted
to the first civilization to discover
The Oracle. In situations
Philosophy in the previous Civ ® games
where your citizens’ doesn’t exist in Civilization III. That
happiness is hanging in means there’s no big rush to be the
the balance, Mysticism first to discover this advance.
is a very important
advance indeed. The Oracle can be of great
assistance in preventing civil disorder Polytheism
early in the game. Of all the second-tier Polytheism is merely a
Ancient advances, only Writing is more stepping stone advance
important. Mysticism gains a slight on the path to Monarchy.
priority over Writing if you’re making It provides no units,
a run for Monarchy. improvements, or
Wonders, and has no
Philosophy other effect on your
Philosophy is a crucial empire as a whole. Unless you are on a
link in the chain of quest to discover Monarchy as soon as
advances leading to The possible, put off this third-tier advance
Republic. By the time in favor of more lucrative advances such
this advance comes up as Literature and Construction. Of course,
for research, you’ve you have to get around to it eventually—
probably got a lot of otherwise you can’t advance to the
choices available. Because Philosophy offers Middle Ages!
no immediate benefits, Literature and Code
of Laws should take precedence in most Pottery
cases. Don’t put off Philosophy for too long Pottery’s immediate
if you’ve decided to pursue The Republic. benefit is the Granary.
Otherwise, Despotism will take its toll on As discussed in
your growing empire. chapter VII, the benefit
Granaries provide early
in the game is debatable.
Pottery only leads to
one other advance—Map Making. So, the
importance of Pottery is a rather subjective
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thing. In most cases, you can put it off in Warrior Code

favor of more important first-tier advances. Warrior Code provides an
obvious military benefit
The Republic in the form of Archers.
The Republic is one of More importantly,
the two most advanced however, this advance is
governments available in one of the prerequisites
the game and, as such, for Horseback Riding
is a very important and Monarchy. Because Spearmen are better
milestone indeed. All of defensive units than Archers, always put
the advances that lead Bronze Working ahead of Warrior Code
up to The Republic are scientific in nature. regardless of your ultimate strategy.
This, combined with the benefits of ruling Warrior Code makes an acceptable second
a peaceful empire under this form of research choice for a military strategy or
government, make an early run for The when Barbarians or pesky neighboring
Republic a desirable course of action. civilizations rear their heads early in the
game. Otherwise, put this advance aside
TIP for a while, at least until you research
Like Monarchy, The Republic is one Alphabet and Ceremonial Burial.
of the skippable advances in Ancient
Times. If you never intend to switch to The Wheel
this form of government—as is often Like Warrior Code, The
the case when you pursue a warlike
Wheel provides you
strategy—you can safely skip this
advance and move on to the Middle
with an early offensive
Ages when you get the chance. unit (the Chariot,
Other than the government itself, in this case) and
The Republic advance provides no is a prerequisite to
benefits whatsoever. Horseback Riding.
When you’re deciding between the two,
assess your needs and decide which unit
you’d like to have first. Archers and
Chariots share the same attack capabilities,
but the more expensive Chariot has better
movement and the ability to retreat.
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If you don’t need to field offensive units Middle Ages Advances

at all, The Wheel and Warrior Code are
interchangeable.
TIP
The Wheel definitely takes precedence
over Warrior Code if you’re playing
as the Egyptians. The benefits of
War Chariots far exceed those of
lowly Archers.
Writing
When you glance at the
research tree, it seems The research tree for the Middle Ages
as if Writing provides
you with no immediate In the Middle Ages, technologies advance
benefits. While it is true beyond the basics. Many of the advances in
that, like Alphabet, no the Middle Ages deal with the finer details
units, improvements, of civilization, such as art, music, and
or Wonders are made available by this finance. With the increase in technological
advance, Writing does allow you to make sophistication comes a higher research
treaties with rival civilizations. This is an price. If your cities’ science output is less
important diplomatic skill—absolutely vital than adequate, this is where you’ll start
if you’re out to make friends with your to feel it.
neighbors rather than conquering them. To begin research on Industrial Age
More importantly, Writing allows three advances, you must research all of the Middle
major advances—Literature, Code of Laws, Ages advances except:
and Map Making— and is one of the key • Chivalry • Military Tradition
steps on the path to The Republic. This • Democracy • Music Theory
advance should be high on your priority
• Economics • Navigation
list, especially if you’re following a
nonmilitaristic strategy. • Free Artistry • Printing Press
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Astronomy boosts your tax revenues, the benefits of

Astronomy provides this advance are clear.
both immediate and That said, if your goal is conquest,
long-term benefits. If put off Banking in favor of the military
you’re doing a lot of advances in the Engineering–Military
exploring and traveling Tradition branch of the Middle Ages
by sea, the Caravel research tree. After you can build the units
unit, which Astronomy you need, go back and research Banking so
makes possible, is an important addition you can build Banks to help support them.
to your fleet. Astronomy also serves as a
prerequisite to Navigation, which further TIP
enhances your seagoing capabilities. For a real boost in your tax revenues
Even if sea travel doesn’t figure heavily over the entire game, build Banks in
in your strategy, the benefits of at least five of your cities and then
Copernicus’s Observatory make Astronomy construct the Wall Street Small Wonder.
(See chapter VII for details.)
worthwhile. Building this Wonder assists
in all of your future research endeavors.
Chemistry
NOTE The military implications
In addition to its obvious effects, of Chemistry are obvious
Astronomy also allows trade to when you look at the
take place over Sea squares. (See research tree—you can’t
chapter V for details on trade.)
get to Metallurgy and
Military Tradition
Banking without it. When you’re
on the warpath, you want to make a quick
Banking is a part of
dash down this military branch of the
the intricate web of
tree, making Chemistry an important stop
advances that leads to
along the way.
Democracy, the most
If you’re making a run for Democracy,
advanced form of
jump down to Chemistry as soon as you can.
government in the game
Chemistry is a key advance that eventually
and the best available if
leads to Theory of Gravity (Newton’s
your strategy is a peaceful one. When you
University) and Magnetism (Galleons).
figure in the Bank, an improvement that
94
Chivalry Democratic government can be

It’s easy to overlook problematical if conquest is your goal—
Chivalry in your rush to it takes an experienced player to deal
get to enticing advances with the war weariness experienced by
such as Gunpowder and a Democracy at war. Military players can
Democracy. This advance safely skip Democracy altogether. You
sits out there on its own can always come back to it later if you
at the beginning of the change your mind.
Middle Ages. You can skip this advance
and still move on to the Industrial Ages, Economics
especially if you’re in no danger from your Economics is one of the
neighbors and you aren’t waging a war. Middle Ages’ optional
If you’re in the middle of war, however, advances. Whether or
definitely do not ignore Chivalry. The best not you should bother
military units in the early Middle Ages with Economics depends
are Knights, and you can’t build them on how much you need
without Chivalry. the maintenance-saving
benefits of Smith’s Trading Company, which
TIP is the only benefit of researching this
advance under normal circumstances. If
If you’re playing as the Indians or the
Japanese, never skip Chivalry. Without
your empire is economically sound and
it you can’t get the tribe-specific units you don’t plan to build the Wonder anyway,
available to these civilizations. skip Economics for now and come back
to it later.
Democracy TIP
Democracy is the Economics has one additional
pinnacle of government benefit: it doubles the shields-to-Gold
advancement. If you exchange rate when you set a city
follow a peaceful to “build” Wealth. If you use this
strategy, make a run fund-raising method often, consider
for Democracy as soon researching Economics.
as you get to the Middle
Ages. Your empire benefits from being a
Democracy, and you pick up key scientific
and religious advances along the way.
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Education precursor to Invention (and, hence,

Education is an offshoot Leonardo’s Workshop), a useful Wonder no
of Theology that forms matter how you choose to play.
its own sub-branch of Even so, Engineering should not be
the Middle Ages research among your first research choices in
tree. It’s the advance the Middle Ages. Research Monotheism,
that merges the military Feudalism, and Chivalry before you consider
branch (Engineering– this advance.
Military Tradition) and the peaceful
branch (Monotheism-Democracy) forming Feudalism
a technological branch that leads to a Feudalism is the best
number of key advances. advance to pursue upon
In addition to being the first step entering the Middle
toward the advanced naval capabilities of Ages. This advance
Astronomy, Navigation, and Magnetism, allows you to build
Education offers the immediate ability to Pikemen, the first
build Universities, the second of the three effective defenders
major science improvements. No matter of the new age. Feudalism also allows you
what overall strategy you prefer, get to build Sun Tzu’s Art of War, which is
education out of the way early, if only a boon to any aggressive strategy.
for the research boost it allows. If you are experiencing happiness
problems, however, your first choice should
Engineering be Monotheism.
The immediate benefits
of Engineering are Free Artistry
subtle. After you’ve This offshoot of
discovered this advance, Democracy is one of the
your Workers can build Middle Ages’ optional
roads that span rivers, advances. It usually
as well as plant forests. becomes available
While both benefits are useful, they’re not near the end of the
as important as the long-term benefits. age (depending on
This advance, along with Feudalism, is your research strategy), around the same
the first step down the military branch of time as a number of pivotal late–Middle
the Middle Ages research tree. It is also the Ages advances.
96
While just about any advance takes Invention

precedence over Free Artistry, don’t skip Invention is a useful
it entirely. The happiness benefits of short-term research
Shakespeare’s Theater are worth the goal for aggressive and
research time. passive strategies alike.
The reason? Leonardo’s
NOTE Workshop. Whether
If one of your opponents builds you’re waging war on
Shakespeare’s Theater before you your neighbors or simply staving off the
research Free Artistry, there’s no occasional invader, the half-price unit
need to research this advance. upgrades that this Wonder offers saves you
a lot of shields and time.
Aggressive types can reap some benefit
Gunpowder
from the Longbowman unit that Invention
Gunpowder is a major makes possible, although Knights are the
turning point for preferred attack unit of this era. Aside
military units. If you’re from Leonardo’s Workshop, the real benefit
following a conquest of Invention is that it opens the door
strategy, make a beeline to most of the military advances of the
for this (as soon as Middle Ages.
you’ve squared away the
basics, such as Monotheism). Most military-
Magnetism
oriented advances of the Middle Ages lie
beyond Gunpowder. Magnetism is the naval
The benefits of Gunpowder are also advance of the Middle
useful if you’re going the peaceful route, Ages. Before this
because Musketmen are primarily defensive advance, your seafaring
units. Research this advance if you think is limited to lowly
you’ll be invaded in the near future. Galleys and Caravels.
After Magnetism, your
choices include two warships (Frigates and
Privateers) and a high-capacity transport
(the Galleon). Magnetism also opens Ocean
squares to trade (see chapter V for details).
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If your strategy involves naval warfare you have to put off a lot of important
or if you’re on a world with a lot of water, nonmilitary advances along the way.
make a run for Magnetism before you go This is one of the optional advances of
for other military advances such as this age and, if you’re not going to need
Metallurgy and Military Tradition. the Military Academy or Cavalry units,
there’s no need to research it. Passive
Metallurgy players can let this one slide.
This advance falls near
the end of the military TIP
branch of the Middle Don’t skip Military Tradition if you’re
Ages’ research tree. It playing as the Russians. Otherwise,
provides both a new you’ll never be able to build your
bombardment weapon civ-specific unit, the Cossack.
(the Cannon) and the
useful Coastal Fortress city improvement.
Cannons are useful only in aggressive
Monotheism
scenarios, but Coastal Fortresses benefit Monotheism is the first
any style of play. advance in the peaceful
Unless you’re at war with another yet lucrative Middle
civilization, Metallurgy can be put off Ages research branch
until after you researched some of the that eventually leads to
more immediately beneficial advances. Democracy. This advance
is the second one you
Military Tradition should research when you reach the Middle
Ages (right after Feudalism). No matter
Military Tradition, as
what sort of strategy you employ, the
its name suggests,
happiness benefits derived from Cathedrals
provides benefits that
are vital to your continued success. Even
are entirely military in
playing the military game, deviate from
nature. Cavalry units
your normal research course long enough
are the most mobile
to grab this advance.
and powerful attack
units in the Middle Ages, and if they can
be built early on, they can turn the tide
of an ongoing war. But, to get to Military
Tradition early in the Middle Ages,
98
Music Theory
Music Theory is similar NOTE
to Free Artistry in that Navigation opens trade across Ocean
squares, which is a valuable benefit.
it is a spur advance that
However, the same benefit becomes
leads nowhere but is too available when you research Magnetism,
good to ignore because so it doesn’t make Navigation any
of the Wonder it allows more appealing.
you to build. It has the
edge on Free Artistry when it comes to
importance, though, because the happiness Physics
effects of JS Bach’s Cathedral, though less Physics, like Chemistry
dramatic, are more widespread. before it, is a link in
Research this optional advance rather the chain that leads to
than skipping it—but only if nobody else the end of the military
has built JS Bach’s Cathedral and you’re branch of the Middle
willing to take the time to build the Ages’ research tree. If
Wonder yourself. you’re making a push
for naval superiority, choose Physics over
Navigation Metallurgy when you’re deciding where to
Navigation is another go from Chemistry—assuming you’ve
optional advance. If already researched Astronomy, of course.
you’re a fan of naval Otherwise, put this advance aside and
warfare and/or sea finish out the two military advances
travel, Magellan’s (Metallurgy and Military Tradition) first.
Voyage, which becomes
available with this Printing Press
advance, gives you a definite mobility Printing Press is the
edge over your opponents. Chemistry of the
Unless you want to build Magellan’s nonaggressive branch of
Voyage, there’s no good reason to research the Middle Ages research
Navigation. The Explorer unit made possible tree. It provides no
by this advance is not compelling enough benefits of its own,
to divert your research from the many more but it is one of the two
advances available at this time. immediate prerequisites of Democracy and,
as such, vital to your research efforts if
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the pinnacle of peacetime governments is If you need the benefits of military-

your goal. oriented advances, you have to take a
If Democracy’s not your thing, there’s no chance that no one will build Newton’s
need to research this advance—you don’t University before you get back around to
need it to advance to the Industrial Ages. researching Theory of Gravity.
Theology Industrial Ages Advances

The second advance on
the peaceful path in
this age is important no
matter how you choose
to play. The immediate
benefit of Theology,
the Sistine Chapel, is
a great happiness generator. But the main
importance of this advance is that it allows
you to research Education, which, in turn,
leads to numerous important advances.
Although you can safely put this advance
off in favor of making a run for Gunpowder,
The research tree for the Industrial Ages
come back to Theology soon thereafter.
The dawn of the Industrial Ages brings
Theory of Gravity great military and technological power.
Theory of Gravity is an It also brings the problem of pollution,
end-of-the-line advance something that isn’t easy to deal with until
in this age. Its major Modern Times. Again, the research prices
asset, Newton’s jump over the previous age, making the
University, is quite optimization of your cities’ science output
beneficial (though crucial if you want to keep up with your
localized). Even so, opponents technologically.
it’s better to have the Wonder to yourself
rather than let one of your opponents reap
its benefits. If you’re on a peaceful track,
give Theory of Gravity precedence over
age-ending advances such as Magnetism.
100
The research “tree” in the Industrial Amphibious War

Ages is more like a web and, as such, Like Advanced Flight,
most of the advances must be researched Amphibious War is an
in order to move on. To advance to Modern optional advance that
Times, you must research all Industrial Ages provides specialized
advances except: military power—in this
• Advanced Flight case, the Marine unit.
• Amphibious War (See chapter VIII for
details on this unit.) This technology
• Communism
primarily benefits the conquest-minded
• Espionage player. If you don’t need Marines, don’t
• Nationalism bother with this advance.
• Sanitation
Atomic Theory
Advanced Flight Like The Corporation
and Steel, Atomic
Advanced Flight is an
Theory is simply a
optional end-of-the-era
steppingstone advance.
advance that provides a
It doesn’t offer anything
pair of unique units—
of value in and of itself,
Helicopters and
but it is only one step
Paratroopers. Both of
away from Electronics, one of the most
these units are very
pivotal late Industrial advances. If you’re
specialized and might not appeal to
out to conquer the world, this advance can
everyone. Check out their statistics and
take a temporary backseat to Combustion,
abilities in chapter VIII to decide if these
Replaceable Parts, and Mass Production—
units suit your needs. If not, skip this
but you must come back to it before you
advance. If they do appeal to you, decide
can get Tanks.
when you need them and research this
advance when the time is right to implement
your strategy. In most cases, you should
move on to Modern Times and come back
to Advanced Flight when you need it.
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Combustion The Corporation

The immediate benefits This is the first advance
of Combustion are in the triumvirate that
obvious—Destroyers leads to Combustion and
to rule the seas and the first of the modern
Transports to take the naval units (Destroyers
ground war to your and Transports). The
distant enemies (or Corporation offers
take your Settlers to distant continents— nothing in the way of units, improvements,
whichever you prefer). Despite its distinctly and Wonders—it’s merely a necessary link
naval flavor, Combustion is a pivotal in the military-oriented portion of the
advance that leads to modern ground and Industrial Ages’ research chain.
air units as well.
Electricity
Communism Electricity is the first
Unlike Democracy and of the “pure science”
The Republic, don’t skip advances in the
Communism just because Industrial Age. It’s the
don’t want to use it as first step in the path
a form of government. that eventually leads to
In addition to allowing Radio. Despite the fact
Communist rule, this that it allows no new units, improvements,
advance lets you build Police Stations, or Wonders, Electricity should be fairly
which are crucial if you’re conducting a war high on your priority list regardless of your
under a Republic or a Democracy. Yes, you preferred strategy. It allows your Workers
can skip Communism and still progress to irrigate from any water source—a real
to Modern Times, and it’s a low priority growth boost if many of your cities lack
advance unless you want to rule through access to fresh water.
Communism. Just remember that Police
Stations are a nice fallback option if your
plans for peaceful victory go awry.
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Electronics Flight
Electronics offers the Flight might seem
first shield-boosting like a purely military
alternatives to the advance because its
pollution-belching Coal most noticeable effect
Plant—Hydro Plants is that it ushers in the
and the Hoover Dam era of air units. Because
Wonder. Electronics of the new trade system
is also a prerequisite for both Motorized in Civ III, Airports have a new importance—
Transportation and Radio. This advance they allow the sharing of strategic and
truly has something for everyone. luxury resources between any of your cities
equipped with Airports. This link is crucial
Espionage as your empire spreads over a progressively
The value of researching larger area.
Espionage, one of the Before you make a beeline for Mass
Industrial Ages’ optional Production and Motorized Transportation,
technologies, depends research Flight. That way, your distant cities
on whether or not have access to all the vital resources they
you like to wage a need to build those advanced military units.
war of subversion
rather than attacking your enemies in the Industrialization
open. Espionage allows you to build the Industrialization ushers
Intelligence Agency Small Wonder, which, in the era of pollution.
in turn, allows you to carry out spy Starting with the Coal
missions. (See chapter V for details.) If Plant and the Factory,
spying isn’t your thing, you can skip this this line of research
advance altogether. leads to a whole string
of city improvements
that pollute. The lure of increased
shield production makes Industrialization
a popular advance for all strategies—just
be prepared to deal with the pollution
consequences.
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You’ll spend considerable time with zero

NOTE population growth if you follow another
Industrialization also allows you to build line of research before Medicine.
the Universal Suffrage Wonder—a real
bonus if you’re governing by Republic Motorized Transportation
or Democracy and a war might lie in
your future.
Tanks—you’ve gotta
love ‘em. If you’re out
to conquer the world,
Mass Production this unit really gets
Mass Production is your efforts rolling—
the Magnetism of the especially if you
Industrial Ages. It is the research Motorized
single largest provider Transportation well before your enemies
of modern naval power do. The faster you get to Motorized
in the game. Plus, Mass Transportation, the more of an advantage
Production is also the you have in the ground war. Few things
prerequisite for the mighty ground units should sway you from your quest for Tanks
provided by Amphibious War and (better (or Panzers, if you’re playing the Germans)
still) Motorized Transportation. That if conflict is your goal.
said, this advance should take a back
seat to more important advances such as Nationalism
Electronics and Flight unless you have an Just as Feudalism is
immediate need for naval units. a wise first choice for
research when you
Medicine reach the Middle Ages,
Medicine is your Nationalism is your best
best second choice for bet when you hit the
Industrial Age research Industrial Ages. The
after Nationalism. reasoning is the same: No matter what
Medicine doesn’t provide strategy you prefer, good defensive units
any immediate benefits, are of vital importance. Nationalism gives
but it’s a means to an you Riflemen, which are significantly more
end. Sanitation, the next advance in line, efficient than Musketmen at keeping your
allows you to build Hospitals, which you cities safe.
need to allow your cities to grow past size 12.
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Nationalism has a couple of hidden Refining

advantages as well. With Nationalism, you Refining is one of three
can sign mutual protection and trade advances that pave the
embargo treaties. (For more info on these way for Combustion.
diplomatic options, see chapter V.) Better Like The Corporation
still, this advance allows you to obtain and Steel, this advance
“free” military units by drafting your offers no new units,
citizens into service. improvements, or
Wonders. One thing it does do, however,
TIP is reveal the Oil strategic resource on the
If all you want is a defensive unit and map. For this reason, Refining should
there is no immediate threat to your take precedence over Steel after you finish
security, skip Nationalism and make researching The Corporation. That way, you
a run for Replaceable Parts (through have time to access the newly found oil
Steam Power and Electricity). The
resources you need to build the modern
Infantry unit allowed by that advance
is twice as good as the Rifleman.
naval units that are just around the corner.
Replaceable Parts
Radio Replaceable Parts gives
Radio is a late-Industrial you a huge defensive
Ages steppingstone upgrade in the form of
advance. It provides the Infantry unit. Added
you with no units, bonuses include the
improvements, or Artillery unit, which
Wonders. Its sole greatly improves your
purpose is to allow you bombardment capabilities (if you’re into
to research Advanced Flight. While this that sort of thing), and the appearance
can be a very important advance if you’re of the Rubber strategic resource. Most
playing a military game, Radio serves little importantly, however, Replaceable Parts is
immediate advantage if Advanced Flight one of the immediate prerequisites for Mass
isn’t part of your strategy. If you’re not Production and all of the military might
interested in Advanced Flight, you still represented by it and its ensuing advances.
have to research Radio to advance to
Modern Times, but you can put if off
for quite a while.
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Scientific Method
NOTE Scientific Method is an
An excellent side effect of researching important step toward
Replaceable Parts is that it doubles the
the pivotal Electronics
speed of your Workers.
advance. Unlike many
of the second- and
Sanitation third-tier advances
Sanitation looks like in the Industrial Ages,
a dead-end advance— Scientific Method is more than just a link
and, research-wise, it in the chain. It allows you to build the
is. However, don’t skip Theory of Evolution Wonder. Get to this
it. In fact, it should be advance as quickly as possible and be the
high on your priority first to build the Wonder. If you do, you get
list when you enter two free advances. It’s a great way to speed
the Industrial Ages. The reason is simple: your research efforts.
Hospitals. Your cities can’t grow beyond
size 12, and thus can’t reach their Steam Power
maximum potential without them. Steam Power is a
cornerstone advance of
the Industrial Ages. It
NOTE
opens the door for just
Sanitation also indirectly allows you
about every research
to build the Battlefield Medicine Small
Wonder, the prerequisite of which is topic available, and as
to build five Hospitals. This gives such appears to be the
Sanitation added importance when most important advance to research at
you’re trying to conquer the world. the start of the era. It’s not. Despite its
immediate and long-term advantages, both
Nationalism and the Medicine/Sanitation
combo should take precedence in most
cases. (See the descriptions of those
advances for the reasons.)
In addition to making the Ironclad unit
possible, Steam Power allows your Workers
to construct railroads and makes the Coal
strategic resource appear.
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Steel these advances also allow you to build

Steel is a pivotal very powerful weapons that can swiftly
Industrial Age advance bring your opponents to their knees.
that (eventually)
leads to the powerful Computers
mechanized and naval Of the four advances
units that become with which you can
available late in this begin your Modern
era. Like The Corporation, Steel offers no Times research,
immediate benefits. It is simply a means Computers offers the
to a military end. most useful and diverse
immediate benefits. The
Research Lab and the SETI Project give you
The Advances of a final science boost to get you through
Modern Times the expensive research times ahead,
and the Mech Infantry unit provides the
protection your cities need to weather
military incursions spearheaded by the
powerful ground units of this era. No
matter what strategy you’re following,
there’s no better advance with which to
kick off Modern Times.
Ecology
Ecology is the beginning
of a short but lucrative
research path with
The research tree for Modern Times something for everyone.
The immediate benefits
Now you’re in the research home stretch. of Ecology are two
The advances of Modern Times represent pollution solutions: Solar
the pinnacle of human achievement. These Plants and Mass Transit. (See chapter IV for
ultra-scientific advances contribute to the more info on pollution.) This isolated
betterment of your civilization and the branch of the Modern research tree leads
world as a whole. Of course, that all to additional pollution fixes (Recycling),
depends on your ultimate goal. Some of spaceship parts, the most powerful ground
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unit available (Synthetic Fibers), and, Genetics

ultimately, the best air units this side Genetics is a very
of nukes (Stealth). Although Computers specialized advance
usually take precedence over Ecology, this that, in most cases, can
advance should be a close second on your stay on the back burner
Modern Times “to do” list. for a long time. In fact,
you could certainly win
Fission the game in a number
Of the four initial of ways without every having access to the
Modern Times advances, two Wonders that Genetics allows.
Fission is the least However, if you’re pursuing a Cultural or
desirable in most cases. Histographic Victory, don’t let this advance
Its immediate “benefits” slide altogether. The effects of the two
(besides revealing the Wonders combined (should you manage to
Uranium strategic build both of them) increase your population
resource) are only beneficial to the most and help to create more happy people, and
warlike strategy. The Manhattan Project the Wonders themselves make a sizable
lets everyone build nukes (eventually), contribution to your Culture Point total. If
and Nuclear Subs helps you to deliver said this is your goal, research Genetics as soon
nukes in a stealthy manner. as possible so you can reap the maximum
You ultimately need this advance to benefit from the two Wonders.
build your spaceship (if you’re building
one). But, unless nuclear warfare is your
goal, pursue other available research
paths first.
TIP
Building Wonders of the World increases
your Culture Point total, whether you
directly benefit from the Wonders or
not. So, if you have the extra time and
resources to build a Wonder such as the
United Nations, do so. Even if you have
no hope of winning a Diplomatic Victory,
the Culture generated by the UN is
still useful.
108
Integrated Defense a toss-up between this advance and

Civilization III, unlike Superconductor. If you need Research Labs,
its predecessor, doesn’t research The Laser first.
have a city improvement
that protects you Miniaturization
against nuclear attacks. Miniaturization provides
This job is now handled you with an opportunity
by the Strategic Missile to bump up shield
Defense Small Wonder—and that’s what output in your coastal
Integrated Defense is all about. cities—the Offshore
This is one of those advances whose Platform. However, this
importance is determined solely by the improvement is less
current game situation. If you are up important than the fact that Miniaturization
against enemies who are using nukes is the prerequisite for Genetics (Cure
against you (or are threatening to do so), for Cancer, Longevity) and Robotics
make a beeline for Integrated Defense. (The (AEGIS Cruiser, Radar Artillery, and the
problem is, you have to research the bulk Manufacturing Plant). At this stage in the
of the Modern advances to get here.) If no game, most advances are about equally
threat exists, ignore Integrated Defense important, but give Miniaturization a lower
until no other research options remain. priority than spaceship-oriented advances
if you’re heading for Alpha Centauri.
The Laser
The Laser is a link in Nuclear Power
the chain that leads Nuclear Power is a
to Integrated Defense positive benefit of
(through Smart Weapons) Fission in that it
and Robotics. It is also gives you a clean way
a required Space Victory to boost your shield
advance (you need output—the Nuclear
The Laser to build the SS Planetary Party Plant. This advance is
Lounge—you can’t have a Planetary also a gateway to the benefits provided by
Party Lounge without a laser light show). Lasers and Robotics, and serves as a link
Because it’s a required advance no matter in the spaceship chain as well.
your strategy, you must research The Laser
eventually. In terms of priority, it’s usually
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There’s no need research Nuclear Power Rocketry

immediately. If you need a clean power Rocketry is immediately
plant, research Ecology (the Solar Plant is beneficial if you’re on
safer and can be built in any city). This the road to conquest.
advance can wait until you’ve exhausted Both the Jet Fighter
some of the other lines of research. (the F-15 for the
Americans) and the
Recycling Cruise Missile are
Recycling shares equal valuable additions to your air-superiority
importance with Ecology arsenal. For the science-minded, Rocketry
if you’re experiencing is one of the gateway advances to the Space
pollution problems. Victory. Plus, Rocketry reveals Aluminum,
Ecology’s Mass Transit one of the last hidden strategic resources.
and Recycling’s Despite its benefits, Rocketry comes in
Recycling Center are a solid third out of the initial four Modern
a potent one-two punch that greatly advances. Regardless of your strategy, get
reduces the possibility of pollution around at least Ecology and Computers before you
your cities. If pollution is plaguing you, move on to this advance.
Recycling should be high on your list of
Modern Times advances. TIP
Rocketry might take precedence
Robotics over Computers if your enemies are
Robotics is an end-of- pummeling you with air units. In that
the-line advance that case, the SAM Missile Battery provided
provides two military by this advance is more important
benefits (AEGIS Cruisers defensively than the Mech Infantry
unit made available by Computers.
and Radar Artillery) and
one universal benefit
(Research Labs). Strive
for this advance regardless of your strategy.
If you’re after the Research Labs, make a
run for Robotics early in Modern Times—
otherwise, the extra science will be of
limited use.
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Satellites Space Flight

In the wrong hands, this Space Flight is where
advance is potentially the Space Victory begins
the game’s most to gather momentum.
dangerous. Sure, the First, there’s the Apollo
Satellites advance Program Small Wonder,
provides a spaceship without which the
component, which journey to Alpha
makes it a necessary advance for pacifists, Centauri cannot begin. Three of the
but it also allows you to build ICBMs, 10 spaceship components are also made
the most deadly weapons in the game. possible by this advance. As a military
Obviously, there’s no avoiding this advance. footnote, Space Flight also gives you the
Just remember, ICBMs cause more political ability to build Tactical Nukes (after you
and environmental trouble than you might discover Fission and someone builds The
be ready to deal with. Wise players ignore Manhattan Project, that is). Space Flight
ICBMs even when they’re available. is a natural extension of Rocketry, and
should directly follow that advance in
Smart Weapons most research strategies.
Besides being one of
the final links in the Stealth
Integrated Defense Stealth is one of the
chain, Smart Weapons final Modern advances,
provides you with only and it is purely military
one benefit—the ability in nature. For warrior-
to launch precision types, Stealth Bombers
strike missions with your Stealth Fighters and Stealth Fighters
and Bombers. Obviously, this is only can be integral to your
advantageous to you if you’re waging war strategy. However, if you’re going for a
on your opponents and if you’re using nonconfrontational victory, either leave
Stealth Fighters to do so. If both are true, this advance until dead last or, better still,
Smart Weapons is a must-have advance. divert your science-dedicated commerce
It is also important if you need to reach into luxuries and taxes to enhance the
Integrated Defense and stave off nuclear productivity of your empire and give you
attacks. Otherwise, put it off in favor of some extra cash to buy the spaceship
just about any other advance. pieces and/or defensive units you need
to make it to the end of the game.
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Superconductor
This advance is where TIP
Fission and Space Flight Always research Rocketry before you
research Synthetic Fibers. The Aluminum
meet. Superconductor
you need to build the spaceship parts
provides you with two and Modern Armor allowed by Synthetic
more spaceship modules, Fibers is unavailable until after you
so it’s a vital technology discover Rocketry.
for achieving the Space
Victory. Don’t ignore this advance if you
are pursuing a military strategy, though. Future Technology
It’s one of the prerequisites for Integrated
Just because you’ve
Defense—an advance you’ll need if you’ve
researched every
ticked off your opponents enough that
advance listed on the
they’re using nuclear weapons against you.
research tree, that
doesn’t mean that
Synthetic Fibers scientific advancement
Like Rocketry, the grinds to a halt! After
primary benefits of all of the named advances are discovered,
Synthetic Fibers you can continue your research with an
research are spaceship- endless string of Future Technologies.
related. This advance Future Technologies don’t benefit you in
allows you to start any way except that each one adds to your
building three of the Civilization Score.
10 parts you need for your vessel (assuming If you’re not playing the game for score,
the required strategic resources are you can finally divert your commerce from
available). As a bonus, Synthetic Fibers science to taxes. This is just what you
lets you build the ultimate ground attack need to help you buy units to finish off
unit—Modern Armor. If war is your chosen your enemies or hurry the production of
path to victory, this unit should seal your spaceship components so that you can be
opponents’ fate. the first to reach Alpha Centauri.
112
RESEARCH STRATEGIES Peace and Culture

Choosing research advances throughout the Research Paths
game is a dynamic process. Although you There are basically two ways to play
can follow certain guidelines based on your Civilization III—peaceful coexistence and
ultimate goal, many of the choices you all-out military conflict. The peaceful
make are based on what you need most method is, arguably, the more difficult
when the choice must be made. path because it requires you to keep your
Because research is broken down into opponents happy at all times. This isn’t
four ages in Civ III, your lines of research easy and, if you fail, the science-oriented
tend to be compartmentalized as well. That research track you are pursuing can leave
means that long-term research goals never you without enough units to mount
extend beyond the end of the current age. an effective counterattack when war
In the rest of this chapter, we’ll take a breaks out.
look at the recommended research paths The research paths for peaceful play
for both peaceful and warlike strategies in emphasize resource production (with an
every age. emphasis on science and Culture) and
overall empire growth, while providing for
NOTE empire defense through the use of strong
The research paths described in this defensive units. This research pattern is
chapter are the recommended course mostly geared toward the Space Victory, but
of action under optimal conditions. works equally well for Diplomatic, Cultural,
Game conditions and the immediate and Histographic Victories.
needs of your empire often take
precedence over your ultimate research
goals. Don’t hesitate to deviate from NOTE
the recommended research track As discussed in chapter II, you should
if you need a unit or improvement choose the civilization you control based
that is made possible by some other on the type of victory you’re trying to
available advance. achieve. For the peaceful victory research
path, we’ll look at things from the
Egyptian point of view. The Egyptians
start the game with two advances:
Ceremonial Burial and Masonry.
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Ancient Times Middle Ages

The primary goal in Ancient Times is a As is always true on the peaceful track,
better form of government. Of the two the first goal is to improve your defensive
available in this era, The Republic is the units. Afterward, Democracy is the goal
better choice. No matter what deviations in the Middle Ages, though there’s a lot
you have to make, keep this goal in more crossover for useful defense-oriented
sight at all times. The suggested research military advances in this era.
sequence is as follows:
1. Feudalism
1. Bronze Working 2. Monotheism
2. Alphabet 3. Chivalry
3. Writing 4. Theology
4. Literature 5. Engineering
5. Mysticism 6. Invention
6. Pottery 7. Gunpowder
7. Code of Laws 8. Education
8. Philosophy 9. Astronomy
9. The Republic 10. Music Theory
10. Iron Working 11. Printing Press
11. Mathematics 12. Democracy
12. Construction 13. Free Artistry
13. Currency 14. Banking
14. The Wheel 15. Economics
15. Warrior Code 16. Chemistry
16. Horseback Riding 17. Navigation
17. Polytheism 18. Physics
18. Monarchy 19. Theory of Gravity
19. Map Making 20. Metallurgy
21. Magnetism
22. Military Tradition (Optional)
114
Industrial Ages Modern Times

The Industrial Ages starts off with a quest In Modern Times, it’s all about building
for defense and city growth. From there, your spaceship. Although it can be helpful
it’s mostly scientific advances, leaving most to get Research Labs early, it’s a bit of a
of the military advances for last. hassle to get to Robotics quickly enough to
make it matter much. So, concentrate on
1. Nationalism the advances that let you start building
2. Medicine your spaceship as quickly as possible.
3. Sanitation
TIP
4. Steam Power To increase your chances of winning a
5. Electricity Cultural Victory, you might want to move
Miniaturization and Genetics higher on
6. Scientific Method the list so that you can get Cure for
7. Replaceable Parts Cancer and Longevity earlier in the game.
8. Industrialization
1. Computers
9. Atomic Theory
2. Ecology
10. Electronics
3. Recycling
11. The Corporation
4. Rocketry
12. Refining
5. Space Flight
13. Steel
6. Synthetic Fibers
14. Combustion 7. Fission
15. Flight 8. Superconductor
16. Mass Production 9. Satellites
17. Motorized Transportation 10. Nuclear Power
18. Radio 11. The Laser
19. Advanced Flight (Optional) 12. Miniaturization
20. Espionage (Optional) 13. Genetics
21. Communism 14. Robotics
22. Amphibious War (Optional) 15. Stealth
16. Smart Weapons
17. Integrated Defense
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Warmonger Research Paths 1. Bronze Working

When you’re trying to win by force, the
best defense is a strong offense. If you’re 2. Iron Working
going for a Conquest or Domination Victory, 3. Masonry
you need to strike early and often while 4. Alphabet
remaining ahead of your opponents’ science
5. Mathematics
curve to ensure that your units are better
than theirs. 6. Construction
7. The Wheel
NOTE 8. Horseback Riding
For the exploration of the Conquest/ 9. Mysticism
Domination research paths, we’ll look
at things from the Japanese perspective. 10. Polytheism
The Japanese start the game with 11. Monarchy
Warrior Code and Ceremonial Burial.
12. Writing
13. Literature
Ancient Times 14. Pottery
The first priority in the game is defense—
never take an aggressive stance until 15. Map Making
you can defend yourself from retaliatory 16. Code of Laws
strikes. From there, your priorities are split 17. Currency
between fast exploration, strong offensive
18. Philosophy
units, and a better form of government.
(Monarchy is the best choice for a warlike 19. The Republic (Optional)
civilization in Ancient Times.)
Middle Ages
TIP In the Middle Ages, military might becomes
If you think you can handle the war truly formidable. Start with a good defense
weariness problem, make a run for The (as always), then proceed along the
Republic instead of Monarchy. While offensive route. Because your empire is
governing under a Republic makes
growing rapidly, you must occasionally
war more difficult, it makes research
and expansion a lot easier. step away from the warpath to research the
advances that provide you with happiness-
inducing improvements and Wonders.
116
1. Feudalism TIP
2. Monotheism If you like to use subversive tactics
rather than overt warfare, move
3. Chivalry Espionage higher on the list. The
4. Engineering earlier you research this advance,
the earlier you can begin your covert
5. Invention
actions against the enemy.
6. Gunpowder
7. Theology
1. Nationalism
8. Education
2. Communism
9. Astronomy
3. Medicine
10. Chemistry 4. Sanitation
11. Metallurgy 5. Steam Power
12. Military Tradition 6. Industrialization
13. Physics 7. The Corporation
14. Magnetism 8. Refining
15. Theory of Gravity 9. Steel
16. Navigation 10. Combustion
17. Banking 11. Electricity
18. Music Theory 12. Replaceable Parts
19. Economics 13. Flight
20. Printing Press (Optional) 14. Mass Production
21. Democracy (Optional) 15. Scientific Method
22. Free Artistry (Optional) 16. Atomic Theory
17. Electronics
Industrial Ages 18. Motorized Transportation
In the Industrial Ages, you must first discover 19. Amphibious Warfare
Communism. After this short quest, it’s an 20. Radio
all-out run for increased growth, shield
21. Advanced Flight
production, and the powerful military units
at the end of the era. 22. Espionage (Optional)
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Modern Times
1. Computers
This is where the peaceful and aggressive
strategies are most divergent. When 2. Rocketry
conquest is your goal, you aren’t looking 3. Ecology
for spaceship parts—you’re looking for
4. Recycling
state-of-the-art weaponry! Now is the time
to crush whatever enemies you have left. 5. Synthetic Fibers
6. Stealth
7. Fission
8. Space Flight
9. Satellites
10. Nuclear Power
11. The Laser
12. Smart Weapons
13. Miniaturization
14. Robotics
15. Superconductor
16. Integrated Defense
17. Genetics
118
VII
CITY IMPROVEMENTS AND
WONDERS OF THE WORLD
D eveloping your cities is an ongoing
process, and the decisions you make
affect not only the population of each
need most in the current situation. You
cannot properly make this decision until
you understand the benefits provided by
individual city, but the state of your each. That’s what this chapter is all about.
empire as well. This has been true in every
Civilization® game but, with the introduction
of Culture Points and the new trade system
CITY IMPROVEMENTS
(both of which are discussed in chapter V), Every city improvement, big or small,
every improvement and Wonder has a adds to the infrastructure of your cities.
huge potential impact on the growth and In the Civilization III game, with the
prosperity of your civilization. addition of Culture and the new system of
Every improvement and Wonder contributes trade, the improvements provide an even
to some aspect of your ongoing efforts— more diverse array of benefits, both to the
more shields, more Gold, happier citizens, city where they’re constructed and your
or enhanced military might. Every time empire at large.
you’re given the choice of what to build Table 7-1 lists all of the city improvements
next, you must decide what benefits you and their vital statistics. The statistics
listed for each are:
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• Cost: The number of shields it costs to • Prerequisites: The advance that you
build the improvement. must discover, the improvement you must
• Maintenance: The amount of Gold build, and/or the strategic resource to
subtracted from your treasury each turn which you must have access before you
to maintain the improvement. can build the improvement.
• Culture: The number of Culture Points • Effects: The function served by the
generated by the improvement per turn. improvement.
TABLE 7-1. IMPROVEMENT STATISTICS

IMPROVEMENT COST MAINTENANCE CULTURE PREREQUISITES EFFECTS
Airport 160 2 — Flight City produces veteran air units; trade link to
other cities with Airports; allows airlifts.
Aqueduct 100 1 — Construction City can grow beyond population 6.
Bank 120 2 — Banking; City tax revenue increases by 50%
Marketplace (cumulative with Marketplace).
Barracks 40 1 — — City produces veteran ground units.
Cathedral 140 2 3 Monotheism Makes 3 unhappy citizens in the city content.
Coal Plant 160 3 — Industrialization; Factory output increases by 50%
Factory; Coal
Coastal Fortress 60 2 — Metallurgy; City has a naval bombardment defense of
Iron; Saltpeter 8 and 50% defensive bonus vs. naval attacks;
automatically bombards passing enemy ships.
Colosseum 120 2 2 Construction Makes 2 unhappy citizens in the city content.
Courthouse 80 1 — Code of Laws Corruption in the city decreases and the
effects of propaganda lessen.
Factory 200 3 — Industrialization; City’s shield production increases by 50%
Iron
Granary 60 1 — Pottery Only half the city’s food is depleted when
the population grows.
Harbor 80 1 — Map Making City produces veteran naval units; coastal,
sea, and ocean squares produce +1 food;
trade link to other cities with Harbors.
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C HAPTER VII: CITY IMPROVEMENTS AND WONDERS OF THE WORLD
TABLE 7-1. IMPROVEMENT STATISTICS, CONTINUED

Hospital 120 2 — Sanitation City can grow beyond size 12.

Hydro Plant 240 3 — Electronics; Factory output increases by 50%
Factory; river in
city radius
Library 80 1 3 Literature City’s science output increases by 50%
Manufacturing 320 3 — Robotics; Factory City’s shield production increases by 50%
Plant (cumulative with Factory).
Marketplace 80 1 — Currency City’s tax revenue increases by 50%;
the number of happy faces produced by
luxuries increases.
Mass Transit 160 2 — Ecology; Rubber Pollution caused by city’s population
System is reduced.
Nuclear Plant 160 3 — Nuclear Power; Factory output increases by 50%
Factory; Uranium;
water inside the
city radius
Offshore 160 3 — Miniaturization All Coast, Sea, and Ocean squares in the
Platform city radius produce 1 shield.
Palace 100 — 1 Masonry Corruption and waste in the capital
is eliminated and both decrease in
nearby cities.
Police Station 80 2 — Communism The effects of war weariness in the city
are lessened.
Recycling Center 200 2 — Recycling Pollution caused by the city’s improvements
decreases.
Research Lab 160 2 2 Computers; City’s science output increases by 50%
University (cumulative with Library and University).
SAM Missile 80 2 — Rocketry; Enemy air units attacking the city are
Battery Aluminum fired on.
Solar Plant 320 3 — Ecology; Factory Factory increases output by 50%
SS Cockpit 160 0 — Space Flight; Necessary component for the Alpha Centauri
Aluminum Spaceship.
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TABLE 7-1. IMPROVEMENT STATISTICS, CONTINUED

SS Docking Bay 160 0 — Space Flight; Necessary component for the Alpha Centauri
Aluminum Spaceship.
SS Engine 320 0 — Space Flight; Necessary component for the Alpha Centauri
Aluminum Spaceship.
SS Exterior 320 0 — Synthetic Fibers; Necessary component for the Alpha Centauri
Casing Aluminum; Spaceship.
Rubber
SS Fuel Cells 160 0 — Superconductor; Necessary component for the Alpha Centauri
Uranium Spaceship.
SS Life Support 320 0 — Superconductor; Necessary component for the Alpha Centauri
System Aluminum Spaceship.
SS Planetary 160 0 — The Laser; Necessary component for the Alpha Centauri
Party Lounge Aluminum Spaceship.
SS Stasis 320 0 — Synthetic Fibers; Necessary component for the Alpha Centauri
Chamber Aluminum Spaceship.
SS Storage/Supply160 0 — Synthetic Fibers; Necessary component for the Alpha Centauri
Aluminum Spaceship.
SS Thrusters 160 0 — Satellites; Necessary component for the Alpha Centauri
Aluminum Spaceship.
Temple 40 1 2 Ceremonial Burial One unhappy citizen in the city becomes
content.
University 160 2 4 Education; City’s science output increases by 50%
Library (cumulative with Library).
Walls 20 0 — Masonry City has a land bombardment defense of 8;
garrisoned units in the city receive a
50% defensive bonus.
Wealth 0 0 — — The city’s shields convert into Gold at a ratio
of 8:1 (4:1 after the discovery of Economics).
122
In practice, most large cities build every Aqueduct

available improvement by the end of the
Veteran players
game. To be an effective leader, you need
will remember that
to know when to build improvements so
Aqueducts used to
that your empire reaps the maximum
be “must have”
benefit from each—without going broke
improvements in every
in the process. The descriptions in the
city—without this
following sections analyze the pros and
improvement, a city
cons of each improvement.
couldn’t grow beyond a certain point. This
is still true to some extent, although
Airport any city with fresh water inside its radius
The new trade system (rivers or inland seas) doesn’t require
in Civilization III has Aqueducts to grow.
greatly increased the
importance of Airports. TIP
As important as the Wait until your city reaches size 4 or 5
air combat and airlift before you construct this improvement.
by this improvement is Don’t waste precious Gold maintaining
the trade link it provides. Any city in your the Aqueduct before you need it.
empire with an Airport trades strategic
resources with all of your other Airport-
equipped cities. If vast distances separate Bank
your cities, Airports are the most reliable When the cost of
way to provide your distant cities with vital maintaining your
resources they might not otherwise have improvements and
access to. Make sure that any city that supporting your units
has access to a vital strategic resource is becomes too great,
equipped with this improvement. your Marketplaces can’t
keep up with the tax
burden. Banks ease your monetary woes
without the need to create tax collectors.
If you build Banks in at least five of your
cities, you can construct the Wall Street
Small Wonder, which does even more
to increase your cash reserves. While
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happiness-inducing improvements must Cathedral

usually take precedence, don’t wait too
The importance of
long before you start saving for the future.
Cathedrals can’t be
overstated—the
Barracks higher the game
The benefits of building difficulty level, the
Barracks early the game more important they
are obvious, especially if are. Cathedrals are
you’re out to eliminate one of the best ways to keep your people
your neighbors. The happy, plus they provide a significant
veteran ground units Culture boost.
produced by Barracks
also benefit you throughout the game. TIP
Don’t build too many Barracks too early, If you build the Sistine Chapel Wonder,
though, or you risk depleting your treasury you can save on maintenance costs by
with too many maintenance fees. not building Cathedrals in the cities
When you have five cities with Barracks, on the same continent as the Wonder.
you can build the Military Academy Small However, if you can afford it, building
Wonder—an important addition to any multiple Cathedrals in addition to the
conquer-the-world strategy. Wonder provides more Culture Points.
NOTE Coal Plant

Civ ® II veterans will be happy to know
that Barracks no longer expire as your The Coal Plant is the
technology advances. One Barracks now equivalent of the Power
lasts the entire game. Plant in Civilization II.
This is the first power
plant you can build,
and the shield boost
it provides is very
tempting. But, before you start building
Coal Plants in all of your cities, consider
the pollution consequences. Unless you
desperately need the extra shields, wait
124
until you discover Electronics and can build Colosseum

Hydro Plants instead (in the cities where
Colosseums are always
you can do so). If you do build Coal Plants,
useful in keeping
replace them with cleaner power plants as
your population
they become available.
content but, like all
other “happiness”
NOTE improvements
Only one type of power plant can and Wonders, their
operate in each city. Building a power importance increases with game difficulty.
plant in a city that already has one This improvement offers an excellent
eliminates the effects of previous
interim solution to unhappiness problems
power plant.
caused by rapid city and empire growth
during Ancient Times—the perfect stopgap
measure when Temples aren’t enough
Coastal Fortress and Cathedrals aren’t yet available. As an
Coastal Fortresses are added bonus, they increase your Culture
Walls to protect coastal Points as well.
cities from naval
attacks—only better,
because they don’t go NOTE
away when the city Colosseums no longer increase in
effectiveness after the discovery of
grows beyond Town size.
Electronics. Their benefit remains
Build this improvement based on the static throughout the game.
amount of ship traffic in the vicinity. If
lots of enemy ships are about, play it safe
and build a Coastal Fortress in every coastal
town in the high-traffic areas. Otherwise,
Courthouse
save the maintenance expenses. If you like to spread
your empire far and
wide early in the game,
integrate Courthouses
into your strategy. They
stem the loss of shields
and Gold to waste and
corruption, and every little bit helps.
primagames.com 125
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Without them, cities far from your capital Granary

suffer from sluggish production and
To build a Granary or
contribute little in the way of commerce.
not is hotly debated
among Civ veterans
NOTE discussing early-game
Courthouses no longer make one citizen strategies. The rapid city
happy under a Democracy. growth provided by this
improvement is a great
boon to production and empire growth.
TIP Unfortunately, in a fertile environment
You can slow the rate of corruption and your growth can easily outpace your
waste with improvements and Wonders, ability to keep your population happy.
but the long-term solution to these This is especially true on the higher
problems is your system of government. difficulty levels.
The more advanced your government
When playing at King level or higher,
is, the less trouble you’ll have with
corruption and waste. delay building Granaries until after you
discover Ceremonial Burial, which allows
you to counteract unhappiness by building
Factory Temples. Regardless of difficulty level, don’t
rush to build Granaries in cities that are
Factories are both
already growing steadily.
a blessing and a
curse. The cost of
improvements, Wonders, TIP
and units increases as Remember, building The Pyramids gives
time goes on, and by you the Granary benefit in all of your
cities on the same continent as the
the beginning of the
Wonder. If you can’t deal with the
Industrial Ages you can use a good shield potential unhappiness problems, delay
boost. Unfortunately, this comes at the building The Pyramids.
expense of pollution risks.
Always build a Factory in any city whose
shield production is substandard. In other
cities, balance your desire for fast production
with your ability to deal with pollution.
Remember: no pollution-cutting improvements
are available this early in the game.
126
Harbor Hospital
Harbors are cheap At first glance, this seems
to build and cheap to to be a new improvement.
maintain—which is However, savvy veteran
awesome, considering players will recognize its
their benefits and effects as being the same
strategic importance. as those of the Sewer
Harbors increase the System in Civilization II.
food benefits you get from the neighboring This is truly a “must have” improvement.
Coast, Sea, and Ocean terrain, and allow Without a Hospital, a city can’t grow beyond
the city to produce veteran sea units. In size 12. As with Aqueducts, there’s no need
addition, Harbors now connect you to to build a Hospital right away. Wait until a
the all-important trade network. Your city reaches size 10 or so before you start
Harbor-equipped cities can trade strategic building this improvement. However, if
resources back and forth, giving your you’re embroiled in a war and have lots of
distant cities access to vital resources units in enemy territory (or expect to in
that might otherwise be unavailable the near future), add a Hospital to at least
to them. Equip all of your coastal cities five of your cities so that you can construct
with Harbors. the Battlefield Medicine Small Wonder,
which allows your troops to heal while
TIP outside your empire’s borders.
Harbors are less effective than Airports
for distant trade routes. Trade between Hydro Plant
two Harbor cities requires a clear water
The Hydro Plant is
route between them, with no intervening
unexplored squares or enemy units the second of the two
blocking the invisible path. Because of Industrial Age power
this, naval blockades can be created to plants. It’s worth
choke overseas trade to a city. All the waiting for in most
enemy has to do is occupy every Coast, cases, and much
Sea, or Ocean square that touches the preferable to Coal Plants,
city square itself. Use this trick to cut since Hydro Plants produce no pollution.
off your enemies’ internal overseas
The catch is that Hydro Plants can only be
trade routes—and be careful lest they
do the same to you. built in cities that have a river within their
radius. For these cities, the choice of power
plants is a no-brainer.
primagames.com 127
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this improvement comes with the same

NOTE caveat as does the Factory—be prepared
Hydro, Nuclear, and Solar Plants in to deal with the pollution consequences.
Civ III no longer provide the pollution- Cities with both a Factory and a
reduction bonuses they provided in Manufacturing Plant should never be
Civ II. They merely don’t add to the saddled with a “dirty” Coal Plant. If you
pollution problem like a Coal Plant does.
need additional shields, choose a Hydro,
Nuclear, or Solar Plant instead.
Library
One of the surest paths
Marketplace
to defeat is to fall The Marketplace is
behind your opponents often ignored until the
in the technology race. treasury starts running
The faster you research low. That’s a mistake,
advances, the sooner especially considering
you gain a technological its new happiness
advantage. That translates into a military effects. The Marketplace
advantage in the form of better units. now stems unhappiness in the city where
The Library is the first of three it’s built based on the number of luxuries
improvements that boost a city’s science the city produces (see Table 7-2).
output. Unless you have other problems
(unhappiness, for instance) build a Library TABLE 7-2.
in every city after you discover Literature. MARKETPLACE HAPPINESS EFFECTS
The additional Culture Points you receive LUXURIES NUMBER OF
are an added bonus. PRODUCED BY CITY HAPPY FACES PRODUCED
1st and 2nd 1
3rd and 4th 2
Manufacturing Plant 5th and 6th 3
Before a city can build 7th and 8th 4
this improvement, it
must already have The new Marketplace keeps your people
a Factory. The two happy and increases tax revenue. For
improvements work happiness purposes, this improvement
together to double the obviously works best in cities with lots
city’s shield output. of luxuries.
Increased shield output can be useful, but
128
Mass Transit System reason. However, the chance of a meltdown

is sufficiently slim (especially if you have
Cities can pollute merely
a stable government and don’t change
because they have a
governments often), making Nuclear Plants
high population. That’s
worth the risk.
where Mass Transit
comes in. Late in the
game, this improvement NOTE
becomes a vital tool in Veteran players should note that Nuclear
the prevention of global warming. When Plants in Civ III can only be built in cities
you discover Ecology, make sure all of your that have at least one water square
(Coast, Sea, Ocean, River) inside the
cities have access to Rubber, and start
city radius.
building Mass Transit Systems in each city
to ease your pollution woes.
Offshore Platform
NOTE The usefulness of
The Mass Transit System no longer an Offshore Platform
prevents all population-produced
depends on the number
pollution in a city as it did in
Civ II—but it’s still a very important
of Coast/Sea/Ocean
and effective improvement. squares within the
city radius and the
number of those
Nuclear Plant squares currently in use. In cities where
few of these terrain squares are available or
Nuclear Plants are more
where the population is so small that few
cost-effective than
of them are being worked, the construction
Hydro Plants and have
and upkeep costs can outweigh the
the same benefit of
improvement’s benefits. Offshore Platforms
producing no pollution.
can be put off indefinitely in favor of more
The drawback to
beneficial improvements.
this shield-boosting
improvement is the possibility of a
meltdown— a catastrophic pollution-
propagating event that can occur when
your government falls into Anarchy for any
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Palace Recycling Center

The Palace is the only A Recycling Center
improvement you works hand-in-hand
receive automatically— with a Mass Transit
it is built in your first System to greatly
city, thereby designating reduce a city’s pollution
that as your capital. output. In cities where
You can only have one the pollution risk
Palace. If you build it in another city, it is is extremely high, don’t put off this
eliminated from its current location when improvement or you risk global warming.
the new one is built.
In Civilization III, the zero corruption Research Lab
and zero waste benefits provided by the
The Research Lab is
Palace can be duplicated in another
the third jewel in the
city by building the Forbidden Palace
science improvement
Small Wonder.
triple crown. When
added to an existing
Police Station Library and University,
Although its method the city’s science output
of operation has is increased by a whopping 150 percent!
changed since Civ II, It also increases the city’s Culture Points.
the function of the There’s no excuse to not build a Research
Police Station remains Lab in every city—especially if you plan
unchanged. This is an to compete in the space race or achieve
invaluable improvement a Cultural Victory.
late in the game, especially if you’re
pursuing a violent strategy under a TIP
Republic or a Democracy. The more To further enhance your science output,
Police Stations you have, the less impact consider building science-inducing
extended military campaigns have on Wonders such as Copernicus’s
your population—that is, war weariness Observatory and the SETI Program.
is greatly reduced.
130
SAM Missile Battery Build Solar Plants only if you’re a

habitual government switcher or if you
If you’re up against an
anticipate the frequent fall of your
opponent who likes to
government due to civil unrest. They are
attack from the air,
also fine alternatives to Nuclear Plants in
build SAM missile
cities without access to water.
batteries in all of your
cities within bombing
range of that enemy’s Spaceship (SS) Components
border. Essentially, this improvement
provides the same benefits against air units
that the Coastal Fortress provides against
naval units. Build them in any city that’s
in danger of air attack.
Civilization III boasts 10 different spaceship

TIP
components (as opposed to five in the
There’s no SDI Defense improvement
previous games), but the principle is the
in Civ III, and the SAM Missile Battery
provides no defense against nuclear same—to achieve the Alpha Centauri
attack. To protect yourself from nukes, victory, you must build some of each in
build SAMs in at least five of your cities, specified numbers and combinations. If
and then build the Strategic Missile you’re going for some other form of victory,
Defense Small Wonder. you don’t need them at all. So, it’s not a
matter of which component is more or
less important—it’s just a matter of how
Solar Plant quickly you can build them.
Solar Plants in The function of each component and
Civilization III function the number and combinations needed to
identically to Nuclear construct a viable spaceship are detailed
Plants except for one in chapter IX.
significant advantage:
no meltdowns. For the NOTE
higher construction Familiarize yourself with the
and upkeep costs, you get a clean power prerequisites for building spaceship
plant that is perfectly safe even if your components. It’s not just a matter
government goes up in smoke. of having the right technology—
strategic resources are involved, too.
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Temple Walls
This is the earliest Several things about
happiness improvement Walls (formerly City
in the game and should, Walls) have changed.
arguably, be the first While they’re still
improvement you build well worth having—
in every city. This is especially considering
especially true on their zero maintenance
the higher difficulty levels, where the cost—don’t expect the same performance
restless population requires as much early out of them. They now provide only a
appeasement as possible. Having Temples 50 percent defensive bonus (as opposed to
in place early allows your cities to grow 300 percent in Civ II), though this is offset
more smoothly. somewhat by the bombardment bonus
they provide.
NOTE Walls are the only improvements that
Temples no longer increase in
expire. When your city grows beyond Town
effectiveness after the discovery status (a population of 6), the beneficial
of Mysticism. Their benefit remains effects of Walls are lost.
static throughout the game.
NOTE
Despite the bombardment defense
University they provide, Walls can be destroyed
The second of the three by bombardments.
big science improvements,
the University combines
with an existing Library Wealth
to double a city’s Civ II veterans
science output. At will remember this
the stage in the game improvement as
when this improvement becomes available, Capitalization. The
advances are starting to get expensive—it principle is the same, but
costs more science to discover them. Given there are a couple of
this, every city should have a University. changes, one of which is
the exchange rate: 8 shields = 1 Gold before
Economics; 4 shields = 1 Gold thereafter.
132
Despite being less profitable, Wealth is

more useful because it’s available from the NOTE
beginning of the game. This is the perfect Although many of the Wonders in
thing to “build” when no improvements Civilization III have the same names as
or Wonders are available and you don’t their Civ II predecessors, many of their
need any more units. It’s also a great effects have been significantly altered.
Even if you’re a veteran player, take
way to raise Gold when you need to hurry
the time to read through this section.
production or build up a support stockpile Some of your old strategies won’t
for an upcoming military action. work anymore.
SMALL WONDERS Table 7-3 lists all of the Wonders of

AND WONDERS OF the World and their vital statistics. The
statistics listed for each are:
THE WORLD • Cost: The number of shields it costs to
You build Wonders just as you would city build the Wonder.
improvements. They’re a lot more expensive
• Culture: The number of Culture Points
than improvements, but their effects are
generated by the Wonder per turn.
more far-reaching and dramatic. Many
Wonders produce the same effects as city • Prerequisite: The advance, improvement,
improvements. The difference is that and/or strategic resource you must
Wonder effects often benefit many (if not possess or the condition that must be
all) of your cities. Wonders of the World met before you can build the Wonder.
are exclusive—as soon as a Wonder is • Obsolete: The advance that cancels the
built, it becomes unavailable to all other effects of the Wonder.
civilizations.
• Effects: The function served by the
Civilization III introduces the concept
Wonder.
of Small Wonders—minor achievements
and structures whose effects are less
pronounced or widespread than normal
Wonders of the World. Unlike Wonders of
the World, Small Wonders can be built by
every civilization in the game.
primagames.com 133
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TABLE 7-3. WONDER STATISTICS

WONDER COST CULTURE PREREQUISITE OBSOLETE EFFECTS
* Apollo Program 400 3 Space Flight; — Enables you to begin construction of your
Aluminum Alpha Centauri Spaceship.
* Battlefield Medicine 380 1 5 Hospitals — Allows your units to heal in enemy territory.
The Colossus 220 3 Bronze Flight Generates one extra unit of commerce in any
Working square already producing commerce in the
city where it’s built.
Copernicus’s 420 4 Astronomy — Doubles scientific research in the city where
Observatory it’s built.
Cure for Cancer 800 5 Genetics — Makes one unhappy citizen content in all of
your cities.
* Forbidden Palace 220 3 8 Cities — Provides the benefits of a Palace in the city
where it’s built.
The Great Library 300 5 Literature Education Automatically gives you any advance that
has been discovered by at least two other
civilizations.
The Great Lighthouse 200 2 Map Making Magnetism Allows Galleys to move safely in and out of
sea squares; increases the movement of all
naval units by one.
The Great Wall 240 2 Construction Metallurgy Doubles the effects of Walls in your cities
that have them; doubles unit attack
strength versus Barbarians.
The Hanging Gardens 260 4 Monarchy Steam Power Makes 3 unhappy citizens content in the
city where it’s built and 1 unhappy citizen
content in all of your other cities.
* Heroic Epic 240 4 Army victory — Increases the appearance of Leaders from
victorious combat.
Hoover Dam 540 3 Electronics — Acts as a Hydro Plant in all of your cities on
the same continent.
* Intelligence Agency 300 1 Espionage — Enables you to undertake espionage
missions.
* Iron Works 200 2 Coal and Iron — Increases production by 100% in the city
in city radius where it’s built.
134
TABLE 7-3. WONDER STATISTICS, CONTINUED

JS Bach’s Cathedral 460 5 Music Theory — Decreases the number of unhappy citizens
by 2 in every city on the same continent.
Leonardo’s Workshop 520 2 Invention — Allows you to upgrade obsolete units at half
the normal cost.
Longevity 700 3 Genetics — Population in all cities increase by 2
(instead of 1) when the food storage box
is filled.
Magellan’s Voyage 410 3 Navigation — Movement rate of all naval units is increased
by 1.
The Manhattan 580 2 Fission; — Allows the construction of nuclear weapons
Project Uranium by all civilizations.
* Military Academy 150 1 Military — Allows the construction of Armies without
Tradition; Leaders in the city where it’s built.
5 Barracks
Newton’s University 500 5 Theory of — Doubles scientific research in the city
Gravity where it’s built.
The Oracle 260 4 Mysticism Theology Doubles the effects of all Temples in
your empire.
* The Pentagon 180 1 3 Armies in — Increases the unit capacity of your Armies
the field from 3 to 4.
The Pyramids 400 4 Masonry — Acts as a Granary in all of your cities on the
same continent.
SETI Program 700 3 Computers — Doubles scientific research in the city where
it’s built.
Shakespeare’s Theater 440 5 Free Artistry — Makes 8 unhappy citizens content in the
city where it’s built.
Sistine Chapel 540 4 Theology — Doubles the effect of all Cathedrals in
your cities.
Smith’s Trading 400 3 Economics — Pays maintenance costs for all Marketplaces,
Company Banks, Harbors, and Airports.
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TABLE 7-3. WONDER STATISTICS, CONTINUED

* Strategic Missile 320 1 Integrated — Has a 75% chance of intercepting

Defense Defense; 5 SAM enemy ICBMs.
Missile Batteries
Sun Tzu’s Art of War 340 2 Feudalism — Provides all of the Barracks benefits to
each of your cities on the continent where
it is built.
Theory of Evolution 550 3 Scientific — Automatically grants 2 advances
Method when completed.
The United Nations 600 4 Radio — Allows the possibility of achieving a
Diplomatic Victory.
Universal Suffrage 580 4 Industrialization — Reduces war weariness in all of your cities.
* Denotes Small Wonders
Apollo Program
TIP
Remember—Small Wonders are not
(Small Wonder)
exclusive like their grander counterparts. The Apollo Program is
They can be built by every civilization in pivotal in that building
the game. When you have to make a it is the only way that
choice between a Small Wonder and you can achieve the
a Wonder of the World, build the Wonder Space Victory. You must
of the World first so you can beat your
have access to Aluminum
opponents to the punch. You can always
come back to the Small Wonders later.
to build this Wonder.
With its “demotion” to a Small Wonder,
the tried-and-true Civilization tactic of
waiting for an opponent to foot the cost
of construction and reaping the benefits
of their hard work is no longer a valid
strategy. To join the space race, you must
build the Apollo Program yourself.
136
If you plan to win via the space race, The Colossus

build this Wonder as soon as it becomes
The Colossus provides
available so that you can beat your opponents
an excellent early-game
to the punch. Otherwise, ignore it until you
commerce and Culture
have production resources to spare.
boost. It’s inexpensive
as far as Wonders go,
NOTE and its benefits can be
Veteran players should note that significant if you build
building the Apollo Program no longer it in the right city. Build this Wonder in
reveals the entire world map. a city that produces a lot of commerce.
Battlefield Medicine NOTE

You can build The Colossus only
(Small Wonder) in cities that border Sea squares.
This new Wonder is a (Inland seas don’t count.) This is
vital component of any also true of The Great Lighthouse
militaristic strategy. The and Magellan’s Voyage.
ability for units to heal
themselves outside of
your sphere of influence Copernicus’s Observatory
allows you to press an Always take advantage
advance far into enemy territory without of increases in
having to backtrack with your wounded science. Copernicus’s
units. To build Battlefield Medicine, at least Observatory’s effects
five of your cities must have Hospitals. are cumulative with
Even if you don’t follow a gung-ho military all science-enhancing
strategy, you can still reap the benefits of improvements (Libraries,
this Wonder in the minor skirmishes you’re Universities, and so on). In fact, the effects
bound to encounter. of this Wonder are calculated after the
effects of city improvements and scientists.
Depending on your situation, this
Wonder might have to take a back seat to
other Wonders such as JS Bach’s Cathedral.
primagames.com 137
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However, if you manage to build it, Forbidden Palace

Copernicus’s Observatory pays off handsomely
in the long run.
(Small Wonder)
As your empire expands
farther from your
TIP capital, waste and
Want to generate a killer amount of
corruption increase.
science? Build Copernicus’s Observatory
in the same city as Newton’s University.
Advanced governments
and city improvements
such as Courthouses and
Police Stations help, but these solutions
Cure for Cancer aren’t available early in the game.
By the time this Wonder The Forbidden Palace Wonder is an
becomes available, excellent way to patch the corruption and
your empire is probably waste problem if your empire grows to
governed by an advanced eight cities or more very early in the game.
form of government Build it in the city experiencing the most
such as a Republic or a corruption and waste to maximize the
Democracy. Under these Wonder’s effects.
systems the happiness of your citizens can
be difficult to maintain.
This late-game Wonder acts as a The Great Library
permanent Entertainer in every one of The Great Library is
your cities. If your luxuries are scarce or easily the most important
you’re embroiled in a drawn-out conflict, Wonder of Ancient
Cure for Cancer is indispensable. It’s one of Times—especially if you
the top-priority Wonders of Modern Times. find yourself way behind
your opponents in
research. Point your
research toward Literature just so you can
build The Great Library. Pick your most
productive city and pull out all the stops
to make sure that you, not one of your
opponents, build this vital Wonder.
138
The Great Wall

TIP
Of all of the ancient
Pacifist players will find The Great
Wonders, The Great Wall
Library especially useful when up
against two or more militaristic has gone through the
opponents. While you’re pursuing most changes since
a peaceful line of research, the free Civilization II. It no
advances you get courtesy of your longer has any effect on
warmongering neighbors’ militaristic rival civilizations with
research allows you to keep your regard to peace treaties, and it now doubles
defensive forces up to date. the defensive value of existing Walls rather
than acting as walls in all of your cities.
Considering these changes, the priority
The Great Lighthouse of this Wonder has been somewhat reduced.
Whether or not The Build The Great Wall before the other
Great Lighthouse is ancient Wonders only if you are embroiled
a “must have” Wonder in an early-game war and need the extra
is based on your defensive strength for your Walls.
dependency on sea
travel early in the TIP
game. If you’re stuck
Building Wonders early in the game is
on a small island and you need to expand time consuming. Wait until you have
overseas, this Wonder’s benefits are several thriving cities before you commit
obvious. However, these benefits are rather one of them to producing a Wonder.
short-lived due to the Wonder’s (usually) That way, the other cities can produce
early expiration. The Culture boost is also vital units while the Wonder-city
minimal. As ancient Wonders go, this is is occupied.
usually a low-priority one.
NOTE
The Great Lighthouse no longer
grants veteran status to all naval
units built while it is active as it
did in Civilization II.
primagames.com 139
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The Hanging Gardens Hoover Dam

The importance of The Hoover Dam is
The Hanging Gardens an important Wonder
increases with the in the Industrial Ages
game difficulty level. when increased shield
Unhappiness is rampant production usually
at the higher levels, so means copious amounts
you need all the help of pollution. The
you can get to keep your cities out of civil increase in shield production this Wonder
unrest. Even at the lower difficulty levels, provides comes without the burden of
this Wonder can ease the unhappiness that pollution, just like the Hydro Plant it
accompanies rapid empire growth. The emulates. Even if you don’t have a shield
high Culture bonus is merely icing on the shortage when this Wonder becomes
cake. Along with The Great Library and available, make its construction a priority.
The Oracle, make The Hanging Gardens It saves you the production time and
a priority in Ancient Times. maintenance cost of building individual
Coal, Hydro, Nuclear, or Solar Plants in
Heroic Epic (Small Wonder) every city.
For militaristic players,
Armies are a big boon TIP
when it comes to Build the Hoover Dam Wonder on the
wreaking havoc on continent that houses the bulk of your
cities. Unlike the Hoover Dam in
the enemy. Unless
Civilization II, this version only affects
you have a Military cities on the continent where it is built.
Academy, the only way
to create an army is with a Leader—and
Leaders are scarce.
Heroic Epic is definitely worth building,
though not at the expense of more important
ancient Wonders, such as The Great Library
or The Hanging Gardens. Chances are slim
that you’ll have the opportunity anyway,
because you must already have at least one
victorious Army before this Wonder becomes
available. Only warmongers need apply.
140
Intelligence Agency The increased production you reap gives

you a production center that can produce
(Small Wonder) anything you want. In fact, such a city,
Many Civilization with its large shield production, can make
veterans have formed it possible to beat your opponents in the
strategies that heavily race for the early Wonders of the World.
depend on spy-related
activity. Because
Diplomats and Spies
TIP
If the city where you build the Iron
don’t exist in Civ III,
Works is distant from your capital, build
the Intelligence Agency is a vital Wonder the Forbidden Palace in the same city.
for those who depend on underhanded The increased productivity of the city
trickery to accomplish your goals. is worthless if you lose most of the
Think carefully before you make the additional shields to waste.
Intelligence Agency a top priority, however.
Several very important Wonders in the
Industrial Ages (Hoover Dam, Universal JS Bach’s Cathedral
Suffrage, and Battlefield Medicine to name This already-vital
a few) have practical and Cultural benefits Wonder has gained even
with a greater impact than those of the more importance with
Intelligence Agency. the addition of the
Culture element of Civ III.
Iron Works (Small Wonder) When playing at the
The strategic resource higher difficulty levels,
model in Civilization III or governing by Republic or Democracy,
provides an excellent this Wonder’s ability to dispel unhappiness
opportunity to create is almost essential to your success. Having
a super-producing city that extra buffer of two fewer unhappy
very early in the game. people in the bulk of your cities makes
If you’re lucky growth and conducting military campaigns
enough to find a potential city site that much easier in the later stages of the game.
has both Coal and Iron within its city
radius, build a city there. Once you do,
you immediately have the opportunity to
build the Iron Works—and you should!
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®
The doubled population growth provided

TIP by Longevity can cause major headaches
Build JS Bach’s Cathedral on the if you don’t properly plan for it. Develop
continent that contains most of your improvements and Wonders to handle
cities. Unlike the Civ II version, the both pollution and unhappiness before
effects are now confined to the Longevity comes on line. Otherwise, the
continent where the Wonder is built.
rapidly growing population will have you
scrambling to quell disorder and pollution
all over your empire.
Leonardo’s Workshop
Although it is still one
of the more important
Magellan’s Voyage
Wonders of the Middle Magellan’s Voyage takes
Ages, Leonardo’s over where The Great
Workshop is not quite Lighthouse leaves off,
as powerful as it was providing your naval
in Civilization II. units with additional
Leonardo’s Workshop now halves the cost movement. Like its
of upgrading units. This Wonder no longer ancient predecessor,
expires—which means the savings last the importance of this Wonder depends
throughout the game. The Gold this Wonder on whether your strategy or map position
can save, especially when you’re following a requires extensive ocean travel. If it does,
militaristic path, is substantial. In most cases, the added advantage of the extra movement
however, other Wonders of the era, such as point can give you a tactical edge over your
JS Bach’s Cathedral, should take priority. seagoing opponents. If naval travel and
combat are low on your priority list,
Magellan’s Voyage should be as well.
Longevity
Late in the game,
fast city growth can
be a real boon to your
production efforts—
whether you’re building
up your military to wipe
out that final enemy or
trying to complete your spaceship before
your opponents do.
142
The Manhattan Project This Wonder provides the only consistent

way of producing Armies, greatly reducing
The Manhattan Project
your dependency on Leaders. Construct the
opens a deadly can of
Wonder in a central city so you can readily
worms by giving every
dispatch your Armies to any front.
civilization the potential
to produce nuclear
weapons. Unless you Newton’s University
need or desire to escalate The effects of this
a nuclear conflict, leave this Wonder to Wonder are identical to
your opponents. The Culture gain is meager, those of Copernicus’s
and the potential dangers are great. Let Observatory—except
your opponents open the door to nuclear that Newton’s University
warfare while you spend your late-game provides an extra Culture
shields on more beneficial Wonders. After Point. The same advice
all, you can build nuclear weapons too that applies to Copernicus’s Observatory
(should you need them) when someone applies to this Wonder: build it! When built
else completes this Wonder. in a city with high commerce, the research
benefits are tremendous.
Military Academy
(Small Wonder) The Oracle
Those who prefer to The Oracle is one of the
seek victory through more useful ancient
war should note this Wonders, especially on
inexpensive Small higher difficulty levels.
Wonder. If you’re Even on lower difficulty
following the prescribed levels, this Wonder eases
military research route, the unrest that often
the Military Academy becomes available results from rapid city growth. Use the
very early in the game, as soon as you Oracle-Temple combination to keep your
discover Military Tradition and have at citizens content in Ancient Times, and
least five cities with Barracks. build Cathedrals in all of your cities before
Theology cancels The Oracle’s effects.
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The Pentagon
NOTE
(Small Wonder) Like the updated versions of Hoover
The Pentagon goes Dam and JS Bach’s Cathedral, Civ III’s
hand-in-hand with Pyramids only affect cities on the
the Heroic Epic and continent where the Wonder is built.
Military Academy Small
Wonders, and the advice
is essentially the same: SETI Program
This is an essential The effects of the
Wonder if you’re seeking a Conquest updated SETI Program
Victory. Because you must have three now mimic those of
Armies in the field to construct The Copernicus’s Observatory
Pentagon, you probably are following a and Newton’s University
military strategy—so build away! Strong rather than acting as a
Armies lead to swift victories. Research Lab in all of
your cities (as it did in Civilization II). That
The Pyramids changes the inherent strategy for using
Rapid city growth early the Wonder, though the new version still
in the game can be a remains quite useful. Adding this Wonder
double-edged sword. The to a commerce-rich city can provide just
production gets your the late-game research boost you need to
empire off to a rousing jump ahead of your opponents.
start but, if you grow
too quickly, you run TIP
into unhappiness problems—especially on Want to build the ultimate research
higher difficulty levels. Therefore, the same city? Build Copernicus’s Observatory,
caveat that applies to building Granaries Newton’s University, and the SETI
early in the game applies to The Pyramids. Program in a city that has a Library,
a University, and a Research Lab.
If you like to build Granaries early,
this Wonder offers you an economical
solution to avoid the construction and
maintenance costs of building Granaries
in every city. It also gives you a nice early-
game Culture boost.
144
Shakespeare’s Theater effect of your Cathedrals where The Oracle

Wonder affected temples.
Shakespeare’s Theater
Don’t pass up this Wonder. The population
offers a dramatic effect
control potential is huge and gives you a
with extremely limited
leg up on all of the unhappiness problems
scope. It’s really more
that come with city growth as you
like a super-improvement
approach the Industrial Ages, especially
than a Wonder. Despite
on the higher difficulty levels.
the obvious local
benefits of having a city with virtually
no unhappiness, the limited scope of this Smith’s Trading Company
Wonder makes it a low priority—especially As you know, most city
when compared to other medieval Wonders improvements subtract
such as JS Bach’s Cathedral and the maintenance costs from
Sistine Chapel. your treasury every
turn. When you’re
NOTE strapped for cash due
The version of Shakespeare’s Theater in to a lack of commerce
Civ III is technically less powerful than or an extended conflict, these fees can be
the Civ II version—it only makes up to devastating in a large empire.
eight unhappy citizens in the city content If you anticipate this sort of situation—
rather than making all of them content. or if you just want a little extra cash in the
Of course, if you have more than eight coffers—build this Wonder. By eliminating
unhappy citizens in one city, you’ve got the maintenance fees of your commerce-
serious problems anyway.
related improvements (Marketplaces, Banks,
Harbors, and Airports), you could shave
a great deal of Gold every turn in a large,
Sistine Chapel well-developed empire. This Wonder
This Wonder, formerly provides a substantial Culture bonus, too.
known as Michelangelo’s Smith’s Trading Company shouldn’t take
Chapel, retains its precedence over more significant medieval
importance in the rich Wonders if you are forced to choose, but it’s
assortment of medieval definitely worth building if you have the
Wonders. Essentially, time and resources to spare.
it is the medieval
equivalent of The Oracle, doubling the
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Strategic Missile Defense Sun Tzu’s Art of War provides the

greatest benefits if you’re going for a
(Small Wonder) Conquest Victory. Even so, if this Wonder
Civilization III has done is still available after you’ve completed the
away with the SDI more compelling medieval Wonders, even
Defense improvement pacifists should build it. Defensive units
and replaced it with benefit from veteran status, too.
this Small Wonder. The
upside is that you no
longer have to build
Theory of Evolution
an improvement in every individual city Veteran players will
to protect it from nuclear attacks—one remember this Wonder
Wonder does it all! In fact, the level of as Darwin’s Voyage.
protection is higher than it was for the They’ll also remember
old SDI Defense. The downside is that that this Industrial
the protection for units surrounding the Ages Wonder is not to
city has been eliminated. be missed. Two free
As in Civ II, your enemies aren’t shy civilization advances are well worth the
about using nukes. Therefore, build this time and effort required. This is a huge,
Wonder as soon as somebody builds The important boost at the start of the
Manhattan Project. You’ll be glad you did. Industrial Ages, when the research costs
start to increase dramatically.
Sun Tzu’s Art of War
This Wonder replaces
The United Nations
Sun Tzu’s War Academy Although many Wonders
from Civ II, and its with familiar names
effects have changed have changed in function
quite a bit. Sun Tzu’s since Civ II, none has
Art of War provides all changed more drastically
of the Barracks benefits than The United Nations.
to each of your cities on the continent Once a tool to force
where the Wonder is built. This means you peace and allow the easy waging of war
have fewer Barracks to build and maintain, under a Democracy, the UN is now a whole
and every unit you produce on that conti- new beast.
nent starts off with veteran status.
146
As detailed in chapter IX, one way to While an increase in Culture Points is

win the game is by being elected leader always welcome, there’s no compelling
of The United Nations. So, guess what? reason to produce this Wonder unless you’re
The Wonder has to be built before this is conducting a prolonged war (or expect to
possible. Aside from the Culture you reap do so in the near future). The best way
from it, that’s the only reason to build to deal with war weariness is to avoid
this Wonder. warlike activities.
TIP Wall Street (Small Wonder)

You can achieve a Diplomatic Victory Wall Street is a gem of
even if another civilization builds The a Small Wonder that is
United Nations, so put off this Wonder
available relatively early
in favor of more pressing needs.
in the game. It becomes
available once you have
at least five cities
Universal Suffrage with banks.
This Wonder (formerly This Wonder is your civilization’s answer
known as Women’s to an IRA. The sooner you build this
Suffrage) still performs Wonder, the more benefits you’ll reap
essentially the from it. Other medieval Wonders are more
same function as important, so don’t ignore them in favor of
its predecessor—it Wall Street. However, all that free money is
decreases population just too good a deal to pass up for long.
unhappiness due to ongoing military
conflict. Specifically, it decreases the effect
of war weariness on the population. (See
chapter IV for more on war weariness.)
primagames.com 147
VIII
UNITS AND COMBAT
S teady expansion is the key to success

in the Civilization® III game—it’s the
cornerstone upon which every strategy
discusses the combat system in Civ® III and
some of the more effective strategies that
will help you survive both offensive and
is built. If you don’t keep your empire’s defensive combat situations.
growth consistent with that of your
opponents, your science and Culture will CAUTION
suffer and you can fall prey to a hostile Although many of the units in
neighbor. Fall too far behind and you’ll Civilization III share the names of
never catch up. You must grow to prosper, their Civilization II counterparts, many
and your units are the key to both of their vital statistics, such as attack
expanding your empire and protecting it and defense strength, have changed
from your enemies. drastically. Don’t assume that your
The first few sections describe all the established strategies involving units
will still work. Browse this chapter for
units in the game—including the new
important information on changes and
civilization-specific units, Leaders, and new unit strategies.
Armies—and the strategies associated
with them. The last section of the chapter
148
C HAPTER VIII: UNITS AND COMBAT
• BRF: Shorthand for the new concepts

GROUND UNITS of “Bombardment Power,” “(Operational)
Units come in three basic forms—ground, Range,” and “(Rate of) Fire.” A unit with
naval, and air. By far the most common a BRF of “8.1.2” has a bombardment
are ground units and, accordingly, they power of 8, can launch bombardments
embody a wide variety of functions, from from 1 square away (the adjacent square),
basic combat and defense duties to terrain and fires 2 shots per bombardment.
development and city building.
Table 8-1 lists the statistics of the • Prerequisite: The civilization advance
standard ground units. The following you must discover before you can build
statistics are listed for each unit: the unit.
• Cost: The number of shields it takes • Strategic Resources Required: The

to build the unit. strategic resource(s) a city must have
access to before building the unit.
• ADM: Shorthand for “Attack,” “Defense,”
and “Movement.” For example, a unit
with an ADM of “2.4.1” has an attack
strength of 2, a defensive strength of 4,
and can move 1 map square per turn.
TABLE 8-1. GROUND UNIT STATISTICS

UNIT COST ADM BRF PREREQUISITE STRATEGIC RESOURCES REQUIRED
Archer 20 2.1.1 — Warrior Code —
Artillery 60 0.0.1 12.2.3 Replaceable Parts —
Cannon 40 0.0.1 8.1.2 Metallurgy Saltpeter, Iron
Catapult 20 0.0.1 4.1.1 Mathematics —
Cavalry 80 6.3.3 — Military Tradition Horses, Saltpeter
Chariot 20 1.1.2 — The Wheel Horses
Explorer 20 1.1.2 — Navigation —
Horseman 30 2.1.2 — Horseback Riding Horses
Infantry 90 8.12.2 — Replaceable Parts —
Knight 70 4.3.2 — Chivalry Horses, Iron
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TABLE 8-1. GROUND UNIT STATISTICS, CONTINUED

UNIT COST ADM BRF PREREQUISITE STRATEGIC RESOURCES REQUIRED
Longbowman 40 4.1.1 — Invention —
Marine 100 10.8.1 — Amphibious War Rubber
Mech Infantry 110 12.20.3 — Computers Oil, Rubber
Modern Armor 120 24.16.3 — Synthetic Fibers Oil, Rubber, Aluminum
Musketman 60 2.4.1 — Gunpowder Saltpeter
Paratrooper 100 8.10.1 — Advanced Flight Oil, Rubber
Pikeman 30 1.3.1 — Feudalism Iron
Radar Artillery 80 0.0.1 16.2.4 Robotics Aluminum
Rifleman 80 4.6.1 — Nationalism —
Settler 30* 0.0.1 — — —
Spearman 20 1.2.1 — Bronze Working —
Swordsman 30 3.2.1 — Iron Working Iron
Tank 100 16.10.2 — Motorized Oil, Rubber
Transportation
Warrior 10 1.1.1 — — —
Worker 10** 0.0.1 — — —
* Plus 2 points of the city’s population
** Plus 1 point of the city’s population
Archer
TIP
Archers are the best
Civilization II veterans should note:
attack unit available in
Archers are no longer the stalwart
the pre–Iron Working defenders they once were. If you don’t
world. It’s not a bad idea start out with Bronze Working, pursue
to have an Archer or that first so that you can build
two around to deal with Spearmen to defend your cities. In
Barbarians and any other the early game, a strong offense is
enemies who might harass you early on. not the best defense.
150
Artillery Cannon
Many units have The ancestors of
completely changed Artillery and the
their method of attack descendants of
thanks to the new Catapults, Cannons
bombardment rules serve the same purpose
(described later in this as these other
chapter). Artillery is bombarding units. As is
one of the affected units. the case in Ancient Times, bombardment
Artillery takes over where Cannons leave in the Middle Ages can help ease your unit
off, acting as a precursor to your invasion loss when you’re attacking a city. If a
forces’ direct attack on a city by softening Cannon manages to take out the city’s
it up with bombardment. Artillery is a little defensive units and/or Walls, your direct-
safer than its predecessors in the field attack units’ jobs will be a little easier.
because it doesn’t have to be adjacent to
its target to launch its attack. Catapult
Catapults in the
TIP previous Civilization
Because they have no way to defend games used to be a
themselves, artillery-type units can be license to wreak havoc
captured simply by moving any military
on your neighbors. Most
unit into their square. (They do get one
free shot at the attacking enemy, but really big early-game
there is little chance that they can avoid military strategies began
capture in this manner.) For this reason, after the discovery of Mathematics.
never send artillery units into the field Now that Catapults are bombardment
unescorted. Leave at least one strong units only, they’re not suited to solo attack
defensive unit in the square with the roles. They are, however, still very useful in
artillery unit at all times. early attack strategies. When possible,
precede any attack on an enemy city with
a couple turns of Catapult bombardment.
Softening the enemy defenses is vital in
the Middle Ages because of your units’
relatively weak offensive power.
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Cavalry Explorer
Cavalry represents Explorers can be
mounted troops of the extremely useful for,
19th century, and their well, exploration.
advances over both Explorers can cover
Horsemen and Knights is three squares a turn
obvious the moment you in any terrain, so
begin using them. If if you’re on a big
you’re following a warlike path, Cavalry is continent with lots of unexplored space
the attack unit of the Middle Ages. Watch early on, the fastest way to learn the lay
out for cities defended by Pikemen, of the land—and, perhaps, get some
though—Pikemen are especially effective “goodies”—is to send out an Explorer or
at repelling mounted units. two. Just be aware that these units seldom
survive any opposition.
Chariot
The Chariots in Civ III Horseman
are considerably less Horsemen have a definite
powerful on the attack attack advantage over
than the Chariots Chariots, the other
in previous games, “fast” unit of Ancient
but they have a new Times, and they share
advantage, one that is the same ability to
shared by no other unit this early in the retreat from combat
game—the ability to retreat from battle. when they’re losing. However, their
This ability, combined with the Chariot’s combat ability is pretty weak. They make
speed, makes it extremely useful early decent exploration units (when you need
in the game—at least until Horsemen something beefier than an Explorer),
become available. but they’re not much when it comes to
launching an invasion. Research Chivalry so
NOTE you can upgrade your Horsemen to Knights.
Keep in mind that access to strategic
resources is required to build many
units. It’s no longer a foregone
conclusion that you can build a unit
just because you’ve researched its
prerequisite advance.
152
Infantry Longbowman
This unit, new to The newly introduced
Civilization III, is an Longbowman is a
intermediate step double-strength Archer
between Riflemen and that becomes available
Mech Infantry. Nothing early in the Middle
on land beats it for its Ages. While this unit
defensive capabilities packs an offensive
during the Industrial Ages. This unit is punch, in practice, you’ll seldom use it.
important enough that you should discover Aside from its offensive capabilities, the
Replaceable Parts as early as possible so only advantage of Longbowmen is that they
that you can skip Riflemen altogether. require no special resources to build—a
Upgrade all your city garrisons to Infantry rarity among medieval units.
as soon as you can. The better-balanced Musketman and the
powerful Knights make better choices for
Knight offensive units during this time period.
Knights are, essentially,
the first armor unit, Marine
and they are a huge Marines are among the
improvement over their most effective attack
ancestors, the Horsemen. units of the Industrial
In a nonmilitary Ages. With an offensive
strategy, it’s easy to strength rivaled only by
overlook Knights. Chivalry need not be Tanks, these units would
researched to move on to any of the other be formidable even
medieval advances, so it’s often overlooked. without their most important capability:
If you’re out to conquer the world, you amphibious assault. Marines are the only
must take the time for Chivalry so that you units that can attack enemy units and
can build Knights. Otherwise, your military cities directly from a ship—just unload
will suffer throughout the Middle Ages. them in the enemy’s terrain square and
combat commences. This combined with
their impressive defensive strength makes
Marines ideal for taking and holding enemy
coastal cities.
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Mech Infantry conquest strategy, Modern Armor can crush

just about anything that gets in its way. If
Mech Infantry is,
you’re going for world domination, upgrade
hands down, the best
your Tanks ASAP and roll out the Modern
defensive unit in the
Armor. Victory is in sight!
game. Nothing can rival
its ability to protect a
city. Its relatively high Musketman
attack makes it versatile Musketmen are the
enough to act as an offensive unit in a rough equivalent of
pinch, but defense should be this unit’s “Musketeers” from the
primary role. previous Civilization
games—though
NOTE Musketeers appear in
Because it was off the beaten research this game as well, as
path in Civilization II, you had to deviate units exclusive to the French.
from your chosen research path to gain This is primarily a defensive unit, and it
Mech Infantry. Now that this unit is performs well in that role. As soon as you
made possible through the discovery of discover Gunpowder, make sure that your
Computers, there’s no excuse not to cities have access to Saltpeter and upgrade
upgrade your defenders to Mech Infantry all of your defenders to Musketmen as soon
in Modern Times.
as possible. They are the strongest defense
available in the Middle Ages.
Modern Armor
In previous versions of
Paratrooper
Civilization, the Armor Paratroopers, like
unit (now known as Marines, have a unique
the “Tank”) was the ability. They can airdrop
ultimate land-based directly to a target square
fighting machine. In from any city equipped
Civ III, there’s one final with an Airport. They
upgrade—and oh what an upgrade it is. have a decent attack
Modern Armor has 33 percent more factor and a very strong defense which,
attack strength and significantly more combined with their airdrop capabilities,
defensive capabilities than its Industrial leads to an interesting strategy for taking
Ages counterpart. Indispensable to a control of enemy cities (described later in
154
this chapter). Paratroopers are also on par Although you won’t use this unit much
with the best defenders of the Industrial if you’re pursuing a peaceful victory, a
Ages. It is sometimes worth the extra cost vanguard of Radar Artillery is just the
(over Infantry) to place Paratrooper ticket for quick and easy subjugation of
defenders in your border cities that are enemy cities for you warmongers.
within airdrop distance of opposing cities.
Rifleman
Pikeman It’s worth pursuing
Pikemen are among the Nationalism immediately
best defenders available upon entering the
prior to the discovery Industrial Ages just
of Gunpowder. Their to gain access to the
defensive power is Rifleman. This unit
slightly higher than improves upon its
their predecessors predecessors, making it a much more
(Spearmen) and they receive a bonus when effective defender than the earlier
defending against mounted units—an Musketmen. Another advantage is that
important factor in the Middle Ages, when you don’t need access to Saltpeter to build
Knights and other mounted units become them. Say goodbye to the Musketmen and
prevalent. As soon as you can, upgrade upgrade your defensive units to Riflemen
your defensive units to Pikemen. ASAP. They’re the best defenders you have
until the discovery of Replaceable Parts
Radar Artillery allows you to build Infantry much later in
the Industrial Ages.
Radar Artillery is the
most advanced artillery
unit in the game. Its Settler
bombardment power Whether you’re a
is unrivaled—even militant conqueror or a
Battleships can’t match mild-mannered pursuer
its awesome damage of science, the Settler
potential. Like Artillery, it can launch its is one of the two most
bombardment from a range of two squares. important units early in
the game. Only Settlers
can build cities, and without new cities,
your empire can’t expand. Later in the
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game, you’ll gain cities through conquest Swordsman

and defection, rendering the Settler less
Swordsmen become
useful, but throughout Ancient Times and
available as soon as you
the Middle Ages, few units are more useful.
discover Iron Working.
When you look at their
NOTE stats, you might be
It costs more than shields to build tempted to use them
Settlers and Workers. When a city as city defenders rather
builds a Settler, the city’s population than the offensively-weaker Spearmen.
is reduced by two. When a city builds
While this works fine in the short run, the
a Worker, its population is reduced by
one. Therefore, build Settlers and flaw in this strategy is that Swordsmen,
Workers only in cities with a population unlike Spearmen, cannot be upgraded to
of three or more. Pikemen. That means that you have to
build new defenders from scratch when
you need to upgrade, and that’s expensive.
Spearman Use Swordsmen exclusively for offensive
This unit makes your missions, where they outclass just about
Warriors obsolete. They every other ancient unit available.
aren’t a whole lot better,
but they’re the best Tank
defenders available in Tanks used to be called
Ancient Times. Spend “Armor.” Regardless of
the extra production what you call it, this is
time on these units. Warriors are adequate an extremely important
defenders for your first few cities, but they unit to any offensive
can’t withstand much punishment if you strategy.
should meet a hostile neighbor early in Tanks attack with
the game. a power unrivaled in units of their time.
They can launch multiple attacks in a
single turn, and they are “fast units”—
which means they can retreat from an
attack when they’re losing. Tanks are
adequate defenders, capable of holding a
captured enemy city if need be. However,
156
less expensive and more effective defenders The best advice about Workers is to
(Infantry, for example) are better choices build as many as you can and keep them
in strictly defensive roles. busy. Set them on automatic and let
them toil endlessly to improve your terrain
Warrior and build an infrastructure of roads and
(later) railroads to keep your trade brisk
Warriors are strictly
and fruitful.
“stone knives and
bearskins” units. In
certain cases, they’re
AUTOMATED WORKERS
they only units you can Although the automate feature for
build (besides Settlers Workers is excellent, don’t let it lull
and Workers) early in you into not keeping tabs on them.
the game. Only under these circumstances, Two things to watch for:
or when you need a city defender quickly, • When they run out of things to
should you ever bother building a Warrior. do, Workers enter a nearby city
Spearmen make better defenders and and sit there until you manually
Swordsman make better attackers—and reactivate them.
both are available very early in the game. • When they finish working in your
territory, automated Workers often
Worker start building roads to your opponents’
The Settlers in Civ III cities. This is great for trade, but be
have it easy—all they careful! If you don’t have a right-of-
do is build cities. All passage treaty with your neighbors,
of the other traditional your innocent Workers might be
Settler duties—roads, considered a hostile incursion.
mining, irrigation, Keep an eye on your automated
and so on—are now Workers and redirect them when they
performed by Workers. This makes Workers start doing things you don’t want them
and Settlers equally important at the start to do. Or use the limited automation
of the game. As the game progresses, controls (listed in the manual) to
Settlers become less vital, but Workers confine the Worker to a specific area
retain their usefulness right to the end. or set of tasks.
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IMPASSIBLE TERRAIN
NAVAL UNITS
In the average game, you’ll build a lot
In Civ III, some units cannot pass
fewer naval units than you will ground
through certain terrain types. This has
units—but that doesn’t mean that naval
always been true of water squares—
units aren’t important! Early in the game,
ground units can’t pass through them
naval units provide the mobility to quickly
and naval units can’t move on any thing
explore the world and transport units to
but them. Now, some land squares are
different continents. Later in the game,
considered impassible to a handful of
especially if you’re following a military
ground units.
strategy, naval units are invaluable. They
The following unit types cannot pass
give you the transport and bombardment
through Jungle or Mountain terrain
capabilities you need to make your
unless a road has been built through it:
conquest efforts swift and effective.
• Artillery Table 8-2 lists the statistics of all stan-
• Cannon dard naval units. The statistics shown are
• Catapult the same as those in table 8-1, except that
a fourth number (T) is added to some units’
• Modern Armor ADM statistic. This indicates the number of
• Panzer units it is capable of transporting. For
• Radar Artillery example, “1.1.3(2)” shows 1 attack, 1
defense, 3 movement, and the ability to
• Tank
transport 2 units.
TABLE 8-2. NAVAL UNIT STATISTICS

UNIT COST ADM(T) BRF PREREQUISITE STRATEGIC RESOURCES
AEGIS Cruiser 160 12.12.6 4.2.4 Robotics Aluminum, Uranium
Battleship 200 24.20.4 8.2.4 Mass Production Oil
Caravel 40 1.2.3(4) — Astronomy —
Carrier 180 1.8.4(4*) — Mass Production Oil
Destroyer 120 16.12.6 6.1.3 Combustion Oil
Frigate 60 2.2.4 2.1.2 Magnetism Iron, Saltpeter
Galleon 60 1.2.4(6) — Magnetism —
158
TABLE 8-2. NAVAL UNIT STATISTICS, CONTINUED

Galley 30 1.1.3(2) — Map Making —
Ironclad 80 4.4.3 4.1.2 Steam Power Iron, Coal
Nuclear Submarine 120 4.4.3(1**) — Fission Uranium
Privateer 50 1.1.3 — Magnetism Iron, Saltpeter
Submarine 100 6.4.3 — Mass Production Oil
Transport 100 1.4.4(8) — Combustion Oil
* Air units only
** Tactical Nukes only
AEGIS Cruiser force to contend with in both traditional

combat and bombardment scenarios.
One of the most
Despite the availability of powerful
formidable naval vessels
ground-based artillery units, Battleship
in the game, the AEGIS
bombardment is the best way to soften up
Cruiser’s bombardment
any coastal (or near-coastal) enemy city
and attack power,
prior to traditional invasion.
combined with its longer
visual range and ability
to spot submarines, make it a valuable Caravel
addition to a naval-intensive strategy. Caravels are the first
AEGIS Cruisers are particularly useful as naval units with real
escorts for weaker ships and Transports. exploratory power. Their
combat ability is quite
Battleship limited, but they
can usually defend
The offensive and
themselves in a skirmish.
defensive power of
(Don’t consider waging naval warfare until
Battleships is unmatched
you at least have some Frigates in your
by any other sea unit,
fleet.) The real boon of the Caravel is its
as is its bombardment
transport capacity, which is a significant
capability. This versatility
improvement over that of a Galley.
makes the Battleship a
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Destroyer
NOTE
Destroyers are cost-
Caravels in Civ III suffer from a weak-
effective naval attackers
ness that they didn’t have in the
previous games: the inability to traverse that provide a cheap
Ocean squares. Until the discovery of way to boost your naval
Navigation, Caravels must end their turn power. Their speed
in a Coast or Sea square or run the risk makes them effective
of being lost at sea. hit-and-run raiders
but, despite their adequate attack and
bombardment capabilities, their relatively
Carrier low defensive value makes Destroyers
Carriers are the most unsuited for prolonged naval conflicts.
formidable vessels in the
real world. They are also
quite powerful in Civ III,
Frigate
but not on their own. Magnetism provides
Their power lies in the the biggest single jump
air units they transport. in naval power in the
Carriers provide a mobile base for Bombers game. Of all of the ships
and Stealth Bombers, giving you the ability it makes possible, the
to launch lethal bombardments on multiple Frigate is the best
targets simultaneously. suited for naval warfare.
Carriers with their attendant air wings Although it lacks significant traditional
are quite expensive. Because this unit’s attack capabilities, it can launch fairly
defensive power is comparatively low, a powerful bombardments on coastal cities.
defensive escort (such as an AEGIS Cruiser) Frigates are much more mobile than ground
should always share the same terrain square. artillery for this task.
NOTE
Unlike the Frigates in Civilization II,
the Frigates in Civ III cannot transport
ground units.
160
Galleon Ironclad
Like Frigates, Galleons Though slower than
become available Frigates, Ironclads
with the discovery of provide a considerable
Magnetism. These units offensive and defensive
are totally unsuited for edge in traditional
warfare—they’re barely combat, as well as a
able to defend themselves. considerable increase
Their strength lies in their ability to in bombardment power. If your strategy
transport a large number of ground units, requires naval superiority, Ironclads are
making their role vital in both colonization a must, even though Destroyers quickly
and warfare. Galleons should be accompanied surpass them in power and versatility later
by a military vessel (such as a Frigate) at in the Industrial Ages.
all times, especially during war.
Nuclear Submarine
Galley Nuclear Submarines
Galleys are the first have the same stealth
naval units available capabilities as their
in the game. Like their Submarine predecessors
predecessors from and possess the same
previous Civ games attack, defense, and
(Triremes), they get lost movement capabilities.
at sea if they don’t end What makes the Nuclear version so special
their turn adjacent to land. Despite their is its ability to carry a single Tactical Nuke
weaknesses, these units are vital to early onboard. This allows you to sneak a nuclear
exploration, especially if the world is weapon to within striking distance of an
made up of lots of small landmasses. They enemy coastal city undetected! If you
are totally unsuited to warfare, but as decide to dabble in the dirty business of
transports and explorers they’re adequate nuclear war, Nuclear Submarines are a must.
until Caravels become available.
NOTE
NOTE Nuclear Submarines are analogous
The Great Lighthouse Wonder allows to standard Submarines in the
Galleys to end their movement in a Sea previous Civilization games, although
square, but they are still lost if they end their attack capabilities have been
their movement in an Ocean square. significantly reduced.
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Privateer
TIP
At first glance,
Submarines are great for setting up
Privateers are rather
naval blockades of enemy port cities.
unspectacular By blocking the direct path to a city
warships—especially with a Harbor, you cut off that city’s
when compared to trade with other Harbor-equipped
Frigates, which become cities. Submarines, with their stealth
available at the same capabilities, can set up a blockade that
time. What’s unique about this unit is that goes unnoticed for some time. Simply
it allows you to attack your neighbors park a Submarine in every water square
that leads out of the city—three is
without fear of reprisal. Privateers don’t
usually sufficient, depending on how
reveal their nationality! While the low many Coast squares touch the city.
attack and defense factor of Privateers
makes them impractical for prolonged
warfare, they’re just the things to pick Transport
off enemy Galleons that are transporting
Although Transports
unwanted opposing troops into your territory.
can now initiate
combat, they never
Submarine should. The sole
The main role for purpose of this unit
Submarines is protecting is transporting ground
cities and shipping units across the water.
lanes from unwanted Because of their relatively low defensive
sea traffic. The capabilities, a naval unit with decent
stealth capabilities of attack and defense values should always
Submarines allow them escort Transports. Remember—when a
to attack enemy ships before they know Transport is destroyed, so do all of the
what hit them. Only after AEGIS Cruisers units inside. Transports carrying Marines
and Aircraft Carriers become prevalent is are particularly adept at taking cities.
this advantage lost. Even if you follow a
nonmilitary strategy, you benefit from
a few Submarines to help keep your waters
AIR UNITS
safe from intruders. Air units comprise the smallest category
of units. This is primarily because they
become available so late in the game.
162
Players who are out to conquer the world Table 8-3 lists the statistics of all standard
benefit most from these units, because air units. The statistics shown are the same
most of them (except the Helicopter) are as those in table 8-2, with a slight change
strictly military. to the BRF stat. Many air units technically
Civilization III introduces an entirely have an Operational Range of zero—they
new method of operation for air units. cannot leave their home city. When a
Instead of moving like normal units, they number is shown in parenthesis, it indicates
fly missions from a centralized base the maximum distance from their home
(usually a city) and return to that base city at which they can perform missions.
when the mission is complete.
TABLE 8-3. AIR UNIT STATISTICS

Bomber 100 0.2.0 8.0(6).3 Flight Oil
Cruise Missile 40 0.0.1 20.4.6 Rocketry Aluminum
Fighter 80 4.4.0 2.0(4).2 Flight Oil
Helicopter 80 0.4.0(2) 0.0(4).0 Advanced Flight Oil, Rubber
ICBM 300 0.0.1 — Space Flight Aluminum, Uranium
Jet Fighter 100 8.8.0 2.0(6).1 Rocketry Oil
Stealth Bomber 140 0.2.0 8.0(8).4 Stealth Oil, Aluminum
Stealth Fighter 120 0.4.0 2.0(6).2 Stealth Oil, Aluminum
Tactical Nuke 200 0.0.1 — Space Flight Aluminum, Uranium
Bomber which normal Bombers can be upgraded

after the discovery of Stealth. Because
Bombers are the
of their range of operation and the less-
best source of quick,
vulnerable nature of air units in general,
repetitive bombardments
Bombers are far superior to any ground
of an enemy target.
artillery bombardments when dealing with
Their ability in this
enemy targets near your borders.
regard is surpassed only
by Stealth Bombers, to
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Cruise Missile Helicopter

Cruise Missiles are, The Helicopter’s role
essentially, one-use has changed quite a
airborne artillery pieces. bit since Civilization II.
They provide a cheap, Whereas they used to be
effective means of powerful attack units,
bombarding enemy they are now useless in
cities as a precursor to that capacity. Their new
a traditional attack. Unlike ground-based role, however, is nearly as important.
artillery, Cruise Missiles are not limited Helicopters now act as transports. That’s
by terrain. Their only limitation is their right—now, you can transport ground units
operational range, which is much shorter by air rather than by sea. There are only
than that of Bombers. Cruise Missiles are a couple of drawbacks. First, a Helicopter’s
most effective when launched from Carriers, range is limited. Second, Helicopters cannot
which can get the Cruise Missiles closer to carry mechanized units (Tanks, Mech
a wider variety of targets. Infantry, and so on). Even so, Helicopters
can be extremely useful.
Fighter
Fighters and other CAUTION
Fighter-type air units Don’t drop troops from a Helicopter
are much more versatile into a square that is occupied by an
enemy unit. If you do, the units you
in Civ III than they were
drop are automatically lost.
in the previous games.
In addition to their
air-to-air capabilities,
Fighters can now execute Bomber-type
ICBM
missions as well. The ICBM (Inter-
Fighters operate from a fixed base. Continental Ballistics
Because their range is more limited than Missile, although
that of Bombers, Fighters tend to be more it’s never referred to
effective in an offensive role when they formally in the game)
are Carrier based and can be delivered to takes the place of the
within range of more potential targets. Nuclear Missile unit
found in Civilization II. It is essentially the
same unit, but with significantly improved
destructive qualities. ICBMs don’t move like
164
normal units. Instead, they can target any Batteries than their non-stealth
square on the world map and instantly counterparts. More importantly, they can
deliver their attack upon launch. carry out precision strikes against enemy
ICBMs have a 50 percent chance of cities, destroying a specific improvement
killing every unit in their target square of your choice. This is a great way to throw
and in the eight surrounding squares enemy cities into chaos. For example, by
immediately, and cause a reduction in destroying a Cathedral, you can cause
city population (if a city is targeted). rampant unhappiness and civil unrest.
Launching ICBMs is a sure way to turn
world opinion against you. Then again, Stealth Fighter
you probably won’t be using nukes if
Stealth Fighters are
you care what other civilizations think.
the ultimate air fighter
craft. They retain all
Jet Fighter of the abilities of Jet
Jet Fighters are more Fighters and have the
powerful versions of added abilities of
standard Fighters. They Fighter/SAM Battery
have the operational resistance and precision strike capability.
range of a Bomber, It’s worth the cost to upgrade your Jet
but nowhere near the Fighters to the stealth version if only to
Bomber’s bombardment make them more difficult to destroy.
capabilities. They also can “see” two
squares in any direction, regardless of Tactical Nuke
terrain. This makes them good reconnaissance
Tactical Nukes are
units. Like Fighters, Jet Fighters are most
similar to ICBMs,
versatile when operated off of Carriers.
and the diplomatic
consequences for their
Stealth Bomber use are pretty much the
Stealth Bombers are same. If you ever intend
Bombers with extended to change your warlike
range and a couple of ways and try for a peaceful victory, don’t
notable advantages. use nuclear weapons. The negative impact
They are less susceptible on the opposing leaders’ opinion of you is
to interception by difficult to overcome.
other aircraft and SAM
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As discussed in chapter II, when you

CIVILIZATION-SPECIFIC choose which civilization you want to play,
UNITS you should familiarize yourself with that
A new factor that sets the civilizations civilization’s unique unit. That way, you
apart in Civ III is the inclusion of can choose the civilization whose unique
units that can be built only by specific unit best suits your style of play.
civilizations. In most cases, these units are Table 8-4 lists the statistics of the
more powerful versions of units that can civilization-specific units. The statistics are
be built by other civilizations. The type of the same as those shown in table 8-3 with
unit and the age in which it becomes the exception of the following:
available vary from tribe to tribe, as do the • Civilization: The civilization(s) allowed
advantages they impart. to build the unit.
TABLE 8-4. CIVILIZATION-SPECIFIC UNITS STATISTICS

UNIT CIVILIZATION COST ADM BRF PREREQUISITE STRATEGIC RESOURCES
Bowman Babylonians 20 2.1.2 — Warrior Code —
Cossack Russians 80 6.4.3 — Military Tradition Horses, Saltpeter
F-15 Americans 100 10.8.0 2.0(6).1 Rocketry Oil
Hoplite Greeks 20 1.3.1 — Bronze Working —
Immortals Persian 30 4.2.1 — Iron Working Iron
Impi Zulu 20 1.2.2 — Bronze Working —
Jaguar Warrior Aztecs 10 1.1.2 — — —
Legionary Romans 30 3.3.1 — Iron Working Iron
Man-O-War English 60 3.2.4 2.1.2 Magnetism Iron, Saltpeter
Mounted Warrior Iroquois 30 3.1.2 — Horseback Riding Horses
Musketeer French 60 3.4.1 — Gunpowder Saltpeter
Panzer Germans 100 16.10.3 — Motorized Oil, Rubber
Transportation
Rider Chinese 70 4.4.3 — Feudalism Horses, Iron
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TABLE 8-4. CIVILIZATION-SPECIFIC UNITS STATISTICS, CONTINUED

UNIT CIVILIZATION COST ADM BRF PREREQUISITE STRATEGIC RESOURCES
Samurai Japanese 80 4.4.2 — Chivalry Iron
Scout Americans, 10 0.0.2 — — —
Zulu, Iroquois,
Russians, English
War Chariot Egyptians 20 2.1.2 — The Wheel Horses
War Elephant Indians 70 4.3.2 — Chivalry —
Bowman (Babylonians) gives the Russians a military edge when

it comes to mounted unit combat in the
The Babylonian Bowman
Middle Ages and early Industrial Ages.
gives you a tactical
When playing the Russians, you’re likely to
offensive advantage in
exploit a unit to great effect.
Ancient Times. While its
attack value is the same
as that of the Archer, F-15 (Americans)
it moves at twice the The F-15 is identical to
Archer’s speed. This allows you to move the Jet Fighter but has
into attack position more quickly than your a significantly increased
neighbors. It also allows the Bowman to operational range. Of all
retreat when losing a battle—an advantage of the civ-specific units,
that helps to keep your military units from this one appears latest
being needlessly lost at the beginning of in the game.
the game, when you can least afford to Whether or not you benefit from this
lose them. unit depends on your style of play. If
your strategy depends on maintaining air
Cossack (Russians) superiority over your neighbors, the F-15
gives you a definite edge. Otherwise, don’t
The Russian Cossacks
choose the Americans—you’d benefit
share all of the
more from the special units provided by
advantages of the
other civilizations.
standard Cavalry unit,
but sport a higher
defensive value. This
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Hoplite (Greeks) Impi (Zulu)

If your strategy is a Impis are an odd mix
peaceful one, solid of abilities. They
defensive units are are, essentially, fast
one of the keys to your Spearmen. That means
success—although the they can retreat from
Greek Hoplite might combat quickly when
arrive a little early in they’re losing. Of course,
the game to do you a whole lot of good. tactical retreat capabilities best serve
It replaces the Spearman, providing you offensive units—which, obviously, the Impi
with an early defensive advantage. When is not. Of the Ancient civ-specific units,
you’re playing on a small world or on Impis are the least effective.
higher difficulty levels, this can be quite
helpful. Otherwise, it’s likely that you’ll Immortal (Persians)
be well beyond Hoplites before you have to Immortals are the
worry too much about defending your cities Persians’ answer to
from attack. Swordsmen. Their
advantage is purely
TIP offensive—their attack
Aggressive strategies often involve value is the highest of
conquering as many civilizations as any Ancient Times unit
possible early in the game, before they available. Like the Babylonian Bowman,
have a chance to spread and grow this unit is most beneficial if you are
strong. If you’re following such a following an early aggressive strategy. Of
strategy, beware of the Greeks in all of the civilizations in the game, the
Ancient Times. Hoplites are more than Persians are the most likely to gain military
capable of dealing with whatever you
dominance early in the game by swiftly
throw at them early on. You’re better
off making friends with the Greeks and taking out their closest neighbors with
concentrate your efforts elsewhere until their bands of Immortals.
you have more powerful offensive units
at your disposal. TIP
If you find yourself near the Persians
during Ancient Times, do your best to
stay on friendly terms with them. If you
anger them, their Immortals can cause
you a great deal of heartache and,
possibly, cost you the game.
168
Jaguar Warrior (Aztecs) Man-O-War (English)

The advantage the The English are the
Aztecs gain with their only civilization whose
Jaguar Warrior is special unit is a naval
short-lived. This unit unit. If naval warfare
is a faster version of is your thing, consider
the Warrior. While the playing the English.
ability to move faster With advantages in both
and retreat from battle gives this unit conventional and bombardment attacks, the
an edge over standard Warriors, even the Man-O-War rules the seas in the late Middle
short-term usefulness is questionable, Ages and early Industrial Ages.
because Jaguar Warriors aren’t really
powerful enough to make them effective NOTE
attackers. Probably the best use for this The Man-O-War’s reign can be quite
unit is exploration—they’re faster than short-lived depending on your opponents’
Scouts and can defend themselves. research paths. It is bested by the
Ironclad, which can be discovered quite
soon after Magnetism (the advance that
Legionary (Romans) makes the Man-O-War available).
The Roman Legionary
is a rarity in that it is
equally adept at attack Mounted Warrior (Iroquois)
and defense. Like the The Iroquois have an
Swordsman that it early advantage when it
replaces, the Legionary comes to mounted units.
cannot be upgraded to Horsemen as a general
the next best defender (the Pikeman) as rule are not all that
Spearmen can—you have to build the new effective, especially when
defender from scratch. However, because it comes to attacking
of this unit’s excellent defensive value, cities. The extra attack strength of the
the tradeoff is worth the cost, especially Mounted Warrior gives this unit the extra
if you’re plagued with hostile neighbors at push it needs to prevail in many combat
the start of the game. The dual nature of situations. Even so, Mounted Warriors still
their special unit makes the Romans a good lack strong defensive capabilities, a weakness
civilization choice for both peaceful and they share with Horsemen. Mounted Warriors
warlike strategies. do make good scout units early in the game.
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Musketeer (French) it’s available after the

discovery of Feudalism.
Musketeers enjoy a
This is significant,
better attack statistic
because it means that
than Musketmen, giving
the Chinese player
the French a more
doesn’t have to take the
versatile unit than their
time to research
opponents after the
Chivalry. You get a powerful unit and a
discovery of Gunpowder.
research shortcut, just for playing the
While they are still no match for Knights
Chinese! If you like to establish military
when it comes to offensive actions,
dominance early in the game, the Rider
Musketeers are more likely to prevail in
gives you that opportunity.
an attack than Musketmen—a plus when
following an aggressive strategy.
Samurai (Japanese)
The Japanese (along
Panzer (Germans) with the Chinese and
The German Panzer the Indians) have
is, arguably, the best a special unit that
available civilization- replaces the Knight.
specific unit. It beats The Samurai improves
the Tank in both upon the Knight’s
defensive power and defensive power, making for a more
movement rate, making well-rounded unit. Although they
it a truly formidable attack and defense don’t share the research and movement
unit. Some of the most decisive aggressive advantages of Riders (as described earlier),
activity takes place starting in the late Samurai are still a formidable replacement
Industrial Ages. If your strategy usually for an already formidable unit.
involves rolling over your opponents as
soon as you have Tanks, play the Germans. Scout
Panzers make your job easier.
Scouts are unique in
that they are limited
Rider (Chinese) not to a single
The Rider provides the Chinese with a civilization but to five
double advantage. It’s an improved (better of them—American,
defense and better movement) version of English, Iroquois,
the Knight, an already powerful unit, and Russian, and Zulu.
170
Essentially, this unit is an early, War Elephant (Indians)

less-powerful Explorer. They offer an
Like Chinese Riders
early-game exploratory advantage to
and Japanese Samurai,
these five civilizations, a real boon
Indian War Elephants
especially when playing on a large world.
take the place of
Knights. Of these three
NOTE similar units, the War
The civilizations that can build Scouts Elephant is the only one
usually start the game with three that doesn’t offer any statistical advantage
units—a Settler, a Worker, and a over the Knight. The advantage here is that
Scout—rather than the usual two. That
no strategic resources are required to build
makes these civilizations good choices
if your strategy includes lots of early the unit. This means that all of your
expansion and exploration. It also gives cities can build the unit. This can give
you a better opportunity to quickly find you a definite advantage, especially if
a “perfect” site for your first city. you’re operating in an area with limited
strategic resources.
War Chariot (Egyptians)

Veteran players quickly
LEADERS AND ARMIES
realize that the normal
Chariot in Civ III doesn’t
quite have the “teeth”
that its predecessors
had. If you miss the old
Chariot, you can still
use it—but only if you play the Egyptians. Leaders and Armies add a new dimension of
This unit gives you all of the fast-attack/ combat to Civilization III. Neither is a unit
retreat advantages of the normal Chariot in the traditional sense, though both share
with an improved attack value, which certain traits with them.
makes it powerful enough to effectively When an elite unit wins a battle, there
attack cities as well as other units. As is a 1 in 16 chance that the unit will turn
an added bonus, War Chariots upgrade into a Leader. Leaders have neither attack
directly to Knights (as opposed to standard or defense values—all they can do is move.
Chariots, which upgrade to Horsemen). Luckily, they can move pretty quickly
The Egyptians are a good choice if you because, when a Leader appears, you want
want to gain an early military dominance to get him to one of your cities as quickly
over your neighbors. as possible.
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and defend as individuals, but they gain an

NOTE interesting advantage. Armies share the hit
After you build the Heroic Epic Small points of all of the units inside.(See the
Wonder, the chance of an elite unit Combat section later in this chapter for
turning into a Leader after a victory is details on how combat works.)
increased to 1 in 12. Armies offer a huge advantage when
attacking enemy cities. Instead suffering
After you move a Leader into your city, numerous casualties by sending in a ton
there are two things the Leader can do: of individual units, use Armies to attack
• Complete an improvement or Wonder: cities. The defenders, even if they slightly
If the city is building an improvement or outclass the units in your Army, can’t stand
Wonder, the Leader can be sacrificed to up to the barrage for long.
complete its production in one turn.
• Form an Army: The leader can be TIP
transformed into an Army “unit.” If you’ve built the Military Academy
Small Wonder in one of your cities, you
Unless you already have too many can use the Wonder to produce Armies.
Armies in the field—you can only have That leaves you free to use your
one for every four cities—or you simply Leaders to complete the production of
have no need for an Army, chances are expensive Wonders and improvements.
that most of your Leaders will be used for
Army formation.
COMBAT
TIP Even if you’re a pacifist, you’ll deal with
If you’re using your Leaders to complete combat over the course of every game.
great works, it’s worth switching a city to Sometimes, you have to conquer one or
Wonder production just before the Leader more of your neighbors for more room, or
arrives there. The Leader completes the
you have to defend yourself against hostile
Wonder in one turn no matter how far
along it is in its production. incursion. Either way, your units are bound
to clash with your opponents’ troops, so
it’s good to know how the combat system
Armies are essentially transport shells works—and how you can make the system
that allow you to group three units (four if work for you.
you’ve built The Pentagon Wonder) into a
single attack unit. These units still fight
172
Combat Basics For example, a Swordsman with an

Offensive Power of 3 attacks a Warrior with
As you know, combat is initiated when
a Defensive Power of 1. Using the above
a unit attempts to enter a terrain square
equation, the Swordsman has a 3/(3+1), or
that is occupied by an opposing unit. The
75 percent, chance of damaging the Warrior,
percentage chance for the attacker to win
leaving the Warrior with a 25 percent
is derived as follows:
chance of damaging the Swordsman in each
(Attacker’s Offensive Power)/((Attacker’s round. The defender’s Defensive Power can
Offensive Power)+(Defender’s Defensive be modified by a number of factors, as
Power))=Percent chance for attacker to win shown in table 8-5.
TABLE 8-5. DEFENSE MODIFIERS

SITUATION DEFENSE MULTIPLIER
Defender is in a City (size 7–12) +50%
Defender is in a Metropolis (size 13+) +100%
Defender is in a city with Walls +50%
Defender is in a city with a Coastal Fortress +50%*
Defender is in a fortress +25%
Defender is fortified +50%
Defender is on a Forest or Jungle square +25%
Defender is on a Hill square +50%
Defender is on a Mountain square +100%
* Versus naval attacks
After all of the bonuses are applied, the

NOTE combat is resolved. Combat plays out in a
Defense bonuses are cumulative. For series of rounds where the combat equation
example, a Marine normally has a is applied repeatedly, with each unit losing
defense value of 8. When the unit is one hit point per round. In most cases,
fortified in a fortress, its defense value combat ends when one unit or the other
is 14 (8+4+2).
runs out of hit points.
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“Fast” units—units with a movement

NOTE factor of 2 or higher—automatically retreat
Armies behave differently than normal from combat when they’re losing. Basically,
units in combat. As you know, Armies they back out of the conflict when they’re
are made up of multiple units. When an down to one hit point. This is a great tool
army attacks, one unit attacks, then the for preserving valuable units, but only if
next, then the next, and so on. The
you accede to their wisdom! If one of your
Army takes and inflicts damage based
on individual unit stats, but the hit
units retreats from combat, move it well
points of all of the units in the Army are out of the battle zone before an enemy
combined to determine the Army’s total comes along and finishes it off!
number of hit points. So, an Army with
three regular units in it has a hit point
total of 9, and one made up of three NOTE
elite units has a hit point total of 15. Fast units cannot retreat from combat
when they are battling other fast units.
Hit points for undamaged units in
Civilization III are the same across the board: Healing Damage
• Conscript units have 2 hit points. When a unit is damaged it remains
• Regular units have 3 hit points. damaged until it has time to heal. Units
heal one hit point for every turn that they
• Veteran units have 4 hit points.
remain inactive—that is, every turn they
• Elite units have 5 hit points. don’t move or attack. The catch is that
The unit’s health bar shows you its units heal only when they’re in neutral
current number of hit points. territory or within the cultural boundaries
of your civilization. Move damaged units
out of enemy territory as soon as they are
NOTE injured. If you don’t, the weakened unit is
A unit’s level of experience—conscript, ripe for destruction.
regular, veteran, or elite—no longer has Bypass the need to retreat for healing
any effect on the unit’s offensive or by building the Battlefield Medicine Small
defensive capabilities. Nevertheless, Wonder. (See chapter VII for details.)
unit promotion is still very important
because it increases their hit point total.
174
Although they’re by no means certain to

NOTE take out defenders or hit vital improvements,
Even when you build Battlefield bombardments are advisable as a precursor
Medicine, air units based on Carriers do to any conventional attack on a well-
not heal. They must be re-based to one defended city.
of your cities to repair their damage.
NOTE
Air Combat Just by glancing at their statistics,
Fighters, Jet Fighters, F-15s, and Stealth you might think bombardment units—
especially the land variety—are a waste.
Fighters—units that are capable of flying
Nothing could be further from the truth.
air superiority missions—are the only units These units act as equalizers, chipping
that can engage in air-to-air combat. When away at the hit points of vastly superior
on an air superiority mission, these units units and making them easier to take out.
automatically engage any air unit that flies
into their range. Air-to-air combat plays
out in the same manner as ground combat. Combat Strategies
Air units stationed inside cities as Now that you know how the combat
defenders don’t gain any combat bonuses system works, you can probably formulate
from defensive improvements. a number of basic combat strategies
on your own—such as, don’t expect a
Bombardments Spearman to hold off an invading platoon
Bombardments are new to Civilization III. of Tanks. Now, let’s look at a few combat
Artillery units, warships, bombers, and tips and strategies that you might not
fighters can all perform bombardment have thought of.
missions.
Bombardments generally don’t target Always Upgrade Your Units
any specific part of a target square. This might seem like a pretty basic strategy
Instead, they randomly hit units, especially now that upgrading units is so
improvements, fortresses, population, easy, but you’d be surprised how, when you
and so on—anything that might be in get caught up in the game, you tend to
the target area. The one exception is the forget little things like this. It’s not until
precision strike mission available to Stealth a neighboring civilization’s invading hordes
Bombers and Fighters. This mission allows sack one of your oldest cities that you slap
you to target a specific city improvement. yourself on the head and say, “Dang! Were
there still Spearmen defending that place?”
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Unit upgrades become available when

you discover new technologies, but the TIP
game doesn’t remind you when the You can upgrade all units of a given
upgrades are available—you have to learn type simultaneously! To do so, activate
that on your own. Table 8-6 lists all of the one of the units, hold s, and press
upgradable units, the units to which they U. This upgrades all units of a selected
type, eliminating the need to upgrade
can be upgraded, and the civilization
them individually. This is the best way
advances that make the upgrades possible. to avoid forgetting to upgrade a unit.
TABLE 8-6. UNIT UPGRADE AVAILABILITY

UNIT UPGRADES TO: AFTER THE DISCOVERY OF:
Archer Longbowman Invention
Artillery Radar Artillery Robotics
Bomber Stealth Bomber Stealth
Bowman Longbowman Invention
Cannon Artillery Replaceable Parts
Caravel Galleon Magnetism
Catapult Cannon Metallurgy
Chariot Horseman Horseback Riding
Fighter Jet Fighter Rocketry
Galleon Transport Combustion
Galley Caravel Astronomy
Hoplite Musketman Gunpowder
Horseman Knight Chivalry
Impi Musketman Gunpowder
Infantry Mech Infantry Computers
Jaguar Warrior Swordsman Iron Working
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TABLE 8-6. UNIT UPGRADE AVAILABILITY, CONTINUED

UNIT UPGRADES TO: AFTER THE DISCOVERY OF:
Knight Cavalry Military Tradition
Mounted Warrior Knight Chivalry
Musketeer Rifleman Nationalism
Musketman Rifleman Nationalism
Panzer Modern Armor Synthetic Fibers
Pikeman Musketman Gunpowder
Rider Cavalry Military Tradition
Rifleman Infantry Replaceable Parts
Samurai Cavalry Military Tradition
Spearman Pikeman Feudalism
Tank Modern Armor Synthetic Fibers
War Chariot Knight Chivalry
War Elephant Cavalry Military Tradition
Warrior Swordsman Iron Working
Deal Swiftly with Barbarians

TIP Barbarians aren’t as faceless as they once
Unit upgrades are most important for were—they’re now minor tribes with names
your defensive units. If you can’t afford
and bases of operation. Still, a Barbarian
to upgrade all of your units, always
upgrade your city defenders first.
is an annoyance that must be dealt with.
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®
Because Barbarians now arise from small from passing through, they automatically
villages that you can easily locate on the attack enemy units that pass through the
map, don’t let them walk all over you. As Zone—without being attacked in return.
soon as they start harassing one of your By setting up units that project a Zone
cities, look for their village. If you don’t of Control at intervals along your empire’s
see it, send a solid offensive unit in the borders, you can greatly reduce an enemy’s
direction from which the attackers always chances of getting through to your cities
arrive. Take a circuitous course so that you undamaged. When possible, place your
don’t run into one or more of them head-on. units on terrain squares that give them
Eventually, you’ll find their village. a visibility and/or defensive advantage.
When you do, attack it. Barbarian villages
are usually defended by only one unit, and
are easy to wipe out (especially on the
easier difficulty levels). This solves your
Barbarian problem and nets you some Gold
as well. Sacking a Barbarian village is the
same as capturing a Barbarian leader in the
previous Civilization games, only easier—
the villages don’t run away.
Setting up a Zone of Control perimeter
along the border.
Taking Advantage of the
New Zones of Control
Units no longer project a Zone of Control A list of units that project Zones of
that prevents opposing units from moving Control can be found in the Civilopedia.
within one terrain square of them. This
is a nice feature in that it makes moving The Benefits of Fortresses
around the map in peacetime a lot easier. Fortresses have always been one of the
But, in uneasy times, it makes it easier overlooked military advantages in
for your opponents to move through your Civilization. In Civ III, these already useful
territory unchallenged. structures become even more effective.
Certain units in the game still project Form an effective frontline defense for
Zones of Control, but they work a little your cities by having your Workers
differently than they did in the previous construct several fortresses within your city
Civ games. Instead of preventing enemies radius and fortify several units within each.
178
The units receive the fortification and the Another method combines a conventional
fortress defensive bonuses as well as a new city siege with a paradrop. Bombard the
attack bonus. Units stationed in a fortress target city with artillery units, naval units,
act as if they have a Zone of Control (as and/or bombers (or any combination
described earlier)—they attack any enemy thereof) to weaken the city’s defenses
units that pass within one square of them before you send in the Paratroopers. This
without being attacked in return. usually results in fewer Paratrooper losses.
For added protection, extend the The third and most certain method
fortress perimeter strategy to include should only be used if you have no intention
fortresses along key approach paths to of turning away from your warlike ways
your empire near your empire’s borders. in the remainder of the game. It involves
nuclear warfare, and the diplomatic
The Art of Paradropping consequences are always dire. But, it
Capturing cities is the Paratrooper’s specialty. does work nicely.
Any opposing city within paradrop range Drop an ICBM on the target city. This
is ripe for the taking and, if you’re at has a good chance of clearing out all
war, don’t hesitate. There are a couple of the city’s defenders. When the city is
of ways to take advantage of this unit’s defenseless, drop your Paratrooper directly
unique capabilities. into the city and, voilà! It’s yours! Make
If you have the time and resources, sure you drop in enough Paratroopers to
stockpile a number of Paratroopers in hold the city until you can get some more
your city and drop them all in the squares powerful defenders to the site. Your hostile
surrounding the target city on a single enemies are sure to be gunning for you
turn. On the next turn, attack the city with when you pull this stunt.
the Paratroopers. This strategy depends on
your having enough Paratroopers to get the Keeping the Good Land
job done, and the losses are usually heavy to Yourself
if the city is well defended. (Paratroopers The addition of right-of-passage treaties
aren’t the best offensive units available.) and the elimination of traditional Zones
Bolster your attack capabilities by using of Control makes the peacetime world an
a Helicopter to airdrop some stronger easier place to navigate. Unfortunately,
attack units—Marines, for instance—to it also makes it easy for your greedy
help the Paratroopers. neighbors to take advantage of your
hospitality and hone in on your territory
by squeezing a city in among your own.
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When there is a right-of-passage Use Precision Strikes

agreement in effect, watch your neighbors’ It doesn’t take long to realize that
troop movements closely. Military units are bombarding cities before you attempt to
fine—they’re usually just passing through on capture them is a good idea. The softer the
their way to smite someone else. But watch city defenses, the easier it is to march in
for Settlers. When you see your neighbor’s and take over. The only problem is that
Settler enter your territory, determine its bombardment is very random—you never
course immediately. If you think the Settler know what you’re going to hit.
is heading for a prime piece of your real When Stealth Bombers and Fighters
estate, set up roadblocks—fortified units become available, you can use precision
blocking all roads into the area and, strikes to take out specific city
perhaps, a couple more in the spot where improvements. This can be extremely
you think your opponent is planning to helpful prior to an invasion. For instance,
build. It is to your advantage to keep your you can target a city’s SAM Battery to
empire contiguous, so preventing this sort keep your aircraft safe, or you can take
of peaceful incursion is important. out the city’s Coastal Fortress to allow
easier approach from the sea.
TIP Precision strikes are useful even
If you can afford to do so—and if doing if you don’t plan to take the city
so will create a city that languishes outright. By targeting happiness-inducing
due to lack of resources or the close improvements—Cathedrals, Colosseums,
proximity of other cities—the best way and so on— you can throw the city into
to cut off a neighbor’s intrusive city
disorder. Or, a series of precision strikes
building inside your territory is to rush
your own Settler to the potential site
at the enemy’s science improvements—
and build a new city before your Libraries, Universities, and Research Labs—
neighbor gets a chance to do so. can bring their research efforts to a
grinding halt, allowing you to gain an edge
(or to catch up if you’ve fallen behind).
NOTE
When all of the improvements in a
target city have been destroyed, preci-
sion strikes target the city's population.
180
IX
THE MANY PATHS
TO VICTORY
T here was a time when victory in the
Civilization® game was achieved in one
of two ways—either you were the first to
NOTE
If you’d rather not allow certain victory
build a spaceship and have it reach Alpha types, you can disable the ones you
Centauri or you completely wiped out all don’t want when you’re setting up a
of your opponents. Both were challenging, new game.
and both were fun, but both were an
all-or-nothing proposition.
Civilization III introduces a number SPACE VICTORY
of new victory conditions. You can still The space race is one of several
reach for the stars and exterminate your nonconfrontational victory conditions.
enemies if you want to, but you now have Civilization veterans are no doubt familiar
other options as well. with this one. While it’s still one of the
This chapter looks at the six victory more difficult victories to achieve, building
conditions available in Civ® III and explains your starship has gotten a lot easier.
how to achieve them.
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®
You can start building your spaceship as In addition, you’ll need access to the
soon as you complete the Apollo Program following strategic resources:
Small Wonder. There are 10 spaceship • Aluminum
components, each of which requires a
different advance and/or special resource • Rubber
to build. You must build one (and only • Uranium
one) of each spaceship component to
Here are a few additional pointers:
complete your spaceship and send it
on its way. • Play on a large world. The bigger,
the better. The less contact you have
with other civilizations, the more time
you’ll have to research your way to a
decisive lead.
• Choose a science-minded civilization.
Big time science output is the key to
victory here, so play as a civilization
with Scientific ability. (See chapter II
for details.)
• Start the parts early. As soon as any
spaceship part becomes available, build
it. The faster you build them all, the
faster you’ll win.
Alpha Centauri or bust!
• Protect your cities. Losing a city that’s
If you’re shooting for this victory building a spaceship part sets back your
condition, follow a peaceful line of research schedule. Be particularly careful to
throughout the Industrial Ages and Modern protect your capital. If the capital falls
Times (see chapter VI for details.) Make during spaceship construction, you
Space Flight your first Modern research have to start building the ship again
goal. To build all the spaceship components from scratch.
you also need:
• The Laser
• Satellites
• Superconductor
• Synthetic Fibers
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CHAPTER IX: THE MANY PATHS TO VICTORY
Here are a few general tips for you

NOTE warmonger types:
Good news! You no longer have to wait • Choose a small world. If you intend to
for your spaceship to reach Alpha conquer the world, don’t prolong things
Centauri. If you complete and launch the
by starting out halfway across the map
ship before any of the other civilizations,
you immediately win! from your neighbors. Small worlds bring
things to a head quickly.
• Select the right civilization. Play a
CONQUEST VICTORY civilization that has a military edge.
If you like to conquer early, try the
Japanese or the Chinese (Samurai and
Riders). For late-game fighting, go
with the Germans (Panzers rule the
Industrial Ages).
• Start early. Regardless of which civilization
you play, seek out your neighbors early.
Take out your weakest enemies before
their empires have time to spread.
• Build military improvements and
Wonders. A Barracks in every city is a
must. Build Wonders such as Battlefield
Medicine, Military Academy, and any
Sometimes, nothing beats a good old- others that give you an edge over
fashioned war—or, endless centuries your rivals.
thereof—to prove that you’re the superior
• Build any and all “happiness generators.”
leader. Of all of the victory conditions
Because of the war weariness you’re
available, the conquest victory is the
bound to experience, make sure all of
most challenging in terms of resources and
your cities have Temples, Cathedrals, and
population happiness. Turn after turn of
Police Stations. Make happiness Wonders
pumping out military units taxes your
high on your priority list.
shield production to the limit, and fielding
all of those units makes it difficult to keep
war weariness at bay.
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®
• Be ruthless. Make friends with your • Build up a single city with a Culture
neighbors for your own selfish reasons. Point value of 20,000 or more.
Bring the enemy to his knees, accept • Build your entire civilization’s Culture
his offer of tribute, sign the treaty, and Point value to 80,000 and have that
then wipe him out when his Gold is in total be at least twice as high as your
your coffers. closest rival.
CULTURAL VICTORY NOTE

Obviously, these point totals refer to an
accumulation of Culture Points over the
course of the game and not to the
number of Culture Points earned in a
single turn.
Here are some tips for achieving a

Cultural Victory:
• Choose a Culture-friendly civilization.
Because Culture Points are generated by
religious and scientific improvements,
play as a civilization that has one of
Culture is a new concept, but not a these specialties.
particularly difficult one to grasp. You • Build everything that generates Culture.
can see your Culture grow throughout the This one’s a no-brainer. The more Culture-
game as you build Culture-producing producing units and Wonders you
improvements and Wonders in your cities. build, the more Culture points you
This expands your borders throughout earn. (Culture is discussed in detail in
the game and often leads to the defection chapter IV.)
of awed neighboring cities from their • Spread your Culture over many cities.
culturally poor motherlands to your Yes, you can win a Cultural Victory by
burgeoning paradise. building up a single city to super-Culture
If you’re feeling up to the challenge, status, but that’s dangerous. If the city
you can actually win the game by building is captured, there go your victory
the end-all, be-all Cultural Mecca of the plans. If you spread the Culture, the
world. To do this, you must achieve one loss of one or two cities won’t be as
of two goals: big a deal.
184
CHAPTER IX: THE MANY PATHS TO VICTORY
• Protect your assets. Protect your When the election takes place, you
culturally rich cities. If you do try the must win the majority of the votes from
one-city method, make sure that city other civilizations.
has an airtight defense. This is, perhaps, the most difficult
victory to achieve. For the most part, play
the game as if attempting a Space or
DIPLOMATIC VICTORY Cultural Victory—in other words, take the
peaceful route. In addition, keep the
following in mind:
• Build the United Nations. This is a sure
way to become eligible for the vote,
so why leave it to chance if this is the
victory path you’ve chosen?
• Keep your diplomatic slate clean.
If you want the others to vote for you,
play fair and square when it comes
to negotiations. No breaking treaties,
making harsh demands, and so on.
After someone builds the United Nations Getting along with your neighbors is
Wonder, there are periodic votes to elect the key to a Diplomatic victory.
the new UN leader. If you’re elected, you • Do a little brown-nosing. Don’t wait
win the game! It sounds easy, but it isn’t. for your neighbors to come to you. Go
To be eligible for the post, you must meet to them from time to time and initiate
one of the following criteria: negotiations. Offer them small tokens
• Be the one who builds the United of your esteem—a few Gold here, a map
Nations Wonder there—and ask for nothing in return.
This helps to maintain good will.
• Control at least 25 percent of the
world’s territory • Don’t play favorites. Do your best to be
everyone’s friend. When they ask you to
• Control at least 25 percent of the
take sides against someone, counter-offer
world’s population
with a right-of-passage treaty that allows
There are always at least two candidates them to conduct their war without
put up for election. If two candidates your direct involvement.
aren’t eligible, the second candidate is the
civilization with the largest population.
primagames.com 185
®
For details on the finer points of

diplomacy, see chapter V.
HISTOGRAPHIC VICTORY
The final victory relies on that old standby,
your Civilization Score. Throughout the
DOMINATION VICTORY game, your score is constantly tracked. You
The nice thing about the Domination receive points each turn based on a number
Victory is that it can work for two totally of factors, including:
opposite gameplay styles. To win in this • The amount of territory in your empire
manner, you must have at least 66 percent
• The number of happy citizens in
of the world’s land surface within your
your cities
empire’s borders (water doesn’t count).
You can follow one of two paths • The state of your relations with your
to Domination. If you like the military neighbors
approach, follow the advice given for If the game ends before any of the other
the Conquest Victory. By rolling in and five victory conditions has been achieved—
capturing enemy cities (or by wiping out if you retire in mid-game, for instance—
enemy civilizations and building your own the player with the highest average score
cities in their former territory), you can over the course of the game wins. It’s
slowly but surely spread your empire’s that simple.
influence over the requisite amount of To be assured of a Histographic Victory,
the world. just pick a strategy for one of the five
The second Domination method follows other victory types and stick to it. Your
the Cultural Victory route. By building up odds of winning a Histographic Victory
your Culture and spreading it around about are better if you follow a peaceful strategy,
equally in all of your cities, you cause your however, because your population tends
empire’s borders to grow. By combining the to stay happier when you’re not at war.
strategies for Cultural Victory with peaceful
but steady expansion throughout the game,
you can achieve the Domination Victory NOTE
without resorting to undue violence. A Histographic Victory is not one that
you usually try for from the start—it’s
just a sort of consolation prize for doing
TIP your best up to the time you retire.
For a fast Domination game, don’t play
on a large world. Domination Victory
method can be achieved more rapidly
on small worlds with limited landmass.
186
X
THE EDITOR IN THE
CIVILIZATION III GAME
®
O ne of the best things about the

Civilization® II game was that it was
infinitely expandable and customizable.
The built-in editor let you build maps to
your heart’s content, and the brilliant
use of the infamous rules.txt file allowed
would-be designers to modify the game.
If they were really ambitious, they could
create scenarios of their own simply by
editing the text file and, perhaps, altering
a few graphics files.
Civilization III one-ups its predecessor
by including Civ3Edit—a full-featured
editor that eliminates the need to fiddle
with text files. Now you can draw maps and
edit just about every game feature in a
single, simple-to-use application. To start
primagames.com 187
®
the editor, go to the installed directory of Once you’ve set both to your liking,
your game and double-click the Civ3Edit click OK to continue.
application icon.
This final chapter provides a basic Building the Terrain
overview of this powerful editing tool.
To draw terrain on your map, move the
cursor to the spot where you want the
CREATING MAPS terrain to appear and click. By default, the
Civ3Edit follows the conventions of most terrain you start drawing with is Desert.
popular computer art programs. If you’ve Every time you click, a new Desert square
ever used Paint (the drawing program appears. To change the type of terrain
included with Windows), then basic map you’re drawing with, open the Map menu
building will be a snap. and choose Select Brush Type. When
the Select Terrain Type window appears,
choose the terrain you want from the
NOTE drop-down menu.
You also can create a random map To draw multiple terrain squares,
by selecting Generate Map from the click and hold the button and drag the
Map menu. Then modify the map cursor across the screen. This creates an
using the techniques described in
interconnected series of terrain squares. To
the following sections.
cover a broader area in each stroke, change
the brush size by opening the Map menu
and selecting one of the four brush options
World Size and from the Terrain Brush Size options.
Base Terrain Type To change an existing terrain square to
You start off with a blank “normal” world a different type, select the desired terrain
map that consists entirely of Ocean terrain. type as described earlier and click the
Start by setting the world size that you square you want to change.
want. To change the world size, go to the
Map menu and select Clear Map. This brings
up the Clear Map window. Select the world
Adding Special Features
size you want from the drop-down menu. to the Map
You can also change the base terrain When you have your basic terrain laid out,
type. This is the terrain that covers the start adding special features to the map.
entire map when the blank map is created. Open the Map menu and highlight Select
Ocean usually works best, but you can start Brush Type. Besides the normal Terrain
out with any terrain type you like. types, you also can select the following:
188
CHAPTER X: THE EDITOR IN THE CIVILIZATION III GAME
• Good: Selecting this option brings up the Finishing Touches and

Goods window, which allows you to select
any of the special resources in the
Mapmaking Tips
game—Gold, Horses, Iron, Silk, and so
on. (See chapter III for info on the
effects of special resources.) Select the
Good you want to add to the map from
the drop-down menu, click OK, then click
the map square where you want the
resource to appear.
• Overlay: This option allows you to add
special features to the map such as
terrain improvements (roads, railroads,
irrigation, and so on), Barbarian
encampments, pollution, “goodie huts,” The new world
rivers, and even the starting positions for
civilizations. Select the Overlay feature After you’ve got your map the way you
you want to add to the map from the want it, save it by selecting the Save
drop-down menu, click OK, then click the option on the File menu. Save all of your
map square where you want the feature map files in the Maps folder of the directory
to appear. where the game is installed. Load your
saved maps by selecting Load Map from
the main menu.
NOTE Here are a few final tips to assist you
You can place Goods and Overlays in your cartographic efforts:
only on terrain types where they
can actually appear in the game. For • Make sure your maps have a good
example, Horses can be placed only balance of land and sea squares.
on Grasslands, Plains, and Hills, and Maps with too much land or too much
Player Starting Locations cannot be water can cause the game to behave
placed on Coast, Sea, or Ocean unpredictably.
squares. See chapter III for information
on the terrain types where special • Try to create a balanced mix of
resources occur in the game. terrain. Maps that are too hostile make
the game unbelievably difficult (and
perhaps impossible) to win. For example,
creating a world where the land consisted
of nothing but Mountains would be bad.
primagames.com 189
®
• Learn by example. Use the Generate Map • Plural Name: The pluralized version of
option to create a few random maps and the citizen type. Example: “Laborers.”
examine the layout the game uses when • Default Citizen: The type of citizen that
creating a world. The maps created by appears each time a city grows. Laborer
the game are designed to provide an is the normal default. Setting this to one
environment that lends itself to fun, of the other citizen types would wreak
balanced gameplay. havoc in your cities.
• Prerequisite: Allows you to set an
EDITING THE RULES advance prerequisite for each citizen
The Edit Rules option on the Rules menu type except the Default Citizen type.
accesses the most powerful feature of • Bonuses: The additional luxuries,
Civ3Edit. From the Edit Rules window you research (science), and/or taxes each
can change just about any rule, feature, citizen of this type provides. (Example:
name, and statistic in Civilization III. Tax Collectors provide a bonus of one tax.)
The Edit Rules window is divided into
19 categories. Access a section by clicking NOTE
on its tab at the top of the window. Also
Many of the editor sections contain an
access each individual section by selecting option called “Civilopedia Entry.” This
it from the drop-down Edit menu on the is the category and name by which the
main screen. game references the item in question.
The following sections briefly describe In most cases, this entry should not
the rules categories and the options that be altered.
you can edit on each.
Citizens Civilizations
This window allows you to edit the This set of options allows you to set
designations and characteristics of the the characteristics and priorities of
citizens that appear in all of your cities. each of the 16 civilizations in the game.
The available options are: Available options allow you to change
all of the characteristics you can change
• Citizen Type: The type of citizen when customizing a civilization during
(Laborer, Entertainer, Tax Collector, or game setup (see the game manual for
Scientist). You can change these names details). In addition, the following options
by clicking the Rename button. are available:
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• Personality: In this section, you can Civilization Advances

set the civilization’s preferred form of
This portion of the editor allows you to
government, a government that they
alter the characteristics of the civilization
always avoid, and their level of aggression.
advances. Besides the ability to rename the
• Animations: Sets the animations associated advances, the following options are available:
with changing research eras. Don’t change
• Icon: Changes the Civilopedia and research
these settings!
tree icon that identifies the advance.
• Culture Group: Sets the civilization’s
• Cost: The number of accumulated science
global culture (see chapter V for details
icons it takes to discover the advance.
on this characteristic).
• X: and Y: The screen coordinates of the
• City Names: The list of default city
advance as it appears on the research
names for the civilization. The names
tree. Under most circumstances, don’t
are used in order from top to bottom
alter these numbers.
throughout the game.
• Era: The era in which the advance is
• Great Leaders: The list of names for
available. You can switch eras without
the Great Leaders who appear for this
causing game problems (in most cases)
civilization.
but doing so might cause art oddities on
• Team Colors: The accent color used the research tree.
for the civilization’s units.
• Prerequisites: The other advances that
• Bonuses: Allows you to set the must be researched in order to research
civ-specific advantage types for this this advance. You can set up to four
civilization. Normally, each civilization prerequisites. Be careful not to set
has two (see chapter II, table 2-1), but impossible prerequisites. For example,
you can select all six if you like. don’t set Medicine as the prerequisite for
• Free Techs: The advances the civilization Sanitation if you’ve already set Sanitation
has at the start of the game. Normally, as the prerequisite for Medicine.
each civilization starts with two (see • Flags: Here you set the many characteristics
chapter II, table 2-2) but you can select of the advance, such as its effects on
up to four. cities, improvements, and units, its effect
• Governor: The AI equivalent of the City on trade, and whether or not the advance
Governor (see chapter IV), which sets is required in order to move on to the
the city management priorities for the next research era.
civilization. You can select any or all of
the available priority options.
primagames.com 191
®
Combat Experience wouldn’t need to plant a spy in your

embassy to perform this mission.
This window accesses the hit point
information for your units. Here, you
can change the base hit point values for Eras
each of the four unit experience levels— This window allows you to rename the
Conscript, Regular, Veteran, and Elite. four eras of the game—Ancient Times,
You also can rename the experience levels. Middle Ages, Industrial Ages, and Modern
Times—and set the naming conventions
Culture used to identify your researchers
when the discovery of an advance is
This window allows you to set the Culture
announced. (Example: “Roman Mystics
Point ratios that affect your opponents’
have discovered….”)
perception of you throughout the game,
and the effects of these ratios on propaganda
attempts by spies. (See chapter V, General Settings
tables 5-4, 5-6, and 5-7 for details on General Settings is a catchall screen with
what these settings mean.) a huge number of miscellaneous global
game options. The options include:
Difficulty Levels • Road Movement: The movement multiplier
Here you change the names of the various for ground units moving along a road.
difficulty levels available and set the • Food and Gold: Allows you to set the
number of citizens at each level that are amount of food consumed by each citizen
“born” content. The more citizens born per turn and the amount of Gold in your
content, the easier it is to maintain starting treasury.
happiness in your cities. • Corruption: The number of cities you
can have before corruption starts to rise
Diplomats and Spies exponentially. (The actual level of
The options here allow you to change the corruption is still dependent on your
menu designations for diplomat and spy type of government.)
activities and assign each activity as a • Wealth: Sets the base exchange rate
function of either a diplomat or a spy of shields to Gold for cities “building”
or both. Wealth. (A setting of “8” means that
For example, here you could change the the exchange rate is 8 shields = 1 Gold.)
Steal Plans mission from a spy function to This rate is halved after the discovery
a diplomat function. By doing so, you of Economics.
192
• Hurry Production: Sets the exchange • Spaceship Parts: Lets you set the
rate of Gold (or citizens) to shields when number of spaceship parts (and the
rushing a production job. quantities of each part) you need to
• Citizen Mood: Allows you to set a build to achieve a Space Victory.
variety of options concerning citizen • Default Units: Allows you to change a
mood and related topics, such as the variety of default unit types, including
turn penalties between conscriptions default Barbarian land and sea units
and sacrificing citizens for rush jobs. and civilization starting units. The
• Culture: These options are currently not most potent option is the Battle-Created
used in the game. Unit (normally a Leader), which you can
set to any unit in the game—including
• Various Unit Abilities: Allows you to
an Army!
set options such as the benefit you
reap from harvesting forests, number of • Default Money Resource: The special
cities needed for armies, and air attack resource that appears on the terrain
intercept probabilities. square when you visit a “goodie hut”
that gives you Gold.
• City Size Levels: Allows you to rename
the three city sizes (Town, City, and
Metropolis) and edit the size at which Governments
Towns and Cities grow to the next level. This window allows you to manipulate
• Culture Levels: Change the wording the characteristics of the six government
used to describe Culture levels at each types. Besides being able to rename each
stage of their development. You also can government, the following characteristics
set the number of Culture Points needed can be changed:
to advance to the next level. (This • Prerequisite: The advance that must
doesn’t affect your actual Culture Points be discovered before you can switch to
or the total number needed to win a this government type. (Not available for
Cultural victory.) governments flagged as Transition Type
• Defensive Bonuses: Lets you set the or Default Type.)
defensive bonus percentage added for • Corruption and Waste: Allows you to
various factors, including city size, set the level of corruption and waste
fortresses, rivers, fortified units, and under the government type. Minimal
so on. is the lowest and Catastrophic is the
highest. Communal sets the same level
of corruption and waste in each city.
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(See chapter V for details on corruption • Resistance Modifier Vs.: The numeric
and waste.) multiplier that determines the resistance
• Unit Support Costs: Allows you to set level of captured cities based on the type
the amount of Gold paid each turn to of government that controlled them at
support units and the number of support- the time of the capture. Captured cities
free units per Town/City/Metropolis. tend to put up less resistance if the
conquering civilization’s government is
• Rate Cap: Allows you to set an upper
more advanced than theirs.
percentage limit on the amount of
commerce that can be allocated to • Hurrying Production: Changes how you
science. Multiply this number by 10 speed the completion of units and
to obtain the percentage. (So, a Rate improvements. Choose from Cannot Hurry,
Cap of “10” means you can set science Forced Labor (population loss), or Paid
to 100 percent.) Labor (pay Gold to complete the project).
• Worker Rate: The relative rate at which • War Weariness: Sets the effects of war
Workers perform their tasks. For example, weariness for the government type. Low
Anarchy has a Work Rate of “1” and is the equivalent of Republic and High is
Democracy has a Work Rate of “3.” the equivalent of Democracy.
Workers in a Democracy perform their • Espionage: Allows you to set the experience
tasks three times as fast as workers in level of diplomats and spies (the more
an Anarchy. experienced they are, the better their
• Assimilation Chance: The base percentage chance of completing missions). You can
chance that a city under this government also select one diplomatic/spy mission to
type will voluntarily defect to a which the government is immune and the
neighboring civilization. bribery (propaganda) resistance multiplier
for the government versus all other
• Draft Limit: The number of citizens per
government types.
city you can turn into military units.
• Flags: Allows you to set certain general
• Military Police Limit: The maximum
characteristics of the government, such
number of military units that can be
as whether it’s the transition government
garrisoned in a city to impose martial
(the one that you switch to when you
law (one unhappy citizen is made
change governments) or the default
content by each).
government (the one you start the
game with).
• Great Person Mood Modifiers: This is
not currently used in the game.
194
• Ruler Titles: Allows you to change the • Other Characteristics: Allows you to
titles by which you are addressed under set restrictions on the location of the
this government. building, its category, and the scope
of its effects. For example, a “Coastal
Improvements and Wonders installation” can only be built in coastal
cities, and “Continental mood effects”
This section of the editor allows you to edit
restricts the effect on citizens to the
every aspect of the improvements, Wonders
continent where the building is built.
of the World, and Small Wonders. You can
change a multitude of characteristics. • Num. Req. Bldgs.: Sets the number of
prerequisite buildings (specified under
Prerequisites) required to produce the
NOTE building. For example, Battlefield
The options here are too numerous to Medicine requires five Hospitals.
list individually. To get an idea of what
each option and ability does, scroll • Category: The type of building—
through the building list and compare improvement, Wonder, or Small Wonder.
the statistics in the editor to the The category determines the options
building’s stats and description in and effects available for the building.
chapter VII to get an idea of what each
setting indicates. • Cost: The number of shields it takes
to produce the building.
• Maintenance: The amount of Gold
• Required: Allows you to set the advance, you must pay each turn to maintain
building, or government type required for the building.
the construction of the
improvement/Wonder. • Culture: The number of Culture Points
the building generates each turn.
• Required Resources: Allows you to set
up to two different strategic resources • Production: The number of extra shields
required to produce the building. each city square produces when the
building is present.
• Happy/Unhappy Faces: Allows you to
set the building’s effects on the city’s • Pollution: The number of pollution points
populace. For example, setting Unhappy produced by the building each turn.
to “1” means that the building makes • Description: The Civilopedia description
one unhappy citizen content. The “(all of the building.
cities)” setting spreads the effects over • Spaceship Part Type: The type of space-
all of your cities rather than just the city ship part the building emulates (1–10).
where the improvement/Wonder is built.
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• Combat Values: Allows you to set the (a happiness-inducing special resource

combat modifiers the building imparts to such as Silk); or a strategic resource
its city in an attack. (a resource required for certain
• Improvements: The specific benefits an improvements/Wonders, such as Iron).
improvement provides to its city, and the • Prerequisite: The advance that must be
unique abilities and characteristics of discovered before the resource appears on
the building. the map. For example, Horses don’t appear
• Wonders: The settings for Wonder-specific until you discover Horseback Riding.
abilities, including the advance that • Appearance Ratio: The ratio of luxury
makes the Wonder obsolete, the Wonder’s and strategic resource squares to the
happiness effects on other buildings, the number of civilizations in the game.
building the Wonder emulates in every Setting this to 100 means that a six-
city (or in every city on its continent), civilization game would have six terrain
and the specific effects associated with squares with each luxury/strategic
the Wonder. resource, 200 would mean 12 each,
• Small Wonders: The specific effects and so on. (Setting this to “0” picks a
associated with Small Wonders. random number between 50 and 100.)
• Disappearance Probability: Sets the
Natural Resources likelihood of the resource disappearing
(being depleted) each turn when it is
Here you can edit all of the characteristics
connected to a civilization’s trade network.
of the special resources in the game. The
For example, a setting of 100 means
available options are:
there’s a 1 in 100 chance of the resource
• Icon: The map image used for the disappearing every turn. A “0” here means
resource. Changing this number causes that the resource is never depleted.
the game to reference a different image.
For example, changing the Horses icon
from “0” to “1” makes Horses appear as
Terrain
Iron on the map. This portion of the editor allows you to
change the rules regarding the basic terrain
• Farm Bonuses: The additional food, types. The statistics you can alter include:
shields, and/or commerce produced by
the terrain when the resource is present. • Tile Values: Allows you to set the base
food, shield, and commerce output of the
• Type: Identifies the resource as a terrain.
bonus resource (a nontradable special
resource, such as Gold); a luxury resource
196
• Movement Cost: The number of movement • Shield Cost: The number of shields it
points a unit must expend to enter a costs to produce the unit.
terrain square of this type. • Pop. Cost: The number of population
• Defense Bonus: The percentage modifier points lost from a city when it produces
applied to a unit that is attacked on this the unit. (Example: Settlers cost two
terrain type. population points plus their shield cost.)
• Worker Job: Allows you to set a special • Moves: The unit’s base movement rate.
Worker job that can be performed on • Trans. Capacity: The number of other
this terrain (above and beyond the jobs units the unit can transport.
normally available on the terrain type
in question). For example, using this • Zone of Control: Endows the unit with
setting you could allow Workers to a Zone of Control. Units so endowed
irrigate Mountains. automatically attack enemy units that
pass within one square of them (unless
• Pollution Effect: The type of terrain the opposing units are immune to Zones
this terrain changes to when affected of Control).
by global warming.
• Attack Str.: The unit’s attack factor.
• Possible Resources: The types of special
resources that can occur on the terrain • Defense Str.: The unit’s base defensive
type. (Select as many as you want for strength.
each terrain type by holding c • Operational Range: The operational
and clicking each resource.) range (applies to air units).
• Bombard Str.: The unit’s bombardment
Units strength.
This set of options allows you to customize • Bombard Range: The range at which the
the abilities of the game’s units. Besides unit can launch a bombardment attack.
the ability to change each unit’s name, the • Rate of Fire: The number of volleys fired
following options are available: by per bombardment.
• Icon: Changes the icon used by the unit. • Required Resources: The strategic
• Required: The advance you must discover resources required to build the unit
to build the unit. Don’t set a prerequisite (choose up to three).
for Settlers. You can’t build cities without
Settlers, and you can’t perform research
without cities.
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• Unit Abilities: The special abilities the • Special Actions: Sets the special abilities
unit possesses (such as nuclear weapon, the unit is able to perform. Selecting
amphibious capabilities, ignores Zones contradictory abilities—such as Finish
of Control, and so on). Select as many Improvement for a Cruise Missile, for
abilities as you like by holding c and instance—can lead to unpredictable
clicking the desired items. Overloading unit behavior, especially when under
a unit with conflicting characteristics AI control.
can create unpredictable results. • Worker/Engineer Actions: Allows you
• Available to: Allows you to restrict the to assign Worker abilities and commands
unit’s availability to the civilizations to a unit. Again, these features can
you select. cause odd behavior when assigned to
• Class: Identifies the unit as a ground, certain units.
naval, or air unit and endows it with the • Air Missions: Selects the air missions the
basic characteristics of the selected class. unit is capable of performing. The same
Changing the class of pivotal units warning stands—oddities might result
(such as Settlers and Workers) can cause from when these attributes are assigned
unplayable situations. to units that they weren’t designed for.
• AI Strategies: This group of options
defines how the AI uses the unit. The Unit Abilities/Unit
choices are restricted based on the unit’s Actions/Unit Orders
Class, the options selected under Unit
These three editor categories allow you
Abilities, and certain Special Actions
to change the names of unit abilities
selections. Deselecting all AI Strategies for
(Wheeled, Ignore Zones of Control, All
a unit causes the AI not to use the unit
Terrain As Roads), unit actions (Hold, Wait,
at all—which can produce unpredictable
Fortify) and unit orders (Build Fortress,
results depending on the unit.
Build Road). This changes their verbiage in
• Standard Orders: Allows you to set which the game—nothing more. You can enter
of the standard gameplay functions (Skip a short description of abilities and actions.
Turn, Wait, and so on) the unit is able
to perform.
198
Worker Jobs • Width and Height: The width and

height of the map (as measured in
This portion of the editor deals specifically
terrain squares). You can set each to
with the tasks performed by Workers—
any value from 16 to 256.
mining, building roads, and so on. In addition
to the ability to change the name of each • Number of Civs: The default number
task, you can alter the following: of civilizations included in the game for
the selected world size. (You can change
• Required: The advance you must discover
this manually during game setup.)
before the Worker can perform the task.
Setting a high number of civilizations
• Required Resources: The strategic on a very small map can lead to
resources you must have access to for unpredictable results.
the Worker to perform the job. (You can
• Distance Between Civs: The minimum
select two.)
distance (in map squares) between
• Turns to Complete: The base number of civilization starting positions. Make
turns required for the Worker to complete sure this number is set lower than the
the job. Width and Height numbers. Setting this
number extremely low can lead to a
World Sizes very odd game.
The final editor section allows you to • Description: Allows you to enter a brief
manipulate a number of features regarding description for the world size.
world size. As with many other features,
you can rename the world size classifications
if you wish. You also can set the following:
primagames.com 199
XI
CONVERSING WITH
THE CREATOR
Sid Meier has been making computer games Prima: There are tons of Civilization fan sites
since—well, pretty much since the inception of out there, and we’re sure you get lots of fan
the computer game industry! With more than a mail from avid players. How much was the
dozen hit games under his belt, it’s safe to say Civ III design influenced by the suggestions
that no one knows the industry quite as well and comments of existing Civ players?
as Sid. What he has to say about game design Sid: As I just mentioned, we’ve had lots of
could probably fill an entire book. So, because Civ player feedback over the years that has
this book is about the Civilization® III game, we definitely helped us shape Civ III. We’re very
ran some questions by the legend himself and thankful to the Civ community for sharing their
asked him for some of his thoughts on his thoughts with us.
latest creation.
Prima: How did your experience with Sid Meier’s
Prima: Why did you decide to do another
Alpha Centauri influence the design of Civ III?
Civilization? Haven’t you given people enough
There are some obvious similarities between the
sleepless nights?
two games.
Sid: It was time! :) Between the tremendous
Sid: We learned a lot of good things with Alpha
amount of feedback we’ve had from Civ® players
Centauri…one of which is that more does not
over the years and the multitude of ideas our
always mean better. We took some of the cool
development team had, we knew we could
features and technological advances we made
take the Civ experience to the next level…and
in SMAC and implemented them in Civ III.
we have!
200
C HAPTER XI: CONVERSING WITH THE CREATOR
Prima: There are some notable Civ II items— Prima: In Civ II Multiplayer, you were able to
advances, units, improvements, etc.—missing trade units with other civilizations. Civ III allows
from Civilization III. In fact, in some ways, many items to be traded, but not units. Any
Civ III seems closer in design to the original particular reason?
game. Was this your intention and, if so, why? Sid: In Civ III, along with the multitude of
Sid: Our goal with Civ III has been to take the things that can be traded, you can also trade
light-hearted, fun elements of the original Civ, Worker units.
the depth of Civ II, and refine and improve
them to add the many new features and ideas Prima: The idea of national borders—rather
we’ve developed, making Civ III the best Civ than a loose collection of city states—is an
experience ever. excellent addition to the game, though it tends
to greatly change the player’s interaction with
Prima: What happened to Fundamentalism? the other civilizations. How did that idea
Some of the more militant Civ II players swear come about, and how hard was it to integrate
by it. and balance?
Sid: It created a balance problem in the game Sid: Some things are just obviously good ideas.
that we couldn’t rectify, so we didn’t include it. This was one of them. However, the way in
which they function based on Culture was a
Prima: Another interesting change is the fact “breakthrough” for us. We spent a long time
that you no longer have to wait for the spaceship trying various strategies for national boundaries
to reach Alpha Centauri. What prompted growing naturally. We had the idea of Culture
that change? growing out of cities and we had the desire
Sid: We want you to be able to revel in your for national boundaries. The breakthrough
victory immediately! was when we decided that the two should
be combined.
Prima: Both the naval and the air units work
differently in Civ III—they operate more Prima: Elvis seems to have left the building.
realistically. Did bombardment and the new Many players actually called the Entertainers
air rules create any balance problems? “Elvis.” Why do away with The King?
Sid: In some way, every element creates a Sid: It was time to say goodbye…and he
balance problem, so a major focus for us is to refused to get off my blue suede shoes, so he
do what it takes to keep everything balanced. had to go. ;-)
Bombardment and the new air rules did create
a balance challenge, but nothing major.
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Prima: What made you decide to do away with Prima: Scenarios kept Civ II going strong for
the previous trade system? years after its release. Are there any scenario
Sid: We had some better ideas! We’re really packs planned for Civ III? Do you have any
excited about the expanded trade system. A big scenario ideas you’d like to share with us?
change is that trade has been abstracted to the Sid: The mod community is very important
diplomacy system and trade advisors will no to us and we’re dedicated to supporting them
longer require you to use Caravan units. Trade after the release of Civ III. Stay tuned for
goods are composed of luxuries and resources. more details. :)
Luxuries are goods that improve the happiness
of your cities. Resources are needed to make Prima: Half the people reading this probably
certain military units (Iron, for example, is want to be game designers. Can you help them
needed to make the Swordsman or Roman learn from your mistakes? Over your whole
Legion units). career, what mistake did you learn the most
from, and what did you learn?
Prima: In today’s market, there seems to be Sid: I’ve learned to recognize when something
an unwritten demand for multiplayer in every in the game design isn’t working and change
product. Do you believe that turn-based games it—even if that means taking a whole new
like Civilization are conducive to multiplayer? approach to the game. So, I guess the lesson for
In your opinion, is it still okay to make single- young game designers is to be open to making
player-only games? adjustments—even big ones—if you’re finding
Sid: The single-player experience has always that the game just isn’t working well.
been the main focus of Civilization. However,
we’re working on some cool multiplayer Prima: What games do you play to learn from?
concepts that will take a fresh approach to For fun?
the challenge of making multiplayer for a Sid: I don’t really make that distinction. I like
turned-based game fun. We’re not yet ready to play good games that are fun and teach you
to give details, but stay tuned. something at the same time.
Prima: Was there any concept or feature Prima: One final question. Civilization IV. Have
that you tried to work into Civ III that just you thought whether you’d like to do Civ IV and,
didn’t work? if so, what it might be like?
Sid: We had an idea for Great People (Artists, Sid: That’s a good question. If the fans still
Scientist, Politicians) in addition to Great want more after Civ III, then we’ll talk about
Leaders. There was a system for defection to giving them more. :)
other countries, kidnapping, and so on. We
couldn’t get this to work in a satisfactory way,
so we didn’t include it.
202
INDEX
A Border expansion, 62-63, 201
Bowman, 167
and global cultures, 69
interacting with other, 5-6
Abilities, customizing unit, 197-198 Bribery, 6 Civilopedia Entry, 190
Advanced Flight, 101 Bronze Working, 87 Climate options, 9-10
Advances Build/Advance Rate, 15 Coal Plant, 124-125
age-by-age descriptions of, 86-112 Coast terrain, 21
alphabetical list of, 80-86
altering characteristics of, 191
C Coastal Fortress, 125
Cancer, Cure for, 138 Code of Laws, 87-88
importance of, 76 Colonies, 3
Cannon, 151, 158
new in Civ III, 4 Colosseum, 125
Caravel, 159-160
researching, 77-79, 80, 86, 113 Colossus, 137
Carrier, 160
skipping, 87 Combat, 172-180
Catapult, 151, 158
trading, 70-71 Combat Bonus, 15
Cathedral, 124, 141-142
AEGIS Cruiser, 159 Combustion, 102
Cavalry, 152
Age options, 10-11 Commerce, 19, 60, 77-78, 80
Ceremonial Burial, 87
Ages of civilization, 4, 77, 80, 192 Communism, 58-59, 102
Chariot, 152, 171
Air combat, 175, 201 Computers, 107
Chemistry, 94
Airport, 66, 123 Conquest Victory, 14, 116, 183-184
Chivalry, 95
Alpha Centauri, 181, 182, 183, 201 Conscript units, 174, 192
Cities
Alphabet, 87 Construction, 88
assimilating, 63
Amphibious War, 101 Content Citizens feature, 15
and corruption/waste, 60
Anarchy, 35, 57 Continents worlds, 8, 9
deciding when to build, 31
Ancient Times, 86-93, 114, 116, 192 Control, Zone of, 178, 179
improving, 119 (See also
Animation settings, 191 Cool climate, 10
Improvements)
Apollo Program, 136-137 Copernicus’s Observatory, 137-138
investigating, 72
Aqueduct, 123 Corporation, 102
liberating, 63
Archer, 150 Corruption, 56, 59-60, 192
managing, 34-54
Archipelago worlds, 8-9 Cossack, 167
placement of, 17, 29-31
Arctic terrain, 20 Courthouse, 60, 125-126
size classifications, 35, 193
Arid climate, 9-10 Cruise Missile, 164
and trade, 65-66
Armies, 172, 174 Cruiser, AEGIS, 159
trading, 71
Armor, 154, 158 Cultural Advisor’s screen, 60
Citizens, 34, 35-42, 190-191
Art of War, Sun Tzu’s, 146 Cultural Victory, 6, 14, 115, 184-185
City Display, 19
Artillery, 151, 155, 158 Culture Points, 3, 60-64, 105, 184, 192
City Governor, 44, 47, 191
Artistry, 96-97 Cultures, global, 69, 191
City improvements. See Improvements
Astronomy, 94 Cure for Cancer, 138
City Walls, 132
Atomic Theory, 101 Currency, 88. See also Gold
Civ3Edit, 187-199
B Civil disorder, 37-38
Civilization advances. See Advances D
Bach’s Cathedral, 141-142 Civilization III Dam, Hoover, 140
Banking, 94, 123-124 editor, 187-199 Defense, Integrated, 109
Barbarian, 3, 11-12, 15, 177-178 interview with creator, 200-202 Defensive Bonus, 20
Barracks, 124 new features, 2-6, 187, 201 Defensive Power, 173
Battlefield Medicine, 137, 174-175 peaceful vs. warlike play, 113 Democracy, 59, 95
Battleship, 159 previous products, 1 Desert terrain, 22
Bombardment, 175, 180, 201 setup options, 7-16 Despotism, 57
Bomber, 163, 165, 180 Civilization-specific units, 166-171 Destroyer, 160
Bonus resources, 3, 25-26 Civilizations Difficulty levels, 15, 192
Bonuses ages of, 4 Diplomacy, 5-6, 67-71
Barbarian Combat Bonus, 15 changes in Civ III, 3, 12 Diplomatic actions, 72-73, 192
and civilization characteristics, 13 characteristics of, 13 Diplomatic Victory, 6, 14, 185-186
Defensive Bonus, 20 choosing, 14, 166 Domestic Advisor’s screen, 19, 48
Irrigation Bonus, 20, 30 editing characteristics of, 190-191 Domestic trade, 65-66
Mining Bonus, 21
Road Bonus, 21
primagames.com 203
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Domination Victory, 6, 14, 116, 186

Draft, 45-46, 194
G and civilization advances, 81-86
contrasted with Wonders, 133
Galleon, 161 and Culture Points, 61
E Galley, 161
Game setup, 7-16
and happiness, 40-41
Ecology, 108 and money, 51
Genetics, 108 and pollution, 52, 53
Economics, 95
Glacier terrain, 20 pros and cons of specific, 123-133
Editor, 187-199
Global cultures, 69, 191 and resources, 32-33
Education, 96
Global warming, 54 and scientific research, 78-79
Electricity, 102
Gold, 48, 50, 132-133, 192 selling, 6, 50
Electronics, 103
Golden Age, 75 and shields, 43-44
Elephant, War, 171
Goods window, 189 vital statistics, 120-122
Elite units, 174, 192
Governments Industrial Ages, 100-107, 115, 117, 192
Elvis, 201
altering characteristics of, 193-195 Industrialization, 103-104
Empires
and commerce, 80 Infantry, 153, 154
building/expanding, 17, 62, 148
and corruption/waste, 59-60 Integrated Defense, 109
and corruption/waste, 59-60
pros/cons of specific types, 55-59 Intelligence Agency, 141
and Culture Points, 60-65
and resource production, 33 Interest income, 50
and diplomacy, 67-71, 72-73
Governor, 44, 47, 191 Invention, 97
and espionage, 72, 73-75
Granary, 126 Iron Working/Works, 88-89, 141
management issues, 55
Grassland terrain, 22-23 Ironclad, 161
and trade, 65-67
Gravity, Theory of, 100 Irrigation, 3, 20, 30, 31
Engineering, 96
Great Library, 138-139
Entertainer, 39, 190
Entertainment, 19, 20
Great Lighthouse, 139, 161
Great Wall, 139
J
Eras, renaming, 192 Jaguar Warrior, 169
Ground units, 149-158
Espionage, 73-75, 103, 194 Jet Fighter, 165, 175
Gunpowder, 97
Evolution, Theory of, 146 JS Bach’s Cathedral, 141-142
Exchange rate, 132, 193
Experience levels, 174, 192
H Jungle terrain, 23, 158
Explorer, 152 Hanging Gardens, 90, 140

Happiness, 35-42, 128
K
Knight, 153
F Harbor, 66, 127
Healing, 174-175
Knowledge, 76. See also Advances
F-15, 167, 175
Factory, 126
Helicopter, 164
Heroic Epic, 140
L
Feudalism, 96 Laborer, 190
Hill terrain, 23
Fighter, 164, 165, 175, 180 Land Mass options, 8-9
Histographic Victory, 6, 186
Finances, 48-52. See also Gold Laser, 109
Hit points, 174, 192
Fission, 108 Leader, 171-172, 191
Hoover Dam, 140
Flags, 194 Legionary, 169
Hoplite, 168
Flight, 101, 103, 111 Leonardo’s Workshop, 142
Horseback Riding, 88
Flood Plain terrain, 22 Levels
Horseman, 152
Food, 18, 35, 192 Barbarian activity, 11
Hospital, 127
Forbidden Palace, 60, 138 game difficulty, 15, 192
Hydro Plant, 127-128
Foreign Advisor, 69-70 unit experience, 174, 192
Foreign trade, 66-67
Forest terrain, 22, 31, 43
I Liberation, city, 63
Library, 128, 138-139
Fortresses, 125, 178-179 ICBM, 164-165
Lighthouse, 139, 161
Free Artistry, 96-97 Immortal, 168
Literature, 89
Frigate, 160 Impi, 168
Logging, 43
Fundamentalism, 6, 201 Improvements, 119-133
Longbowman, 153
Future Technologies, 112 altering characteristics of, 195-196
Longevity, 142
changes in Civ III, 5, 6
Luxury resources, 3, 26, 38-39
204
INDEX
M Newton’s University, 143

Normal climate, 9-10
Regular units, 174, 192
Replaceable Parts, 106
Magellan’s Voyage, 142 Nuclear Plant, 129 Republic, 58, 92
Magnetism, 97-98 Nuclear Power, 109-110 Research
Man-O-War, 169 Nuclear Submarine, 161 and ages of development, 77, 80
Manhattan Project, 143 Nuke, Tactical, 165 importance of, 76
Manufacturing Plant, 128 and improvements/Wonders, 79
Map Making, 70, 89
Maps, 70, 74, 188-190
O maximizing capabilities, 77-80
Observatory, Copernicus’s, 137-138 strategies, 113-118
Marine, 153 Research Advisor, 80
Ocean terrain, 24
Marketplace, 128 Research Lab, 130
Offshore Platform, 129
Martial law, 39-40, 194 Research tree, 4, 86, 93, 100, 107
Opponent Build/Advance Rate, 15
Martial Law Units, 56 Resistance, 36-37
Oracle, 143
Masonry, 90 Resources
Overlay feature, 189
Mass Production, 104 altering characteristics of, 196
Mass Transit System, 129
Mathematics, 90
P “Big Three,” 18-19, 20
Palace, 60, 130, 138 bonus, 3, 25-26
Mech Infantry, 154 changes in Civ III, 3
Medicine, 104, 137, 174-175 Pangaea worlds, 8, 9
Panzer, 158, 170 effect of government type on, 33
Meier, Sid, 1, 200-202 increasing yield from, 31, 32-33
Metallurgy, 98 Paratrooper, 154-155, 179
Parts, Replaceable, 106 luxury, 3, 26, 38-39
Metropolis, 35, 193 mapping, 29-30, 189
Middle Ages, 93-100, 114, Peace research paths, 113-115
Pentagon, 144, 172 special, 3, 25, 189
116-117, 192 strategic, 3, 26-28
Military Academy, 143 Philosophy, 91
Physics, 99 trading, 65-67
Military conflict, 113 Restless level, Barbarian, 11
Military Tradition, 98 Pikeman, 155
Plains terrain, 24 Rider, 170
Miniaturization, 109 Rifleman, 155
Mining, 21, 31 Player Setup screen, 12, 14
Police Station, 130 Right-of-passage, 179-180
Missile, 164-165 River, 28
Missile Battery, 131 Pollution, 52-54
Polytheism, 91 Road, 21, 31
Missile Defense, Strategic, 146 Road Movement options, 192
Modern Armor, 154, 158 Population growth, 34-35, 36
Pottery, 91-92 Roaming level, Barbarian, 11
Modern Times, 107-112, 115, 118, 192 Robotics, 110
Monarchy, 57, 90 Power, 106-107, 109-110, 127-128,
129, 131 Rocketry, 110
Money, 16, 48, 51. See also Gold Rules, 14, 190-199
Monotheism, 98 Precision strikes, 180
Printing Press, 99-100 Rules.txt file, 187
Motorized Transportation, 104 Rush jobs, 46, 56
Mountain terrain, 24, 158 Privateer, 162
S
Mounted Warrior, 169 Production, 42, 44-46, 56
Move Cost, 20 Propaganda, 64-65, 73-75
Pyramid, 144 Sabotage, 73
Multiplayer games, 202
SAM Missile Battery, 131
Music Theory, 99
Musketeer, 170 R Samurai, 170
Radar Artillery, 155, 158 Sanitation, 106
Musketman, 154
Radio, 105 Satellite, 111
Mysticism, 91
Raging level, Barbarian, 11 Science, 4, 19, 77.
N Railroad, 31 See also Research; Technology
Scientific Method, 106
Nationalism, 104-105 Random level, Barbarian, 11
Rate Cap, 194 Scientist, 79-80, 190
Naval units, 158-162 Scout, 170-171
Navigation, 99 Recycling, 110, 130
Refining, 105 SDI Defense, 146
Negotiation, 5-6 Sea terrain, 24-25
primagames.com 205
®
Sedentary level, Barbarian, 11 Terrain Vital statistics

Senate, 6 altering rules regarding, 196-197 air units, 163
SETI Program, 144 basic types, 20-25 civilization-specific units, 166-167
Settler, 155-156, 180 changes in Civ III, 3 ground units, 149-150
Setup options, 7-16 drawing on map, 188 improvements, 120-122
Shakespeare’s Theater, 145 improving, 31 naval units, 158-159
Shields, 18, 42-44 vital statistics, 20-21 terrains, 20-21
Sid Meier’s Alpha Centauri, 200 Theater, Shakespeare’s, 145 Wonders, 133-136
Sid Meier’s Civilization, 1. Theology, 100
See also Civilization III Theory of Evolution, 146 W
Sistine Chapel, 145 Theory of Gravity, 100 Wall, The Great, 139
Small Wonders, 5, 81, 133, 136, 195 Town, 35, 193 Wall Street, 147
Smart Weapons, 111 Trade, 65-67, 70-71, 201, 202 Walls, 132
Smith’s Trading Company, 145 Trading Company, Smith’s, 145 War Chariot, 171
Solar Plant, 131 Transit System, Mass, 129 War Elephant, 171
Space Flight, 111 Transport, 162 War weariness, 6, 36, 194
Space Victory, 14, 181-183 Transportation, Motorized, 104 Warm climate, 10
Spaceship Components, 131 Treasury, 16, 48, 78 Warmonger research paths, 116-118
Spearman, 156 Treaties, 179-180 Warrior, 169
Special resources, 3, 25, 189 Tribes, 3 Warrior Code, 92, 157
Spies, 74, 192, 194 Tundra terrain, 25 Waste, 56, 59-60
SS Components, 131 Tutorial game, 1 We Love the King Day, 41-42, 60
Statistics. See Vital statistics Wealth, 50, 132-133, 192
Stealing, 72-73, 74 U Weapons, Smart, 111
Stealth, 111 Unhappiness, 35-42, 128 Wet climate, 9-10
Stealth Bomber, 165, 180 United Nations, 146-147, 185 Wheel, 92-93
Stealth Fighter, 165, 175 Units, 148-172 Winning. See Victory
Steam Power, 106-107 changes in Civ III, 4, 148 Wonders, Small, 5, 81, 133, 136, 195
Steel, 106-107 customizing abilities of, 197-198 Wonders of the World, 133-147
Strategic Missile Defense, 146 disbanding, 49 altering characteristics of, 195-196
Strategic resources, 3, 26-28 experience levels, 174 building, 133
Strikes, precision, 180 healing damaged, 174-175 and civilization advances, 81-86
Submarine, 161, 162 hit points for undamaged, 174 contrasted with improvements, 133
Suffrage, Universal, 147 and impassible terrain, 158 and Culture Points, 61-62, 105
Sun Tzu’s Art of War, 146 types of, 149 and Golden Age, 75
Superconductor, 112 upgrading, 175-177 and happiness, 40-41
Swordsman, 156 vital statistics (See Vital statistics) and money, 51-52
Synthetic Fibers, 112 Universal Suffrage, 147 new in Civ III, 5
University, 132, 143 and pollution, 52
T Upgrades, unit, 175-177 and resources, 32-33
Tactical Nuke, 165 and scientific research, 78-79
Tank, 154, 156-157, 158 V and shields, 43-44
Tax Collector, 49, 190 Veteran units, 174, 192 vital statistics, 133-136
Taxes, 19, 49, 51 Victory, 6, 14, 181-186 Work Rate, 194
Technology, 70-71, 72-73, 112. Villages, 28-29 Worker, 157, 199, 201
See also Advances Visibility, 3 Workforce adjustment, 31-32
Temperate climate, 10 World size, 8, 188, 199
Temperature options, 10 Writing, 93
Temple, 132
Z
Zone of Control, 6, 178, 179
206

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SID MEIER’S CIVILIZATION III STRATEGY

U.S. $19.99 Can. $27.95 U.K. £12.99 Games/Strategy

Complete coverage of all

Tips for building and

Tactics for understanding and

Advice for immersive

Sid Meier’s Civilization®, Civ®, Civilization®, are U.S. registered trademarks.

Prima’s Official Strategy Guide

3000 Lava Ridge Court

The Prima Games logo is a registered trademark of Random

Sweeping Changes it can build. Chapter II talks more about

Advances number of new units available. Other units

• Settlers build only cities: The new Wonders of the World

Your opponents are in the same boat (no

The Age option affects not only the

• 4 Billion: In a world of average age, • Sedentary:

treasury—you get a reward every time you Your Civilization/

One of the biggest changes in Civilization III

TABLE 2-1. CIVILIZATION CHARACTERISTICS

TABLE 2-2. BONUSES BASED ON CHARACTERISTICS

Difficulty • Content Citizens: The number of citizens

TABLE 2-3. EFFECTS OF DIFFICULTY LEVEL

• Your opponents are less aggressive and

WHAT OPTIONS ARE RIGHT FOR YOU? • Age: 3 Billion

The “Big Three” NOTE

current research project. The more Basic Terrain Types

Table 3-1 lists the following vital statistics

TABLE 3-1. TERRAIN RESOURCES

Coast These squares have good commerce and

(which is further Cities built on Hills suffer the same slow

TABLE 3-2. EFFECTS OF BONUS RESOURCES

Unlike bonus resources, luxury resources

food). They can also be traded between

TABLE 3-4. EFFECTS OF STRATEGIC RESOURCES

• Any city that includes a river inside the

• Gold: You receive a gift of Gold from

Choosing a proper location for your first

Finally, if you are near the coastline, Increasing Resource Yield

The game tries to anticipate your needs

Improvements and Wonders

TABLE 3-5. RESOURCE-BOOSTING IMPROVEMENTS AND WONDERS

NOTE Better Governments Equal

TIP Dealing with Unhappiness

compensate for this lack of productivity

Unhappiness comes to a head when the

because a city in disorder cannot produce Preventing Unhappiness

that science and taxes suffer, seek other Entertainers

in your garrison makes one unhappy citizen Happiness-Inducing

TABLE 4-1. IMPROVEMENTS AND WONDERS THAT AFFECT HAPPINESS

Although their effects on happiness We Love the King Day

Logging Shield-Enhancing Improvements

Civilization III offers a new way to give a

TABLE 4-2. IMPROVEMENTS AND WONDERS THAT AFFECT SHIELD OUTPUT

though—it depletes your population, Under Despotism and Communism,

GOVERNING THE CITY GOVERNOR the fine details of city production—whether

From the time you build your first city,

Monitor your financial situation