Installation & Setup

Ready to start your first game of Civilization VII? This guide walks you through all the basic and advanced options, from choosing your leader and map to setting difficulty and game speed.

Alright, so you're ready to jump into Civilization VII and start your first empire! It's a big game, but don't worry, getting started is pretty straightforward. Think of this as your friendly guide to setting up your first game. We'll cover all the options so you can tailor the experience just right for you. ## Basic Options When you first start a new game, you'll see a few main choices: * Choose Leader: You can pick a specific leader "Leaders (Civ7)") to play as, or if you want a surprise, just let the game pick one randomly. The default is 'Random Leader', which is a fun way to start if you're not sure who to play. * Mementos: You can also equip your chosen leader with up to two unlocked mementos "Memento (Civ7)"). These can give you some early game boosts or unique playstyles. * Choose a Starting Age: This is a cool feature! You pick an Age "Age (Civ7)") to begin in, and then you can choose a civilization "Civilizations (Civ7)") from that era. Or, again, let the game pick randomly. The default is 'Random'. * Antiquity Age "Antiquity Age (Civ7)"): This is the classic start, right at the beginning of history. * Exploration Age "Exploration Age (Civ7)"): Jump into a world where you'll be crossing oceans and discovering new lands. * Modern Age "Modern Age (Civ7)"): Start things off with the Industrial Revolution already underway. * Settings: This is where you fine-tune the game itself. * Difficulty: You can pick how challenging you want the game to be. The default is 'Governor'. You can go all the way up to 'Deity' if you're feeling brave, or even set up a 'Custom' game. The options are: * Scribe * Governor * Viceroy * Sovereign * Immortal * Deity * Custom * Game Speed: This affects how many turns each Age lasts and how quickly things progress. The default is 'Standard'. * Online * Quick * Standard * Epic * Marathon * Map Type: Choose the kind of world you'll be playing on. The default is 'Continents and Islands'. * Continents and Islands * Pangaea and Islands * Shattered Seas * Continents Plus * Continents * Archipelago * Fractal * Shuffle * Terra Incognita * Pangaea Plus * Map Size: Pick how big you want your world to be. The default is 'Small'. * Tiny * Small * Standard * Large * Huge * Age Transition Impact: This setting determines how much your empire is affected when you move from one Age to the next. The default is 'Continuity'. * Continuity: You'll keep most of your empire, units "Unit (Civ7)"), and Alliances#Alliance "Diplomacy (Civ7)") when an Age ends. * Regroup: This is the original Civ 7 experience. Your empire resets more significantly, meaning you'll keep fewer units, less Gold_(Civ7) "Gold (currency) (Civ7)") and Influence "Influence (Civ7)"), and lose alliances. It makes for a more balanced start in the next Age. ## Advanced Options If you want to dive even deeper, you can find 'Advanced Options' at the bottom of the Settings menu. This is where you can really customize your game: * General Settings: * Rule Set: Usually 'Standard Rules'. * Age: You can select the starting Age here too. * Game Speed: Same options as the basic settings. * Age Length: Choose how long each Age lasts ('Standard', 'Long', or 'Abbreviated'). * End of Age Countdown: Decide if you want a warning before an Age ends (e.g., '10 Turns'). * Initial Independent Hostility: Set whether independent factions are 'Default', 'Hostile', or 'Friendly' from the start. * Bypass Civilization Unlocks: You can choose to 'Enable' or 'Disable' this. * Game Seed: If you want to replay a specific map, you can enter its seed here. * Difficulty Settings: Here you can tweak individual aspects of the 'Custom' difficulty, like combat strength for AI players, AI production bonuses for Gold_(Civ7) "Gold (currency) (Civ7)"), Science "Science (Civ7)"), and more. * Map Settings: * Start Position: For most map types, you can choose between 'Standard' and 'Balanced' starting positions. * Map Type & Map Size: More options to customize your world. * Map Random Seed: Similar to the Game Seed, but specifically for the map generation. * Disaster and Crisis Settings: * Disaster Frequency: Dial this up or down from 'Light' to 'Catastrophic'. * Antiquity Age Crises: You can enable or disable specific crises like the Antiquity Invasion Crisis "Invasion (Civ7)"), Antiquity Plague Crisis_(Civ7) "Plague (Antiquity) (Civ7)"), and Antiquity Revolts Crisis "Revolts (Civ7)"). The default is 'Enabled' for all. * Exploration Age Crises: Similarly, you can toggle things like the Exploration Plague Crisis_(Civ7) "Plague (Exploration) (Civ7)"), Exploration Religious Revolts Crisis "Religious Revolts (Civ7)"), and Exploration Revolutions Crisis "Revolutions (Civ7)"). These are also 'Enabled' by default. * Legacy Paths: This is where you can enable or disable different victory "Victory (Civ7)") conditions for each Age. For example, in the Antiquity Age, you can choose whether to allow victories like Wonders of the Ancient World "Wonders of the Ancient World (Civ7)") or Silk Roads "Silk Roads (Civ7)"). The default is 'Enabled' for all. * Player: You can add or remove AI players here and even choose their leaders and civilizations. That's pretty much it for setting up your game! Don't feel like you have to fiddle with every single option on your first go. Just pick your leader, maybe a starting Age, and jump in. You can always explore the other settings once you get a feel for the game. Have fun building your civilization!