The Civilization franchise is not the easiest for newcomers to get into. Like any major 4X franchise, Civilization throws a lot at the player throughout the course of a game. In just one single turn at the height of a Civ match, players will be tasked with moving their units, monitoring technology and production queues, establishing trade routes, embarking on espionage operations, exploring the world via land and sea, and conducting a variety of diplomatic actions with each world leader. Naturally, that’s a lot for new players to handle, especially if they’ve never played a 4X strategy game before.
Past Civilization games have done a fine job of explaining all of these complex, interweaving mechanics to newcomers, often relying on a “show don’t tell” approach where its tutorials pop up at key moments during a game rather than being present in a separate, dedicated tutorial mode. Civilization 7 carries forward this mentality, though its level of guidance is far more extensive than any previous mainline entry in the series. It feels fair to say that the desire for accessibility is baked into almost every aspect of Civilization 7, and that includes its new Age system.
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How Civilization 7’s New Age System Is Tailored Towards New Players
Civilization 7’s Ages Let Players Take Things One Step at a Time
A full-length match of Civilization can take several real-world hours, and in previous entries, there were very few distinct moments where players could take a break and catch their breath. This meant that players essentially had to be locked-in from the moment they started a match until its conclusion hours later, which in turn encouraged players to begin the match with a strategy and stick with it for the entire duration of the game.
For several consecutive hours, players would need to know exactly what technologies to research and when, what units they needed to deploy and where, and exactly what buildings and Wonders needed to be constructed in order to earn victory as efficiently as possible. That’s a lot for newcomers of the series to wrap their head around, which could make those first few matches of Civ feel a bit too much like trial and error.
Civilization 7‘s new Age system goes a long way in making the new player experience much less overwhelming. Each match in Civilization 7 is split into three distinct Ages: Antiquity, Exploration, and Modern. While the most experienced Civ players will still have a strategy ready from the get-go and know exactly what they need to do in each Age to achieve victory as soon as possible, it’s no longer absolutely necessary to win.
Instead, players are now encouraged to focus on the Age at hand first and foremost. Rather than being given one ultimate goal to achieve and being given free rein in how to go about achieving it, Civilization 7 only requires players to think about the Legacy Path objectives for the specific Age they’re currently in, and work on achieving those gradually throughout the Age. That stricter focus stops things from feeling too overwhelming for new players.
Civilization 7‘s mechanics also gradually increase in complexity as players progress through the Ages. In the Antiquity Age, players simply need to focus on their immediate surroundings and the opposing leaders within them. During the course of the Antiquity Age, new mechanics like Crises, Civics, trade routes are slowly introduced one at a time. The subsequent Exploration Age then expands the game’s scope naturally, encouraging players to travel to new lands, meet new leaders, and engage in new mechanics like religion.
Civilization 7’s Ages Give Players an Opportunity to Wipe The Slate Clean
Civilization 7‘s new Age system also gives new players more room than ever to make mistakes. When an Age in Civ 7 comes to an end, certain aspects of the game reset, such as the Legacy Paths available to the player. If the Antiquity Age hasn’t quite gone the way players had hoped, the Exploration Age offers a fresh start and the opportunity to pivot strategies. These opportunities are particularly welcome in a multiplayer setting, where players are locked into a single game (potentially) for hours.
Grand Strategy
Turn-Based Strategy
4X
- Released
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February 11, 2025