Sid Meier's Civilization VI offers a total of 19 civilizations to play as, each offering unique specializations, bonuses, units, buildings, and more. Depending on your play style, you may prefer one nation to another, but luckily there's enough information available before you get into a new game to make a decision.
America
- Leader: Teddy Roosevelt
- Bonus: Roosevelt Corollary
- Units + Str. on home continent
- +1 Appeal to all tiles in city with National Park
- Rough Rider Unique Unit after researching Rifling Technology
- Ability: Founding Fathers - Unlock government legacy bonuses in half the time
- Buildings: Film Studio
- Units: P-51 Mustang, Rough Rider
Arabia
- Leader: Saladin
- Bonus: Righteousness of the Faith
- Worship buildings cost less faith to build, and provide bonus science, faith, and culture
- Ability: The Last Prophet
- Guaranteed Great Prophet if second-to-last prophet is selected
- Buildings: Madrasa
- Units: Mamluk
Aztecs
- Leader: Montezuma
- Bonus: Gifts for the Tlatoani
- Luxury resources in owned territory provide an amenity to 2 extra cities
- Units receive +1 Combat Strength for each different improved Luxury resource
- Ability: Legend of the Five Suns
- May rush district construction with builders
- One builder is only worth 20% of total production cost
- Buildings: Tlachtli
- Units: Eagle Warrior
Brazil
- Leader: Pedro II
- Bonus: Magnanimous
- After acquiring a Great Person, 20% of the Great Person point cost is refunded
- Ability: Amazon
- Rainforest tile provides +1 adjacency bonus for campus, commercial hub, holy site, and theater square districts
- Rainforest tile provides +1 housing for neighborhoods built adjacent to them.
- Buildings: Street Carnival
- Units: Minas Geraes
China
- Leader: Qin Shi Huang
- Bonus: The First Emperor
- Builders can be used to complete 15% of the original ancient and classical wonder cost
- Builders receive an additional charge
- Ability: Dynastic Cycle
- Eurekas and inspirations provide 60% of civics and technologies
- Buildings: Great Wall
- Units: Crouching Tiger
Egypt
- Leader: Cleopatra
- Bonus: Mediterranean's Bride
- Trade routes to other civilizations provide +4 gold
- Other civ trade routes to Egypt provide +2 food for them and +2 gold more for Egypt
- Ability: Iteru
- Building districts and wonders are 15% faster if adjacent to a river
- It's possible to build districts and wonders on floodplains
- Buildings: Sphinx
- Units: Maryanu Chariot Archer
England
- Leader: Victoria
- Bonus: Pax Britannica
- All found and conquered cities on another continent receive a free melee unit
- Gain the redcoat unique unit the Military Science technology is researched
- Ability: British Museum
- Each archaeological museum can hold up to 6 artefacts
- Archaeological museums are automatically themed when they have 6 items
- Buildings: Royal Navy Dockyard
- Units: Sea Dog
France
- Leader: Catherine de Medici
- Bonus: Catherine's Flying Squadron
- Has increased diplomatic visibility with every civilization met
- Castles tech grants capacity to build an extra spy
- Ability: Grand Tour
- +20% production toward medieval, renaissance and industrial wonders
- Tourism generated by wonders is doubled.
- Buildings: Château
- Units: Garde Impériale
Germany
- Leader: Frederick Barbarossa
- Bonus: Holy Roman Emperor
- Additional military policy slot
- +7 combat strength when attacking city-states
- Ability: Free Imperial Cities
- Can build one more district than the population limit allows
- Buildings: Hansa
- Units: U-Boat
Greece
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- Leader: Gorgo, Pericles
- Bonus:
- Pericles: +5% Culture per city-state who recognize you as Suzerain
- Gorgo: Combat victories provide Culture equal to 50% of the Combat Strength of the defeated unit
- Ability: Plato's Republic
- Receive an extra wildcard policy slot regardless as to which government is chosen
- Buildings: Acropolis
- Units: Hoplite
India
- Leader: Gandhi
- Bonus: Satyagraha
- Receive faith boosts for each civilization you know of that has founded a religion and you are not at war with
- Civilizations at war with you suffer additional happiness penalties
- Ability: Dharma
- Receive benefits of all religions in your cities
- Buildings: Stepwell
- Units: Varu
Japan
- Leader: Hojo Tokimune
- Bonus: Divine Wind
- Land units receive +5 combat strength in land tiles next to the coast
- Naval units receive +5 combat strength in shallow water tiles.
- Build encampment, holy site and theater square districts in half the time
- Ability: Meiji Restoration
- Districts receive additional adjacency bonus for being next to another district
- Buildings: Electronics Factory
- Units: Samurai
Kongo
- Leader: Mvemba a Nzinga
- Bonus: Religious Convert
- Cities cannot build holy sites, but do receive benefits of founder beliefs of any religion
- Receive a free apostle when an Mbanza or theater district is constructed
- Ability: Nkisi
- Bonus points for great artist and great merchant per turn
- Bonus food, production and gold from each relic, artifact, and great work of sculpture
- Buildings: Mbanza
- Units: Ngao Mbeba
Norway
- Leader: Harald Hardrada
- Bonus: Thunderbolt of the North - Naval melee units can perform coastal raids.
- Ability: Knarr
- Units gain the ability to enter ocean tiles after researching shipbuilding
- Naval melee units heal in neutral territory
- Units ignore movement costs from embarking/disembarking
- Buildings: Stave Church
- Units: Berserker
Rome
- Leader: Trajan
- Bonus: Trajan's Column
- All cities start with a free building in the city center
- Ability: All Roads Lead to Rome
- All cities start with a trading post (cities in trade route range of the capital will automatically have a joining road)
- Trade routes going through cities earn extra gold
- Buildings: Baths
- Units: Legion
Russia
- Leader: Peter
- Bonus: The Grand Embassy
- Russia receives science or culture from trade routes to more advanced civilizations
- Ability: Mother Russia
- Gain extra territory when founding cities
- Earn extra faith and production from tundra tiles
- Buildings: Lavra
- Units: Cossack
Scythia
- Leader: Tomyris
- Bonus: Killer of Cyrus
- All units receive +5 combat strength when attacking wounded units
- After killing a unit, units heal up to 50 hit points
- Ability: People of the Steppe
- Receive a second light cavalry unit or Saka Horse Archer each time light cavalry unit or Saka Horse Archer is trained
- Buildings: Kurgan
- Units: Saka Horse Archer
Spain
- Leader: Philip II
- Bonus: El Escorial
- Combat bonus against units of civilizations following other religions;
- Inquisitors have an extra remove heresy charge
- Ability: Treasure Fleets
- Trade routes between continents provide additional income
- Ability to combine ships into fleets earlier
- Buildings: Mission
- Units: Conquistador
Sumeria
- Leader: Gilgamesh
- Bonus: Adventures with Enkidu
- When fighting alongside allies, share pillage rewards and combat experience with the closest allied unit within five tiles
- Can declare war on Civilizations at war with their allies without suffering warmonger penalties
- Can levy city-state military forces at 50% of the cost
- Ability: Epic Quest
- Each time a barbarian outpost is captured, receive a tribal village reward
- Buildings: Ziggurat
- Units: War-Cart
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