Winning a game of Civilization 6 is satisfying no matter the route taken to get there, whether it’s a cultural victory or total military domination. But achieving a scientific victory is extremely satisfying because it means a long game of besting the other civilizations turn after turn.

To achieve a scientific victory, the player must complete the Space Program, which is available at the beginning of the Atomic era. But there are plenty of things the player can do in the early and mid-game to give themselves an advantage and keep their lead.

Updated by Anton Charpentier on January 25, 2021: As mentioned, achieving a science victory can be a gratifying and rewarding process. While the means of achieving a science victory are the same, there is always room for improvement in Civilization 6. Therefore, we have updated the article to give even more information to you. Plus, the addition of a few DLC expansions means that there are even more ways you can improve your science yields.

Which Civilizations Are The Best For Science Victories

Make sure to look through all the Civs and pick one with science bonuses. It is technically possible to complete a science victory with any civilization, but some Civilizations better at it than others. Here is a shortlist of Civilizations that are great picks:

  • Seondeok of Korea Barbarossa of Germany Pachacuti of the Inca (Gathering Storm DLC) Robert the Bruce of Scotland (Rise and Fall DLC)

There are plenty more Civilizations to choose from, so read through the other Civs as well. It is also important to remember what your Civilizations perks are. That way, you can play into those strengths throughout the game. For instance, Korea receives science bonuses for building mines near Campus Districts.

Early Technologies To Research For A Science Victory

The best tip for achieving a quick science victory is to make sure you research Pottery first! This technology unlocks the path towards Writing, which gives you the Campus District.

You will want to build a campus as soon as you can. Essentially, Campus Districts collect science, which can help you research other technologies quicker. It’s the first step a player should take when aiming for a scientific victory, and it takes very little time to complete.

After you unlock Writing, you will focus your research efforts on other science technologies like Education and Scientific Theory. Ultimately, you want to research rocketry and the succeeding technologies. The faster you reach these technologies, the quicker you win.

How Do Campus Districts Work

Districts are a new game mechanic in Civ 6 that allows the player to devote entire city sections to developing specific game aspects, such as culture, money, or military. As mentioned early, the Campus District boosts the amount of science your civilization creates. This boost to your science yield is necessary to speed up the time it takes to research technologies.

Campus districts are essential for securing a science win. Therefore, when you decide to build a district in your city, you should prioritize building Campus Districts. You can construct other districts later, but the first district in any city should be a campus. Do not get too distracted by other districts, as your main goal is to generate science, so always prioritize that.

Additionally, Campus Districts provide other bonuses like:

  • +1 Great Scientist point per turn. Specialists add +2 Science each

Where To Place Campus Districts

Campus districts are the primary source of science in any civilization, so their placement is vital. Depending on where you place a Campus District, it can receive a bonus science yield. Therefore, you must strategically place the campus districts to generate more science.

Here are the spots that will increase your science yields:

  • +2 Science for each adjacent Geothermal Fissure and Reef tile. +2 Science for each adjacent Pamukkale tile. +2 Science for each adjacent Great Barrier Reef tile. +1 Science for each adjacent Mountain tile. +½ Science for each adjacent Rainforest and district tile.

Campus Placement is a simple yet effective way to increase your overall science. Though the campus district will generate science regardless, why wouldn’t the player take advantage of an added boost?

Where To Send Your Envoys For A Science Victory

Envoys are an elementary tactic and helpful in building diplomatic relations while also garnering strategic resources such as science, money, or production. As you research different civics, envoys are given to the player to use as they wish.

For a scientific victory, send Envoys to scientific city-states, if you can. Doing so helps boost any science coming into the civilization. It’s a quick and effective tactic. Furthermore, you can increase the science bonuses by trading with the scientific city-states you sent envoys to.

Best Wildcard Policies For A Science Victory

As you research civics, different policies become available for the player to use to their advantage. If the intent is a scientific victory, utilizing the Wildcard policies (purple) is essential. Additionally, you will want to prioritize economic, diplomatic, and military policies that grant science bonuses.

One of the first Wildcard policies available in Civ 6 is the Inspiration policy. Inspiration lets the player gain two Great Scientist points per turn. Great Scientists boost science within the civilization, unlock future tech, and help complete space missions, making them necessary for a science win. Without this policy, achieving a scientific victory will be difficult.

Other policies to look out for are listed below:

Avoid Wars Or End Them Quickly

Military combat and declaring war on other civilizations is quintessential to Civilization 6. While this is an effective way to acquire resources and claim territorial dominance, it comes with a major loss to other resource production, such as science, culture, and money.

Participating in war costs you money and production, which could go to scientific endeavors. If you want a scientific victory, they should avoid fighting unless necessary. If another civilization attacks you, try to minimize your war efforts and aim for a peaceful resolution as quickly as possible.

How To Boost Research Time In Civilization 6

Projects are another new mechanic in Civ 6, and they take several turns to produce resources for a city, whether that’s power, science, or culture. This section is also where the space missions appear when the player is ready to start the space race.

But before that happens, there is a project available in every city with a campus district called “Campus Research Grants,” which produces science once completed. If the player’s civilization is hurting for science, this is an excellent way to make up for the lack of progress, though it does take several turns to complete. It is also a valid option if your civilization has excess production.

Boosting Production In Civilization 6

Production is the one commonality between all the victories. Regardless of the victory type, mastering production is essential. It is effortless to ride the natural flow of production that comes with any civilization, but there are ways to boost it.

Every city has its unique level of production. This production dictates the time it takes a city to build something or complete a task. To boost production, you can improve tiles or construct an industrial zone. If you are looking for a quick temporary boost, you can even cut down woods and forests for a significant production boost in that city. This option does have its downsides, as it will hurt your cities food and amenities.

Ramping up your civilization’s production helps with constructing districts and spaceports. Furthermore, it helps complete the space mission projects.

Don’t Generalize Your Focus

Civ 6 has lots of new ways to develop and advance empires, which is why it’s so easy to get tied up in trying to experience every portion of the game. While it’s beneficial to know and to utilize everything to the player’s advantage, generalizing your focus in this game will slow down progress all over the board.

By spreading the focus too thin, you increase the time it takes to win, or worse, increase your opponent’s odds at winning. If you stop prioritizing science for too long, securing a science victory will take much longer.

How To Build Spaceports For A Faster Science Victory

Two Spaceports may seem excessive, but it’s an excellent strategy. Heck, three Spaceports would be ideal. There are two reasons why you want more than one Spaceport.

First, it increases the speed at which you finish Space Race tasks. There are five steps to complete the Space Race, which is how one wins a science victory. In the last Space Race project, you can have all of your Spaceports working on lasers to speed up your spacecraft. These lasers can speed up your victory.

Second, to decrease the risk of disasters (captured city, sabotage, natural disasters). Make sure you build these Spaceports in high production cities. A lot can happen during this late-game period, and therefore having a robust safety net is essential.

Additionally, if you build a tier-three Government Plaza, you can make builders assist Spaceport projects. This technique is a substantial boost to the late game, but make sure that your Government Plaza is in another city, away from your Spaceports. That way, you can make builders while working on Space Race projects.

How Do The DLC Packs Affect Science Victories?

Since its launch, Civilization 6 has seen plenty of new DLC. The three expansions added to the game are Rise and Fall, Gathering Storm, and the New Frontiers Pass. These expansions added new civilizations, game modes, and new gameplay modifiers and rule sets. These additions can affect how you obtain a science victory. For instance, some tiles will give higher science bonuses because of the secret societies game mode.

Your Civilization type matters too. For example, Hammurabi generates less science but has a eureka bonus that fully unlocks that technology.

There are a variety of DLC modifiers that can change how you approach a science victory. So make sure you research how these game modes and civilization affect your science yields. You can do this by reading through leader perks and the in-game Civilopedia. That said, these additions are not complicated, and the same principles you learned in this article still apply.

NEXT: Civ 6: Tips To Dominate On Deity Difficulty