6 of the Best Leaders in Civilization 6 for Science Victories

Science victories are exciting space races in Civilization 6, for which you must unlock technology and complete space projects via Spaceports. To win a Science Victory condition, you must reach Mars before all other civilizations. When selecting a leader for securing space victories in Civ 6, it’s best to choose one with a bonus, infrastructure, or civ ability for increasing science and production yields. These are some of the best leaders in Civilization 6 to select for winning scientific victories.

Gilgamesh (Sumeria)

Gilgamesh is one of the best leaders in Civilization 6 for winning space races because of Sumeria’s unique Ziggurat infrastructure. Ziggurat is an infrastructure that generates +2 science yields and +1 culture (beside rivers) for each tile you add it to. This is invaluable infrastructure to have when pursuing a Science Victory because you can add it to almost all terrains to significantly increase yields for scientific research. For example, 40 Ziggurats within your civilization will generate +80 science yields, enabling you to unlock technology somewhat faster.

Frederick Barbarossa (Germany)

Frederick Barbarossa is among the best leaders in Civilization 6 for scientific victories, because Germany is one of the most productive civilizations in the game, which is important for completing space projects. Germany’s unique Hansa district, which has superior production yield adjacency bonuses for resources and Commercial Hubs, enables you to establish super-productive cities. Then, you can build Spaceports and complete space projects faster with your more productive German cities.

Another good thing about Germany for scientific victories is its Free Imperial Cities civ ability. This civ ability enables you to build one more district than usual for a set city population limit. Thus, players can build more crucial Campus and Hansa (industrial) districts when playing as Frederick Barbarossa with less-restrictive district population limits.

Philip II (Spain)

Although more recognized as a religion-oriented leader, Philip II of Spain can also be very good at winning scientific victories in Civilization 6. His Treasure Fleet civ ability gives your trade routes +1 production, +2 gold, and +2 faith yield bonuses, which can be tripled when established with civilizations on other continents. If you select the E-commerce policy card when playing as Philip II, your trade routes can potentially have +8 production yields that can significantly enhance production for space race projects.

Spain’s unique Mission infrastructure can also come in handy for winning space races. Mission generates a +1 science yield bonus for each adjacent Campus or Holy Site district. Unlocking Cultural Heritage also doubles this infrastructure’s science adjacency yield to +2. For example, a Mission on a tile beside a Campus and Holy Site will generate +4 science with Cultural Heritage.

Saladin (Arabia)

Saladin of Arabia is a leader with a civ ability and leader bonus that mixes religion with science to form an explosive cocktail for winning space races. The Last Prophet ability enables you to boost science research by spreading your Arabian religion to other civilizations’ cities. Then, you can further increase science output by 10% for each city by adding Arabian worship buildings to them because of Saladin’s Righteousness of the Faith leader bonus.

Arabia’s unique Madrasa building makes Saladin all the better for securing scientific victories. Madrasa is a university replacement you can unlock sooner with the Theology civic. This building generates +5 science yields, which is one more than the standard building it replaces.

Pedro II (Brazil)

Pedro II is another of the better leaders in Civilization 6 for scientific victories because his Magnanimous leader bonus can be very advantageous for obtaining more great scientists. This bonus gives you a 20% discount (or refund) for great person patronage. Patronizing more great scientists when playing as Petro II will provide all kinds of bonuses for unlocking new technologies faster than other civilizations.

Pedro II’s Amazon civ ability also provides +1 adjacency bonuses for Campus, Theater Square, Holy Site, and Commercial Hub districts placed beside rainforest tiles. Thus, you can get better science adjacency bonuses than usual when placing Campus districts beside rainforests. That Amazon adjacency bonus will increase your science research if you make the most of it.

Hojo Tokimune (Japan)

Japan’s Hojo Tokimune leader is among the most versatile in the game thanks to Japan’s Meiji Restoration civ ability. That civ ability effectively doubles district adjacency bonuses from +0.5 to +1, making it one of the most useful for scientific or cultural victories. It’s all the more handy for winning space races since placing Campus and Industrial Zones beside other districts will generate higher science and production adjacency yields. Your higher Japanese district adjacency bonuses can be even better when selecting policy cards that increase them.

Japan’s unique Electronics Factory further enhances space race production for Hojo Tokimune. This enhanced factory increases production yields for your cities within six tiles of it by +4 rather than +3. That’s a relatively small productivity increase, but it still helps in completing space projects faster.

Playing as those leaders in Civilization 6 will give you a somewhat better chance of winning space victories. Note that this selection is limited to leaders in the base Civ 6 game, and there are other good alternatives to choose from in the DLC packs. The likes of Seondeok, Yongle, João 3, and Tokugawa are among the better leaders from the DLC packs for winning scientific victories.