8 Things to Look For When Founding Civilization 6 Cities

Founding cities in Civilization 6 is essential for expanding your empire. All players will need to establish more settlements in the early game at least, and choosing where to establish cities can have a significant impact on their yields. Founding cities in better locations for generally higher yields will enhance your victory chances. These are some of the most important terrain tiles to look out for when founding Civilization 6 cities.

Rivers (Freshwater)

Rivers are perhaps the most important geographical feature to look for when founding Civilization 6 cities because of the freshwater they provide. Placing a settlement on a freshwater tile adjacent to a river will give your city the maximum +5 base housing. That can be extended to +2 housing when you build an Aqueduct that draws freshwater from the river. The extra housing in a city beside a river will stimulate population growth.

Aside from freshwater, there are other good reasons to establish Civilization 6 cities by rivers. First, because you can only build Water Mill buildings for cities beside rivers, which provide additional food and production yields. Placing Commercial Hub districts beside rivers also gives them a +2 gold adjacency bonus.

Coastlines

All civilizations will need some cities along coastlines for economic and strategic reasons. You can’t have a navy without any coastal cities from which to build ships. Furthermore, you can only build Harbor and Water Park districts in cities on or near coastlines. So, you really should try to establish some cities along the coastline for those reasons alone.

Cities on coastlines are usually more lucrative than those inland because of the base yields for coastal tiles. A coastal tile has base yields of +1 gold and +1 food. Thus, your civilization will benefit from the extra gold those tiles provide, which can be an even better economic booster when combined with Harbor districts.

Hills

Always look for hills when moving settlers because those tiles can make your Civilization 6 cities much more productive. All hill tiles provide +1 production, and grassland and plains tiles also have additional food yields. When combined with mining improvements, a hill tile can have a +5 production yield with all required technologies unlocked. Such yields can significantly enhance production in cities, which is crucial for winning space races and rolling out more military units.

Resources

Bonus, luxury, and strategic resources are special commodities you can exploit within your civilization’s borders. Bonus resources provide bumper yields, luxuries give you more amenities, and strategics enable you to recruit specific military units. A good collection of worked resource tiles will provide considerable economic, military, and general yield advantages for your empire.

Thus, you should try to establish settlements nearer to such resources (on land and sea) whenever possible. It’s most important to settle near strategic resources for war. Resources like horses, iron, oil, niter, and uranium can give you a considerable military advantage against those civilizations that don’t have them. Plus, luxury resources can also give your civilization a notable economic boost when you establish 30-turn trade deals for them with other countries.

Woods

Woods are important tiles to look for when founding Civilization 6 cities primarily because of their productivity yield value. A single wood tile has a +1 production yield. You can increase a wood tile’s production yield to at least +3 with a lumber mill improvement and the Steel technology unlocked. In Gathering Storm, woods have even better production yields, especially with Cybernetics unlocked.

Woods also have other additional appeal and faith adjacency traits worth noting. Each wood tile has a +0.5 faith district adjacency bonus for Holy districts placed beside them. Woods also have a +1 appeal bonus for adjacent tiles, which makes them useful for establishing national parks and seaside resorts that will generate tourism for cultural victories.

Mountains

As mountains don’t have base yields, it might seem like these are a geographical feature to avoid when founding Civilization 6 cities. However, they provide valuable +1 science and +1 faith adjacency bonuses for Campus and Holy districts built beside them. For example, a Campus district beside three mountains will receive a +3 science yield adjacency bonus from them. Thus, it’s worth establishing some cities near mountains when playing for scientific victory in Civilization 6.

Aside from their district adjacency value, mountains can boost tourism. Players with the Gathering Storm expansion can add ski resorts to mountain tiles that will attract more visitors for a cultural victory. Mountains also have a +1 appeal bonus for adjacent tiles, which makes them good locations for national parks.

Natural Wonders

Natural wonders are special terrain features scattered across maps that offer decent yield bonuses for Civilization 6 cities established alongside them. For example, the Cliffs of Dover provides +3 gold, +3 culture, and +2 food yields for each of its tiles incorporated within a city. Mount Kilimanjaro provides +2 food yields for all adjacent tiles in a city.

Thus, you should always try to establish a city beside a natural wonder when you can to exploit its unique effects. You’ll know you’ve discovered a natural wonder when you see a cutscene introduction for it. If a natural wonder is close to your civilization, establish a city beside it when possible.

Rainforests

Rainforest tiles have their advantages and disadvantages to take into consideration when looking for a new city location. The good thing about rainforest tiles is that they have a +0.5 science adjacency bonus for Campus districts. You can increase this adjacency bonus to +1 with Zoo buildings built.

Thus, it’s worth settling near some rainforest tiles if you’re playing for a scientific victory, especially with Brazil. Rainforests are great for Brazil because of the Amazon civ ability that provides an additional +1 rainforest adjacency bonus for Campus, Holy Site, Commercial Hub, and Theater Square districts. That ability also enhances the appeal of tiles adjacent to rainforests for Brazil.

However, rainforests have a negative -1 tile appeal value for all other civilizations. That makes the rainforest terrain generally less attractive for those players seeking a cultural victory. Nor can you add improvements that enhance rainforest tile yields in any way within the base Civilization 6 game. Rainforests are more valuable in Gathering Storm because you can add lumber mills for increasing productivity to them within that Civ 6 expansion.

So, look out for those terrain features when choosing suitable locations for founding your Civilization 6 cities. Hills, woods, rivers, and resources are the most essential terrain for more productive and fertile cities, especially in grassland areas. If you want more lucrative cities and a larger navy, establish coastal settlements. Mountains, rainforests, and some natural wonders will also boost scientific research.