Civilization 6 (Switch): Beginners Tips

I didn’t make a secret about the fact that I’ve started playing Civilization VI on the Switch. Nor about the fact that I’m absolutely loving it. 

As a beginner there are some things that make life a whole lot easier. And although there’s an entire Civilopedia in your device, not all is obvious from the start. Or it could be that I’ve just forgotten it after playing the lengthy tutorial. 

ChamZen is a veteran to the series and she’s giving me tips. Tips I’ll share here with you: so if you are a newbie too, it might work to check them out!

And if you are already past the tutorial, check out our beginners’ guide!

Plus, we will be publishing a weekly article with a new strategy guide on how to proceed in the game.

Don’t dwell too long on the tutorial

I was feeling a bit hesitant to start up a game for real, so I stayed too long in the tutorial with Cleopatra. Don’t, there’s no need. No one will judge you if you fail to gain any victory in the real games. 

There’s no online multiplayer on the Switch. I know there are more seasoned players who lament about that, but I don’t really care. No pressure and again, no one will gloat over your failed attempts. 

Jump in, it’s a game you learn by doing

At the start the game asks what level you want to play, just choose settler. That’s the easiest one. Even when you start a full game, there is still an advisor who gives you tips. And guides you to information in the civilopedia. At first I was wondering what all the icons and symbols meant. Just press – on the Switch top left, and for every hex or symbol you scroll past, you’ll see all info available. 

Civilization 6

Check the Options

Pressing the + button brings up a menu. Here you can save, and you can also adjust the options. Things like Quick Combat, Auto End Turn and such, they can all be set to suit your preference. In there, you can also determine the level of your advisor. Mine is set to “New to Civilization VI”. 

Another important one in there is Show Yield Icons. It’s under Interface Options. Check the box, it will make life so much easier. 

Using the L Shoulder

The L shoulder button gives a lot of useful info about your Technology Tree, your Civics Tree, your government, you’re ur Pantheon ( religion) and important people in your cities. What’s more, one more click to the right also give the opportunity to equip various lenses over your map. Like the settlers lens: it’ll show you in colors which hex is best to settle in. There are lenses for 6 other views, like religion and tourism. 

The other icon gives the possibility to add a pin to the map, and the last one hides the little overview of your map. 

Don’t forget the R Shoulder

The R shoulder gives loads of information as well. There’s a little cameo for the person you are playing. I’m Victoria as you see. Specific info is given for her character and her gameplay. The ZR button shows the data for your relationships with other leaders. In my case Cleopatra, who isn’t happy with Victoria. The farthest right icons show the world rankings and what has been achieved in the bid for Victory. 

The second choice is for the City States you have encountered and all the info for them. The last choice is for your trade routes and the benefits you get from them. 

4x strategy game

Civilization is a 4x strategy game. 4x stands for explore, expand, exploit and exterminate. You have 330 turns to gain a victory and it can be a victory in various fields. You don’t have to rule with an iron fist ( victory through domination): you can also be victorious through religion, science, culture and based on score. To gain these victories there are milestones to be met, different ones for each sort of victory. 

For me, the fun is in playing, victory is still very far from my mind.

Enough for now, right? Chosing a new game and going for Single Play will let the computer decide who you play against. Or, you can pick Create a Game and pick who you want to be in your game, what size the map has to be and so on. So many choices, but just take the plunge. It won’t be your only game I’ll bet! 

So let’s jump in and see where the road takes us! 

Edit: I’ve been playing for some time now, enough to give the game our best rating in review! Check it out here Civilization VI Review (for Switch)

6 comments

  1. Thanks for the tips, they really helped!
    Especially the ‘Show Yield Icons’ checkbox, using L&R and the what the + and – do.
    (- button was in a video in previous post, but very helpful to!)
    I didn’t finish the tutorial and dived right in. Wow, it’s big! Far bigger and more complex than Revolution.
    I really like it, although I think it will be a wile till I figured even half of the game out.
    I just build my third settlement, but the people in the other 2 villages are so unhappy they might rebel against me.
    I’m not sure what they want (luxury goods?) Probably my fault for not finishing the tutorial.
    But it’s like you say, no one’s watching, so it’s ok to mess up.

    1. So you are hooked too! Im still trying to play as much as I can, I have Victoria running with three settlements, and Theodore Roosevelt with two settlements now. But in both I’m so hemmed in between all kind of city states and the ocean, that it’s difficult to make my empire larger.
      Currently I’m trying if ending my move with X automatically is working. I was going so slow checking all my units before moving on. But I’m not sure yet if that’s the way to go.
      By the way, if you enjoy the music of the game, you can find Sogno di Volare by Christopher Tin on iTunes!

  2. Hey there! Thanks for your guide! We started playing on Switch today but have problems finishing turns with the X key, sometimes it finishes the turn but other times in opens the L hand side menu and we just can’t seem to be able to finish the turn with the X key. Any way around that would be greatly appreciated!

    1. Hi Alex, Thanks for reading. The X button is definitely the one to use to finish your turns. Sometimes the X button doesn’t respond when pressed, usually saving your game and reloading your save solves the problem. Hope that helps.

  3. I stumbled upon this excellent site while looking for tips on how to play Civ 6 on my Switch. I am a guy, but this is all great info.

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