Guide: The best civ & leader combos for Science Victory in Civilization 7

Entertainment gossip and news from Newsweek’s network of contributors

Leave behind the shackles of gravity and establish your dominance on a whole new frontier by achieving the Science Victory in Civilization 7.

Unlike in earlier series entries, where futuristic goals like reaching Alpha Centauri or establishing the first colonies in our solar system marked a Science Victory, your objective in Civilization 7 is a little more humble — but nonetheless a great undertaking: The Science Victory goes to the civ managing humankind’s first staffed space flight.

Learn how to win a Scientific Victory in Civilization 7 with the tips below, including the best civs and leaders for this win type.

Best Civs and Leaders for a Science Victory in Civilization 7

Science and Production are the two main resources required for a Scientific Victory, so leaders and civs providing bonuses in these areas should be favored. However, aside from direct buffs, Civilization 7 offers roundabout ways of generating these crucial currencies: Some leaders can leverage Influence to generate Science, making Influence-focused civs like Greece a good fit, while others can use Food or Happiness bonuses to maintain a large number of Specialists and thereby up their Science gain.

Cities are generally much better at generating Science and only they can complete Projects, so leaders and civs favoring Cities are better suited for this victory than those who improve Towns.

Best leaders for a Science Victory in Civilization 7:

• Benjamin Franklin: Strong Science and Production generation.
• Catherine: Strong Science generation, though dependent on terrain.
• Confucius: Strong Science generation, high growth rate.
• Himiko (Queen of Wa): Strong Science generation.
• Ibn Battuta: Versatile thanks to his Wildcard Attribute Points.
• Pachacuti: Can maintain lots of Specialists, though dependent on terrain.
• Trung Trac: Strong Science generation while at war.

Best civs for a Science Victory in Civilization 7:

• Antiquity Age: Han, Khmer, Maurya, Maya
• Exploration Age: Abbasid, Ming
• Modern Age: Meiji Japan, Russia, Siam

How To Get a Science Victory in Civilization 7

It’s worth pointing out that you first need to reach the Modern Age to have a shot at winning the game through this victory condition.

Here are the steps you need to take to win a Science Victory in Civilization 7:

1. Research Flight (requires Academics, Steam Engine, Military Science, Urbanization, Combustion).
2. Build an Aerodrome and complete the Trans-Oceanic Flight Project.
3. Research Aerodynamics (requires all preceding Modern Age technologies).
4. Complete the Break the Sound Barrier Project.
5. Research Rocketry (requires all preceding Modern Age technologies).
6. Build a Launch Pad and complete the Launch Satellite Project.
7. Complete the Launch Staffed Space Flight Project.

The Scientific Victory’s first milestone is researching Flight, which is already quite deep down the tech tree in the Modern Age. Once you’ve unlocked this technology, build an Aerodrome in a City and complete the Trans-Oceanic Flight Project there — it’s best to choose a City with a focus on Production for this, speeding things along.

Once that’s done, it’s back to the lab for Aerodynamics, which will unlock yet another Project that can be worked on in any City with an Aerodrome.

After breaking the sound barrier, all that’s left is to research Rocketry and build a Launch Pad in a City with good Production. This is required to complete the final Projects on the agenda: Launch Satellite and Launch Staffed Space Flight.

The Scientific Victory is primarily powered by Cities with strong Science and Production — pretty straightforward requirements.

How To Get Science Legacy Path Points in Civilization 7

Earning Scientific Legacy Points throughout the game will assist you in obtaining this victory type in the Modern Age, as each point provides a discount to the production cost of the Projects you’ll have to complete. Aside from this obvious benefit, following the Science Legacy Path will help by generating Science Attribute Points for your leader and shaping your empire to be one with bright minds.

In the Antiquity Age, you can progress up the Science Legacy Path by collecting and displaying Codices — ten are needed to achieve the Golden Age for this Path. This is primarily done by researching technologies and building Libraries as well as Academies, but you can also gain Codices from City-States, Narrative Events, and some other sources.

In the Exploration Age, the Science Legacy Path tasks you with generating Specialists and then having five non-city-center tiles with a resource yield of at least 40 — basically, this goal pushes you to invest heavily in your Cities, creating exactly the kind of potent settlements needed for the endgame.

For more insights on the game, read our interview with the Civilization 7 developers.