For optimal expansion and development in Civilization 6, cities should generally be settled quite close to one another. A reasonable rule of thumb is to place City Centers 5 tiles apart, which leaves four workable tiles in between them. This approach supports a "wide" empire strategy, prioritizing many smaller cities over a few high-population ones.
Optimal City Placement Strategy
In Civilization 6, a core strategy for success involves building a large number of cities rather than focusing on a few extremely developed ones. This "go wide" approach is highly recommended, and the spacing of your cities plays a crucial role in its effectiveness.
- Recommended Distance: Ideally, place your city centers so there are 4 tiles between them, making the total distance between the centers 5 tiles. This allows each city a comfortable working radius while still keeping them close enough to support each other and maximize regional benefits.
- Minimum Distance: While the absolute minimum distance between two City Centers is 3 tiles, settling cities at this minimum can often lead to cramped conditions, limiting the potential for district placement and resource exploitation.
- Why 5 Tiles Apart?
- Resource Coverage: This spacing allows each city to claim a sufficient number of surrounding tiles, ensuring access to a wide array of resources, including luxuries, strategic materials, and high-yield terrain.
- District Adjacency: It provides ample space for placing districts efficiently around your city centers, maximizing adjacency bonuses between districts, and benefiting from shared adjacencies with neighboring cities. For instance, Commercial Hubs or Industrial Zones can strategically benefit from adjacencies to districts from adjacent cities.
- Trade Routes: More cities mean more origins and destinations for internal and external trade routes, significantly boosting gold, production, food, and science yields across your empire.
- Specialization: With more cities, you can specialize each one for specific purposes, such as a production hub, a science center, or a cultural powerhouse, without each city needing to do everything.
The table below summarizes the recommended and minimum spacing:
| Spacing Type | Distance Between City Centers | Tiles in Between City Centers | Recommended Use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Optimal | 5 Tiles | 4 Tiles | General settlement for a "wide" empire |
| Minimum | 3 Tiles | 2 Tiles | Situational, when space is extremely limited or for choke points |
Benefits of a "Wide" Empire
Adopting a strategy of settling many cities, spaced optimally, offers numerous advantages:
- Increased District Capacity: Each new city allows for additional districts to be built, expanding your overall potential for science, culture, faith, and production.
- More Trade Routes: Every city with a Commercial Hub or Harbor generates an additional trade route capacity, which translates directly to more income, production, or food.
- Greater Unit Production: A larger number of cities means more simultaneous unit production, allowing you to field a more robust army or navy.
- Enhanced Yield Generation: More citizens working more tiles across more cities leads to higher overall yields in all categories.
- Strategic Control: A wider empire allows you to claim more territory, control choke points, and secure valuable resources before your rivals do.
Strategic Considerations for City Spacing
While the 5-tile separation is a good rule, real-world map conditions in Civ 6 often necessitate adjustments. Consider the following when deciding on city locations:
- Fresh Water Access: Prioritize locations with fresh water (rivers, lakes, oases) for faster population growth. If fresh water isn't available, coastal cities are the next best option for housing.
- Unique Resources and Wonders: Settle near key natural wonders, strategic resources, or luxury resources to exploit their benefits and add them to your empire's inventory.
- District Adjacencies: Plan your cities with an eye towards maximizing district adjacency bonuses. For example, placing Industrial Zones or Entertainment Complexes so they benefit multiple cities.
- Terrain Features: Utilize terrain to your advantage. Mountains can provide strong defense or excellent Science/Faith adjacencies, while strategic choke points can be fortified with cities.
- Loyalty: Ensure new cities are within the loyalty pressure of existing cities or can quickly generate enough loyalty pressure themselves, especially on higher difficulties or near rival civilizations.
By adhering to a strategy of settling cities closely and widely, with a focus on optimal spacing, you can build a sprawling and powerful civilization ready to dominate in any victory condition.
