Legacy Policy Cards:

All Legacy Policy cards will be equivalent to the Major Bonus of the Government Type.

You obtain the Legacy Policy card by completing a Government District Building while running the Government of your choice

Start | Chiefdom

Major Bonus: None

Minor Bonus: None

This is going to be the first government for any Civilization. You have two policy card slots

Militaristic Policy Card Slot: Chiefdom

Usually you're going to be running the policy card Discipline so that you're able to clear barbarians nearby and to ensure the survival of your units but in the circumstance that you've made many scouts or have found some in Goody Huts you may want to run Survey

Economic Policy Card Slot: Chiefdom

You're going to want to be running God King until you've secured your Pantheon, after which point you're going to be running either Urban Planning or a civic card unlocked with a further Civic such as Ilkum or Colonization

End Chiefdom

Start | Oligarchy

Major Bonus: All Land Melee, anti-cavalry, and Naval Melee class units gain +4 Combat Strength

Minor Bonus: +20% Unit Experience

Oligarchy Rundown: The most well rounded T1 Government in the game since it has a card slot for each type of card: Militaristic, Economic, Diplomatic, Wildcard.

This is the Government you're going to want to be running if you're warring a neighbor or if you think war is a possibility due to your neighbors. The Legacy Card, Oligarchic Legacy, is easily the most useful to have throughout the game so that's something else to keep in mind as well.

Strengths:

• Directly impacts warfare: both defensively and offensively. Because of that if you're fighting a war of any type this is going to be the most obvious choice regardless.
• Versatility: Oligarchy had a policy card slot for every card type, this means your government will be extremely well rounded since you can choose one of each type or some of one type and multiples of another with the wildcard
• Oligarchic Legacy: the legacy card of Oligarchy will stick with you for the rest of the game which means if you're fighting someone who did not run Oligarchy and have it active when they build their T1 government district building then they will not have the capacity to match your combative power

Weaknesses:

• "Jack of all Master of none": You've certainly heard the phrase and that situation really applies here since the specifics of Oligarchy though really well rounded are not perfectly suited for all situations: for example Oligarchic Legacy does not apply to all units but rather only specific classes of units, Melee, Anti-Cavalry, Melee Naval. Also it cannot compete with the other government types in specific situations such as expansion and infrastructure, Combat with an alternative class of units other than listed above

Militaristic Policy Card Slot: 1

At the point in the game where you have Oligarchy you're going to be running

• Conscription
• Agoge
• Maneuver

Depending on what types of units you're producing/planning on producing or if you've produced your units already.

Economic Policy Card Slot: 1

Usually you're going to be running Urban Planning here, alternatively if you're expanding you can run with Colonization if you're improving tiles and actively producing builders then you should use Ilkum

Diplomatic Policy Card Slot: 1

With only Diplomatic League or Charismatic Leader as options to use when you first get this government type this is a pretty simple choice: If you have already met City States and received First Meets on them for the free Envoy the you want to run Charismatic Leader, if you have not yet met City States or did not get First Meets then you want to run Diplomatic League. Any time you plan on investing your first envoy into a City State you should be running Diplomatic League.

Wildcard Policy Card Slot: 1

You've got some options here, you can obviously choose any civics card to run with early game but the ones I've found the most useful are as follows:

• A secondary Militaristic Policy card, combined with Conscription so that you can produce Filler Units as well as your main armies
• A Great Person Wildcard, to secure a specifically impactful Great Person in your game-plan
• A Dark Age Policy Card (usually Twilight Valor) to bring an early war to an end
• Oligarchic Legacy Policy Card. This one speaks for itself, double up on oligarchic legacy so that you have the extra combat on your Melee and Anti-cavalry class units to end a war or keep yourself in the game
• Both Colonization and Ilkum to rapidly expand and improve your base infrastructure

End Oligarchy

Start | Classical Republic

Major Bonus: All cities with a district receive a +1 Housing and +1 amenity

Minor Bonus: +15% Great Person Points

Classical Republic Rundown: This government type is essentially pure Sim City, and should only be used if you're in the situation to do so. It will be extremely weak when put into a combative situation due to its lacking of militaristic policy cards but extremely powerful when correctly utilized.

Strengths:

• Simming
• Great People recruitment

Weaknesses:

• Warfare: because you do not have the militaristic policy card slots to more efficiently produce and maintain an army you'll be at a larger disadvantage when fighting wars but if given the chance you'll have a larger advantage in infrastructure to push those units out if left alone for an extended period of time. Because of this an apt player will target you before you reach the point at which you're a threat
• Puts a target on your back: Targeted because you can tell if someone is running Classical Republic via the Great Person Screen, even if you have not met them. If anyone is making 2.3 GGP towards any great person for example you know they're running that government type and you know which player they are via their name in the description as well as the knowledge that they are a threat if left alone to sim.

Militaristic Policy Card Slot: 0

None

Economic Policy Card Slot: 2

This is the strength of Classical Republic. Having two Economic Policy Card Slots will allow you to produce both settlers and builders by running both Ilkum/Colonization or to more efficiently produce one of either type by running either and Urban Planning and using that to get districts down. because of this if you're left alone for a period to get your districts and lands settled and upgraded you'll be a huge powerhouse in the mid/late games

Diplomatic Policy Card Slot: 1

With only Diplomatic League or Charismatic Leader as options to use when you first get this government type this is a pretty simple choice: If you have already met City States and received First Meets on them for the free Envoy the you want to run Charismatic Leader, if you have not yet met City States or did not get First Meets then you want to run Diplomatic League. Any time you plan on investing your first envoy into a City State you should be running Diplomatic League.

Wildcard Policy Card Slot: 1

The wildcard policy card when used with Classical Republic will most likely be to try to supplement your military because that's the biggest weakness of the Government Type however if you're going to be running this government type in the first place you may wish to go all out and run pure economic slots throughout your entire government to really push infrastructure and land dominance.

End Classical Republic

Start | Autocracy

Major Bonus: +1 to all yields for each government building and palace in a city.

Minor Bonus: +10% Production toward Wonders

Autocracy Rundown:

The main strength of Autocracy is its ability to produce an extremely diverse military force without sacrificing infrastructure. Another strength of this Government Type is you're naturally encouraged to kill off City-States while running it since you do not have a Diplomatic Policy Card Slot to help you control them via Envoys

Strengths:

• Using Cavalry Class Units: Both Heavy and Light while maintaining a diverse basic type unit force as well by running both Agoge and Maneuver at the same time with Conscription as a 3rd card to maintain them
• Limited Resource Unit Production: You have so many militaristic Policy Card Slots you have the option to run the production bonus cards of multiple unit types as described in 1. You can use this for some exceptional power when you've got say 1 strategic resource type (say Horses or Iron) to produce that unit type in a city with an encampment while your secondary settles can produce basic type units which require no resources
• Killing City-States: Since you're not going to be able to compete with other Government types with controlling City-States via Envoys you're actively encouraged to simply remove them from the game to prevent other Major Civilizations from greatly benefiting from those City-States' type bonuses
• Keeping Discipline: If you're having Barbarian issues as the game progresses and you're having continual Barbarian problems you can use Discipline to keep them down as well as continually producing more military units for defense or offense

Weaknesses:

• Controlling City-States: This is an extremely huge flaw because you'll be unable to compete in Envoy Wars with really important City-States as well as other Government Types will, particularly those outside your influence of control via military means
• Scaling: Unlike Oligarchy this Government type will not scale into the game, and when the feared "Double Oligarchy" comes into play around turn 35-45 you're going to be having some major issues keeping up with a unit base of Melee and Anti-Cavalry with that extra +8 combat over you

Militaristic Policy Card Slot: 2

With two Militaristic Policy Card Slots running with Autocracy will ensure that you've the most versatile of early military powers. You can choose to use it to guard against Barbarians or to maintain an extremely diverse early military to keep yourself safe from any type of militaristic aggression.

Economic Policy Card Slot: 1

As with Oligarchy, you're usually you're going to be running Urban Planning here, alternatively if you're expanding you can run with Colonization if you're improving tiles and actively producing builders then you should use Ilkum

Diplomatic Policy Card Slot: 0

This is the weak point of Autocracy. If you're looking to control specific and powerful City-States then this may be a deal-breaker for you. You're going to be losing out on the early power to control vital and powerful City-States...But alternatively you could also use this to your advantage and simply remove those powerful City-States out of the game.

Wildcard Policy Card Slot: 1

Your Wildcard slot will be much more useful for Autocracy than for either Classical Republic or Oligarchy because of the extra military card that you're free to focus on any aspect of the game you wish: You can use it for great people, to establish a more diverse military, for infrastructure or to shore the governments main weakness: no Diplomatic Policy Card.

End Autocracy

Start | Monarchy

Major Bonus: +1 Housing per level of Walls

Minor Bonus: +50% Influence Points

Monarchy Rundown:

This Government's main strength is when it comes compared to the other T2 Government types. You're going to have access to more policy cards about 8-10 turns earlier than either Merchant Republic or Theocracy: even if you've rushed for Mercenaries first...Earlier still if you did not. You will have access to particularly powerful Civics cards which will unlock powerful aspects of the game such as the ability to efficiently produce those units after you've already reached the point where you've upgraded them for whatever reason. Also by rushing Theocracy you've rushed the ability to get Alliances so if you correspond this with another player to work towards that goal it can be an extremely powerful point for both of your empires.

Strengths:

• Early access: You're going to access this Government type before any other T2 Government.
• Extra Military Slots: You're going to be able to produce and maintain an even larger and more diverse military than before, opening up policy card slots for any other type, be it Diplomatic, Economic, or Wildcard Specific.
• Ability to produce: One of the main problems with rushing for an early technology, say Knights is that you will have a spike in power but you will not be able to maintain that power over an extended period due to your inability to aptly produce that unit efficiently. If you find yourself in that situation you're going to want to rush Monarchy to help get those extra units out after you've upgraded them.
• Position: One of the things you're going to want to be rushing for in the early game-before the Medieval era ends- is Guilds. Rushing down Monarchy puts you in a perfect position to maximize the benefits of the Free Inquiry Dedication so that you can get a ton of Science throughout that era, putting you on some extremely strong ground coming into the next era
• Leads to a more powerful T2 Government: even if this is not the most powerful T2 Government, it's a requirement to get to one that is one of the more powerful ones

Weaknesses:

• Weak: Easily the weakest of the three T2 Governments the Major and Minor bonuses as well as the Legacy bonuses are dismissable and unlikely to be useful for you in most situations.
• Timing: If you've truly rushed for this civic you're going to be missing out on an extremely powerful timing push that will come with the Mercenaries Civic
• Economic/Wildcard Slots: Monarchy is lacking in this department. While you do have the extra Military Card Slots you're not going to be able to run multiple Economic Policy Cards or Wildcards without giving something else up, something the other T2 governments will not be lacking in.
• Heavy Cavalry overflow strategies: If you've researched Divine Right (The required Civic for Monarchy) then you've lost access to the Maneuver policy card and you no longer have the ability to use overflow strategies with it in the mid/late game

Militaristic Policy Card Slot: 3

• You're obviously going to want to focus on maintaining your military power, as such Conscription is a no-brainer.
• Depending on where you are in the game and your goals you have some options here: If you're being attacked but do not necessarily have to produce units to maintain a defense you can put on Limes or Bastions. Alternatively you can also run with a Production Base Civic Card so that you can more efficiently bolster your military force as the game proceeds
• Here's a little bit that many people will pass up on. Because you've tech'd through Civil Service you have access to the Policy Card Retainers. You have the capacity to run this card and produce a single unit for every city which has no cost--A Scout for example. You can use this to negate the impairments of an extended war on the yield values on your empire-- you can only really do this because you've got that extra militaristic policy card slot, though you can also place it in a wildcard if you feel that will benefit you enough

Economic Policy Card Slot: 1

It's very likely you're going to be using this slot to get Science so you're going to be running Town Charters or Natural Philosophy but you could be running things like Serfdom or a myriad of other Economic Civic Cards.

Diplomatic Policy Card Slot: 1

Still few options here, You're soon going to unlocking powerful Diplomatic Cards like Machiavellianism and Wisselbanken and Merchant Confederation but you're still very likely to be spending a good portion of the time you're running Monarchy using the older Diplomatic Civic cards to control City-States

Wildcard Policy Card Slot: 1

It's very likely that this civic card will be going towards an economic policy card though you can also use it for a legacy card or a diplomatic card if you feel that will have a larger impact than an economic one

End Monarchy

Start | Theocracy

Major Bonus: +5 religious Strength in Theological Combat, +.5 Faith per Citizen in cities with Governors

Minor Bonus: 15% discount on Purchases with Faith

Theocracy Rundown:

Theocracy is a trade-off. It's not as powerful as Merchant republic but is more powerful than Monarchy due to its extra Economic Policy slot. Its actually comparable to Merchant Republic in power due to the simple fact that you will very likely be running two military policy cards regardless if you are running Merchant Republic or not. Also it is desirable to get the civic Guilds as early as possible and an early T2 Government as soon as possible which means getting Monarchy first -- which comes quite early -- then swapping into this as soon as its available is quite appealing. It is also extremely important to mention that any strategies based around Faith -- from Purchasing Naturalists for National Parks to Apostles for Chaplins to Unit purchase strategies with the Grandmaster's Chapel Theocracy is the way to go

Theocracy Strengths:

• Desirable Civic path: Even if you went for Mercenaries first for Professional Armies you will get a T2 Government type (Monarchy) faster than Merchant republic -- usually by about 7-14 turns which means you can get a T2 government district building (usually meaning your Intelligence Agency) 7-14 turns before your opposition. Also you're very incentivized to get to guilds by about the start of the Medieval Era to maximize your bonus from Free Inquiry with Town Charters which is also along the path for this. As a final note with Alliances if there is a run-away state in the game warring everyone nearby it's extremely powerful to get a militaristic alliance against that player to help keep them in check -- also along the civics path for this Government
• Versatility: capable of usage for multiple strategies from Religious to Cultural to Domination Theocracy can cover them all -- even Science if you have Jesuit Education

Theocracy Weaknesses:

• Not the most versatile: While flexible, this government type will never be as flexible as Merchant republic's +1 wildcard just because of the nature of the civics card
• Pathetic "major" bonus: To be frank +5 combat for religious units is a joke in multiplayer -- in the 5,000+ hours I've played multiplayer I've had an actual religious war once and it was versus a player who was specifically coached on what I was doing to get a religious victory and walked through exactly how to counter it. To say its Major bonus is pathetic is being extremely generous -- it's easier to say if you run this government type you're running a government without a major bonus at all
• Heavy Cavalry overflow strategies: This is a carry-over from Monarchy. If you've researched Monarchy then you've lost access to the Maneuver policy card and you no longer have the ability to use overflow strategies with it in the mid/late game

Militaristic Policy Card Slot: 2

To me this is where Theocracy has an edge over Merchant Republic as I tend to run many many military policy cards. Here's my favorites:.

• Retainers
• Conscription/Levee En Masse
• Wars of Religion
• Maritime Industries/Press Gangs/Feudal Contract/Grand Armée/Maneuver/Chivalry
• National Identity
• Logistics
• Professional Armies
• Bastions/Limes

Economic Policy Card Slot: 2

it's likely you'll be running the following:

• Serfdom/Urban Planning
• Town Charters
• Triangular Trade
• Natural Philosophy
• Rationalism

Diplomatic Policy Card Slot: 1

At this point of the game I hear often that players tend to gravitate towards running Merchant Confederation however I do not tend to touch this civic card much at all due to my complete infatuation with spies -- and there's some examples of why included. The diplomatic card that I tend to use is Machiavellianism because of this though there are always exceptions to this -- it's a standard for me, not a rule.

Wildcard Policy Card Slot: 1

This will be a filler based off your specific situation -- If simming you can gravitate a bit more towards Economic cards above, if at war an extra militaristic card above

End Theocracy

Start | Merchant Republic

Major Bonus: +10% gold in all cities with an established Governor

Minor Bonus: +15% production toward Districts

Merchant Republic Rundown:

Likely the best T2 Government type, very well rounded with the extra Wildcard slot and extremely powerful major and minor bonuses. Strong for Sim-Citying

Merchant Republic Strengths:

• Versatile: Extra wildcard slot
• Strong "minor" bonus

Merchant Republic Weaknesses:

• Takes about 10 turns longer to get to Merchant Republic than Monarchy so that's 10 turns where you could be building your government district building and getting your tier 2 government district building online (usually meaning a spy)
• Legacy bonus is lackluster

Militaristic Policy Card Slot: 1

It's pretty obvious that you're going to be running conscription to maintain the armies you've made at this point

Economic Policy Card Slot: 2

Usually you're going to be running some of the following:

• Serfdom/Urban Planning
• Natural Philosophy
• Town Charters
• Naval Infrastructure

Diplomatic Policy Card Slot: 1

At this point of the game I hear often that players tend to gravitate towards running Merchant Confederation however I do not tend to touch this civic card much at all due to my complete infatuation with spies -- and there's some examples of why included. The diplomatic card that I tend to use is Machiavellianism because of this though there are always exceptions to this -- it's a standard for me, not a rule.

Wildcard Policy Card Slot: 2

Having two wildcard policy slots is one of the major boons of running with Merchant Republic. You can choose to run the legacy card of Oligarchy to buff your Pike and Shot or Musketmen, you can use it to buff your sim-city capabilities or better control city states or simply to produce more military. Depending on the stage of the game and your goals here's what I tend to use my wildcard policy cards in Merchant Republic for:

End Merchant Republic

Start | Democracy

Major Bonus: +1 production, +1 Housing per District

Minor Bonus: 25% discount on Purchases with Gold

Democracy Rundown:

It can be rare that players will get to T3 Governments in Multiplayer, as such many players will not know which to choose and tend to default towards Democracy; IF in the late game you're prioritizing a variety of civic cards this is the government type for you. It does not have the best Major or Minor bonuses but it has an extremely diverse -- and so powerful set of card slots IF more concerned with economy than military at this point in the game

Democracy Strengths:

Tons of slots for Economy with variety options on your wildcards for any specific situations

Democracy Weaknesses:

Major and Minor bonuses are extremely lackluster. Only one Military policy card -- which means you're going to be running military cards in your wildcard slots removing the versatility that Democracy brings to the table

Militaristic Policy Card Slot: 1

• Levee En Masse

No exceptions -- you may wish to use your wildcard slots for more military cards but at this stage of the game not running Levee En Masse should drain your treasury so much that your economy will likely collapse

Economic Policy Card Slot: 3

This is going to be specific to which districts you've produced up to this point -- you can choose two per card from the late game policy cards such as Economic cards tailored towards districts as well as the Economic civic cards which are tailored to your victory condition such as , for Cultural Victories for example.

• Economic Union (com hubs and harbors)
• Five-Year Plan (Campus and Industrial Zones)
• Online Communities
• Heritage Tourism

Diplomatic Policy Card Slot: 2

In general you're going to use these cards for one of two things: Controlling City-States OR spies -- I gravitate towards using them for spies, running any of the following:

• Machiavellianism(Spies overall)
• Police State (Spy defense)
• Nuclear Espionage(Spies for Science)
• Cryptography(Spies overall)
• International Space Agency(Control many CS and need Science)
• Collective Activism(Control many CS and need Culture)

Wildcard Policy Card Slot: 2

It's very likely you're going to be using these for either extra diplomatic or militaristic slots because you've got an abundance of Economic slots but it will be determined by which victory type you're trying to achieve as well as your specific needs at that point in the game

End Democracy

Start | Fascism

Major Bonus: All units gain +5 Combat Strength. War Weariness reduced by 15%

Minor Bonus: +50% production toward Units

Fascism Rundown:

Currently the strongest government type in the game for domination AND defense -- versus someone who is using this you're basically forced to use it as well just due to overflow strategies while running this government type and the raw power of +10 combat strength -- It's the strongest due to the Major bonus combined with the minor bonus and the legacy card -- essentially you're going to have + 10 combat strength, -30% war weariness and +50% production towards ALL units while running this government type

Fascism Strengths:

• Military: Whether Defense or Offense, +10 Combat strength between the Major bonus and the Legacy card is HUGE. +50% production is also massive at this stage of the game
• Science: Using overflow strategies with the +50% production at this stage of the game can then be translated into a different victory type -- Scientific

Fascism Weaknesses:

• Policy cards: You're hurting here because you're lacking variety. You'll constantly find yourself having to trade off on two very important civic cards just to fit in the most important (if attacking or defending you're going to want Fascist Legacy on as well so that limits your options even more)
• Lacking variety in civic cards -- many militaristic and almost nothing else. When running this

Militaristic Policy Card Slot: 2

There are obviously many many options here so here's a list of some of the more important ones:

• Levy En Masse
• Any production based card for the specific units you're producing
• Defense of the Motherland
• Martial Law
• Propaganda
• Logistics
• National Identity
• Integrated Space Cell (Scientific Victory)

Economic Policy Card Slot: 1

Because you're limited to a single card here you're going to have to pick the most important civic card for you in this specific situation.

I'm almost always using this card to combine power with my trade routes so either

• Triangular Trade
• Ecommerce
• Public Works (overflow Strategies)

Diplomatic Policy Card Slot: 1

• Machiavellianism(Spies overall)
• Cryptography(Spies overall)

Wildcard Policy Card Slot:

I tend to use this for spies in the late game as such I'll be using both wildcards for bonuses on spies just for the extra power against a rival across the world, trading something off for the legacy card when directly attacking or defending

End Fascism

Start | Communism

Major bonus: +0.6 Production per Citizen in cities with Governors

Minor Bonus: +15% production

Communism Rundown:

Well rounded, Communism is great for going for a Science Victory as you're getting % production towards everything and your main cities will be getting a little extra production if they have governors in them.

Communism Strengths:

• Options: in both economic and militaristic card slots
• Versatile "Minor" bonus: +15% production towards whatever I want is quite powerful towards district projects...specifically towards space race or nuclear projects

Communism Weaknesses:

• Weak "Major" bonus: Though combined with its legacy bonus it can be quite significant
• Not many wildcard/diplomatic card slots: when you're likely going to be needing them a lot -- for legacy bonuses if nothing else
• Weak spies: You have few diplomatic card slots and so you're going to be on the back foot in the spy game and you'll tend to have to use spies for defense not offense more than I'd recommend

Militaristic Policy Card Slot: 3

• Levy En Masse
• Any production based card for the specific units you're producing
• Defense of the Motherland
• Martial Law
• Propaganda
• Logistics
• National Identity
• Integrated Space Cell (Scientific Victory)

Economic Policy Card Slot: 3

• Ecommerce
• Economic Union (Commercial hubs and harbors)
• Five-Year Plan (Campus and Industrial Zones)
• Online Communities
• Heritage Tourism

Diplomatic Policy Card Slot: 1

• Machiavellianism(Spies overall)
• Cryptography(Spies overall)

Wildcard Policy Card Slot: 1

I tend to use this for spies in the late game as such I'll be using both wildcards for bonuses on spies just for the extra power against a rival across the world, trading something off for the legacy card when directly attacking or defending

End Communism

End Governments | All