Beginner's Guide

2:35 To play Civilization 3 for the first time, start on Chieftain, the level the Complete manual (p. 30) recommends "for first-time players", found your capital on or near the square where your Settler begins, put a defender in it, and then expand: more cities, Workers to improve the land, and research toward a better government. Every game begins in 4000 BC with a Settler and a Worker (and a Scout for Expansionist civilizations), and the manual's own sample game (pp. 35-53) walks through the first turns in that order. This guide follows the same path, from the setup screen to your first contact with a rival and your first war, with the advice the manuals and Prima's official strategy guide give at each step. When the basics are clear, Early Game Strategy goes deeper on build orders and City Placement and Expansion on where to put cities.

Quick facts

Source: Civilization III Complete manual, pp. 30-31, 35, 39-40; unit costs from Prima's Official Strategy Guide, pp. 15-16, 149-150 (2001, base game).

Choosing a level

1:37 The level sets how many citizens are born content and how clever the computer leaders are, says the Complete manual (pp. 30-31). Chieftain is its pick for first-time players, Warlord suits "the occasional player who doesn't want too difficult a test", and from Prince up "your rivals are significantly better at managing their empires". The manual also tells veterans of earlier Civilization games to start "one or two levels of difficulty easier", because so many rules changed. All eight levels are compared on Difficulty Levels.

The easy levels forgive mistakes in concrete ways. Prima's guide (2001, pp. 15-16) gives Chieftain 4 content citizens per city against 1 on Deity, makes rivals take twice as long as you to build and research (200%), adds 400% to your units' strength against barbarians, and on Chieftain and Warlord never disbands your units or sells your buildings when the treasury runs dry. Villages pay better and rivals are less aggressive there too.

Choosing a civilization

Each civilization has two traits, two starting advances and one unique unit, listed in the Complete manual's chart (pp. 26, 28-29); no source read names a best civilization for beginners. A few traits soften early mistakes, in the manual's words: Expansionist civilizations start with a Scout and get more from villages, Religious ones build Temples cheaply and spend only one turn in Anarchy when changing government, Commercial ones suffer less corruption, and Industrious Workers finish jobs faster. Every civilization and its traits are on Civilizations and Civilization Traits.

Founding your capital

Your first decision is where the capital goes, and the Complete manual (pp. 35-37) asks for a site with all three resources: food, shields and commerce. Right-click any visible square to see its terrain and output, and press Ctrl-G to show the map grid. A city can stand on any land except Mountains. The manual allows a short search for a better site but warns, "You shouldn't waste too much time looking", because Settlers move one square per turn and early turns cover many years.

Players have long argued about whether to found the capital on the first turn. Prima's guide (p. 31) reports both camps and sides with spending "a couple of turns" exploring with the Settler and Worker if a better site may be near, at the cost of a turn or two of research. It adds (pp. 22-30) that the city square is improved automatically with irrigation, a mine and a road, so a city on Plains or Grassland beside a river is a strong start, while a city on Desert, Jungle or Tundra is not.

The city screen and the advisors

2:59 The City Display opens when a city is founded, and the Complete manual (pp. 37-39) names its parts: the Population Roster (each citizen's mood), the map of the City Radius (which squares are worked), the Food Storage Box (the city grows when it fills), the Production Box (shields toward the current build) and the Improvements Roster. A new city works only the eight squares around it at first; the full radius is 20 squares plus the city square.

5:16 Six advisors open with the function keys, per the manual's key list (p. 211): Domestic (F1), Trade (F2), Military (F3), Foreign (F4), Cultural (F5) and Science (F6). The Domestic Advisor holds the sliders that split commerce between science, entertainment and the treasury. Prima (p. 78) suggests setting science as high as it goes at the start, since early units cost nothing to support, and lowering it only when the treasury starts to shrink.

The first builds

A new city almost always starts on a Warrior, and the manual's sample game (pp. 39-45) keeps it: the capital builds a Warrior, research goes first to Bronze Working, because Spearmen "are twice as effective at defending cities as Warriors", and the city switches to a Spearman once that advance arrives. The Warrior goes exploring while the world is still empty, and the Spearman is garrisoned in the city with the F key.

11:59 Growth comes next. When the capital reaches size 2, the sample game (p. 46) starts a Settler, after checking that the city will reach size 3 before the Settler is done, because a Settler takes two citizens and a Worker one. After the Settler leaves, the capital builds a Granary and then Workers. The order behind this, defense first, then Settlers, then improvements, is the subject of Early Game Strategy.

Workers and the land

13:54 Workers improve the squares your citizens work, and the manual (pp. 49-50) shows the effect: a road adds one commerce and lets units move three times faster, and irrigation adds food. Under Despotism, though, any square producing three or more of anything loses one, so a newly irrigated Grassland still gives two food. That penalty, the manual says, is why its sample game researches toward Monarchy. Two Workers on one square work twice as fast (p. 112). Terrain yields and every Worker job are on Terrain and Workers.

Roads also carry luxuries. A luxury such as Incense connected by road inside your borders makes one content citizen happy in every connected city, per the manual (p. 51), so linking your cities early pays twice. More on Resources and Trade.

Exploring, villages and barbarians

16:01 The villages of minor tribes can give gold, an advance, a military unit, a Settler or even a new city, or release hostile barbarians, according to Prima (pp. 28-29), which advises visiting every village with a military unit rather than a Settler or Worker.

Barbarians now come from encampments and pillage undefended cities rather than capture them, says the manual (p. 56). Prima (pp. 177-178) advises finding the encampment as soon as raids begin, approaching it by a roundabout route, and attacking it: it is usually defended by one unit and holds gold.

Research and your first government

The Science Advisor (F6) asks for a new advance each time one is learned, and its "Big Picture" tree lets you queue several at once, per the manual (pp. 43-47, 123-124); switching to another topic loses the progress made. Advances are listed on Technologies.

Every civilization starts in Despotism. The manual's sample game (pp. 47, 51-52) queues Ceremonial Burial, Warrior Code, Mysticism and Polytheism to reach Monarchy, then starts a revolution and waits out a few turns of Anarchy. Prima (pp. 57-58) frames the choice: Monarchy for a military game, the Republic for a peaceful one, because the Republic earns more commerce but suffers war weariness and allows no martial law. See Governments.

Happiness and corruption

Every city has a few citizens born content and the rest unhappy, and the number born content falls as the level rises; a city falls into disorder, producing nothing, when its unhappy citizens outnumber its happy ones, per the 2001 manual (p. 118). Temples, luxuries, the entertainment slider and, under Despotism and Monarchy, a garrison acting as military police all help. Prima (p. 132) calls the Temple "arguably" the first improvement for every city, especially on higher levels. See Happiness and War Weariness.

Cities far from your Palace lose commerce to corruption and shields to waste, and both grow with distance and with the number of cities, per the Complete manual (pp. 135-136). A Courthouse halves both in its city, according to Prima (p. 60). The full rules are on Corruption and Waste.

Meeting your neighbors

Your first meeting with another civilization ends in a peace treaty unless you declare war, and often a trade of advances, says the manual (pp. 52-53), which advises making friends at this stage. Prima (p. 70) adds two habits: watch the Foreign Advisor while building a deal, because he says plainly whether the other side will accept it, and sell your world map when you first meet someone, which is when it is worth most. Embassies, agreements and trades are on Diplomacy.

Your first war

26:16 The first fights are usually against barbarians, then against a neighbor. Each round of combat is won roughly in the ratio of attack to defense, so a Knight (attack 4) beats a Spearman (defense 2) in about 66% of rounds, and Walls raise the Spearman to 3, per the Complete manual (p. 108). Prima (p. 116) puts defense first: "never take an aggressive stance until you can defend yourself from retaliatory strikes". Units do not heal inside a rival's borders, so pull damaged units back. The rest is on Combat and War Guide.

Common mistakes

These are the mistakes the official guides warn about, each in its source's words or close to them:

• Leaving a city empty: "In most cases, it is unwise to leave a city undefended" (Complete manual, p. 42).
• Sending Settlers alone: any enemy or barbarian unit can capture an unescorted Settler, and a captured Settler becomes two Workers for its captor (manual, pp. 48, 58).
• Forgetting upgrades: Prima (pp. 175-177) imagines finding "Spearmen defending that place" as a city falls; Shift-U upgrades every unit of a type in a city with Barracks.
• Leaning on martial law: cities kept calm by a garrison riot when you move to a Republic or Democracy, which allow none (Prima, p. 40).
• Building Granaries too soon: at King level or higher, Prima (p. 126) says wait for Ceremonial Burial and Temples, because fast growth outruns happiness.
• Starting wonders too early: wait "until you have several thriving cities" (Prima, p. 139).
• Trading away military advances such as Chivalry or Gunpowder to a rival who has the resources to use them (Prima, p. 71).

Frequently asked questions

What difficulty should a beginner play in Civ 3? The Civilization 3 Complete manual recommends Chieftain, the easiest level, for first-time players, and Warlord for occasional players. It tells veterans of earlier Civilization games to start one or two levels below their usual one.

Should I build my capital on the first turn in Civ 3? The Civilization 3 manual allows a short look around but warns not to waste much time, since Settlers move one square per turn. Prima's 2001 guide prefers spending a couple of turns exploring if a better site may be near.

What should I build first in Civ 3? In the Civilization 3 manual's sample game, the capital builds a Warrior, switches to a Spearman once Bronze Working is learned, then builds a Settler at size 2 and a Granary and Workers after it. Defense comes first because barbarians and rivals can take an empty city.

What should I research first in Civ 3? The Civilization 3 manual researches Bronze Working first for the Spearman, then Pottery, then the advances leading to Monarchy. Prima's guide says to make Bronze Working the first research if your civilization does not start with it.

Which civilization is best for beginners in Civ 3? No official Civilization 3 source names one. Traits that forgive mistakes include Expansionist (a free Scout and better villages), Religious (cheap Temples, one turn of Anarchy) and Commercial (less corruption).

When should I change government in Civ 3? As soon as you know Monarchy or the Republic: Civilization 3's Despotism cuts one from any square producing three or more of anything. Prima's guide recommends Monarchy for war and the Republic for peaceful play.

Sources

• Sid Meier's Civilization III Complete manual, 2K Games and Firaxis Games, 2005 (read Oct 22, 2026)
• Civilization III manual, First Edition, Infogrames and Firaxis Games, Sep 2001 (read Oct 22, 2026)
• Sid Meier's Civilization III: Prima's Official Strategy Guide (David Ellis), Prima Games, 2001 (read Oct 22, 2026)
• How To Play Your First Game Of Civ 3, Suede, Feb 12, 2020 (video)