Early Game Strategy

0:06 The Civilization 3 early game is a race for land: guard your capital, turn its food into Settlers and Workers, found cities that claim luxuries, fresh water and strategic resources such as Iron before your neighbors do, and research toward Monarchy or the Republic. The Complete manual's sample game (pp. 39-52) runs in that order, a Warrior, Bronze Working for a Spearman, a Settler at size 2, then a Granary, Workers and Monarchy, and GameSpot's 2001 preview called luxuries connected by road "a powerful method for early expansion". This guide covers the turns from 4000 BC to the point where your borders meet a rival's: the build order, research paths, the early wonders worth racing for and when to change government. The basics of the interface are on Beginner's Guide.

Quick facts

Source: Prima's Official Strategy Guide, pp. 22, 120-122, 134-137, 149-150 (2001, base game).

The opening build order

6:48 The Complete manual (pp. 39-49) gives the opening in its sample game. The capital builds a Warrior, which explores while the world is still empty; research goes to Bronze Working; the capital switches to a Spearman and garrisons it; at size 2 it starts a Settler, timed so the city reaches size 3 before the Settler is done; then a Granary, then Workers. The second city builds its own Spearman before its first Worker. The manual's five early priorities are defense, research, growth, exploration and culture (pp. 39-40).

Units cost gold, not food or shields, once you pass a free allowance set by your government and the number and size of your cities, per the manual (p. 57). The first several units are free (pp. 44-45), so early Warriors, Settlers and Workers cost nothing to keep. That makes the early game a question of food and shields: a Settler costs 30 shields and two citizens, a Worker 10 shields and one citizen.

Turning food into Settlers

2:39 A city that keeps building Settlers needs food above all, because every Settler takes two citizens. The Granary keeps half the food when a city grows, and Prima's guide (p. 126) calls the rapid growth it gives "a great boon to production and empire growth". The same page warns that growth can outrun happiness: at King level or higher (Prima's name for the fourth level), wait for Ceremonial Burial and Temples before building Granaries. The Pyramids give a Granary in every city on their continent (Complete manual, p. 132), and Prima (p. 144) attaches the same warning to them.

Sites with food make the best Settler cities. Prima (pp. 22-28) rates Flood Plains as the richest food terrain despite disease, Grassland as fast-growing, and Plains as "arguably the best city sites, especially early in the game", because slower growth "keeps unhappiness at bay" on higher levels. Wheat, Cattle and Fish add food on top. Where to put each new city is on City Placement and Expansion.

Forests can speed things up. Clearing a Forest gives the nearest city a one-time 10 shields (Prima, p. 22), which Prima suggests for hurrying an important unit or wonder. Soren Johnson later wrote that players replanted and cut forests over and over, which he called "tedious and mind-numbing" (Designer Notes, Jun 12, 2011).

Research paths

The first research is usually defensive. Prima (pp. 87-92) says to make Bronze Working the first project if you do not start with it, to put it ahead of Warrior Code "regardless of your ultimate strategy" because Spearmen defend better than Archers, to research Masonry "no later than third", and to get Ceremonial Burial early on higher levels for Temples.

Prima then gives two Ancient Times sequences (pp. 113-116). For peaceful play, seen from the Egyptians: Bronze Working, Alphabet, Writing, Literature, Mysticism, Pottery, Code of Laws, Philosophy, the Republic, then Iron Working, Mathematics, Construction, Currency and the rest. For war, seen from the Japanese: Bronze Working, Iron Working, Masonry, Alphabet, Mathematics, Construction, The Wheel, Horseback Riding, Mysticism, Polytheism, Monarchy. Both describe the 2001 base game. In Conquests, Philosophy gives a free advance to the first civilization to learn it, per Firaxis's Conquests wonders update (2003). Every advance is on Technologies.

Luxuries and strategic resources

11:00 Luxuries are the early game's cheapest happiness. Each luxury connected by road to your cities makes one content citizen happy in every connected city (Complete manual, p. 86), and spare ones can be traded. Prima (p. 67) puts it bluntly: "Whoever controls the luxury resources controls the game." A resource outside your borders can still be used by building a road to it and a colony on it with a Worker.

17:15 Iron is the early resource to secure. Prima (p. 28) calls it "the most important strategic resource for military strategists" early on: Swordsmen need it, and Knights need it with Horses. Resources are placed at random, and Johnson wrote that a continent could have a single Iron cluster held by one rival, which left players "unable to field armies" (Game Developer, Mar 16, 2010). Iron appears on the map only after Iron Working, so plan sites near Hills and Mountains, where it can occur. See Resources and Trade.

Early wonders

The ancient Great Wonders are cheap compared with later ones, and the Complete manual (pp. 130-133) sets the rules for racing them: gold cannot rush a wonder, only a Great Leader can finish one, and if a rival completes yours first, the shields over the cost of whatever you switch to are lost.

Source: costs from Prima's guide, pp. 134-136 and Firaxis's Conquests wonders update; effects from the Complete manual, pp. 132-133. In Conquests the Great Wall puts Walls in every city on its continent instead.

1:04 Prima (pp. 138-143) ranks the Great Library "easily the most important Wonder of Ancient Times", especially for a player behind in research, and names the Hanging Gardens and the Oracle as the other ancient priorities, more so on higher levels. It advises building the Great Wall first only during an early war. Its general rule (p. 139): wait "until you have several thriving cities" before tying one up on a wonder. All wonders are on Wonders.

When to change government

Despotism holds back every square that produces more than two of anything, so the early goal is a better government. The Complete manual's sample game (pp. 50-52) researches Monarchy and starts a revolution as soon as it arrives, accepting a few turns of Anarchy; Religious civilizations spend only one turn in Anarchy (p. 26).

9:28 Prima (pp. 57-59, 116) sets the choice by plan. Monarchy keeps martial law (up to three units as police, per the 2001 manual, pp. 127-128), more free units and no war weariness, at the cost of higher corruption, so it suits a military game. The Republic adds commerce and cuts corruption but has war weariness and no martial law, so it suits a peaceful one; Prima suggests a warlike player can still "make a run for The Republic" if war weariness can be handled. The governments are compared on Governments.

The second wave of cities

7:40 As the empire grows, distance from the capital starts to cost. Corruption and waste rise with each city's distance from the Palace and with the number of cities, per the Complete manual (pp. 135-136). Prima (pp. 125, 138) recommends Courthouses for a player who spreads "far and wide early in the game", and the Forbidden Palace, which needs 8 cities, once an empire reaches eight or more cities early, built in the city with the most corruption. See Corruption and Waste.

Rivals will try to plant cities in gaps inside your land. Prima (pp. 179-180) suggests blocking the roads into a contested site with fortified units, or rushing your own Settler there first, since a contiguous empire is easier to hold.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best build order in Civ 3? The Civilization 3 Complete manual's sample game builds a Warrior, then a Spearman once Bronze Working is learned, a Settler at size 2, then a Granary and Workers. No official source gives a single best order; Prima's 2001 guide adds that Granaries should wait for Temples on higher levels.

What should I research first in Civ 3? Prima's official Civilization 3 guide says to research Bronze Working first if your civilization lacks it, for the Spearman, and to put it ahead of Warrior Code. It suggests Masonry no later than third and Ceremonial Burial early on higher levels.

Should I go Monarchy or Republic early in Civ 3? Prima's Civilization 3 guide recommends Monarchy for a military game, since it has martial law and no war weariness, and the Republic for peaceful play, since it earns more commerce and suffers less corruption. The Complete manual's sample game goes to Monarchy.

Which early wonders are worth it in Civ 3? Prima's Civilization 3 guide calls the Great Library the most important ancient wonder and names the Hanging Gardens and the Oracle as priorities. The Pyramids (400 shields) give a Granary in every city on their continent.

How fast should I expand in Civ 3? As fast as your Settlers can claim good land, while every city keeps a defender. Civilization 3's corruption rises with distance from the capital and with the number of cities, so Courthouses and the Forbidden Palace (8 cities) follow the expansion.

Why is Iron so important early in Civ 3? Swordsmen need Iron, and Knights need Iron and Horses. Prima's Civilization 3 guide calls Iron the most important early strategic resource, and it appears on the map only after Iron Working.

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)
• Civilization III Updated Preview (Bruce Grey), GameSpot, Oct 18, 2001
• The Wonders of Civ-Conquests (Ed Piper), Firaxis Games (civ3.com, archived), 2003
• Analysis: Soren Johnson On Playing The Odds, Game Developer, Mar 16, 2010
• GD Column 17: Water Finds a Crack (Soren Johnson), Designer Notes, Jun 12, 2011
• How To Play Your First Game Of Civ 3, Suede, Feb 12, 2020 (video)
• Civilization 3: Everything you need to know, Suede, Nov 12, 2025 (video)
• Civ 3 Government Tutorial, Suede, May 9, 2019 (video)
• The 12 most powerful techs in Civ 3, Suede, Dec 28, 2024 (video)
• 6 Civ 3 Gameplay Mechanics That Are Hard To Explain, Suede, Sep 4, 2022 (video)
• Top 7 Mistakes That New Players Make In Civ 3, Suede, Aug 31, 2019 (video)