Winning a game of Civilization 6 is satisfying no matter the route taken to get there, whether it's a cultural victory or total military domination. But achieving a scientific victory is extremely satisfying because it means a long game of besting the other Civilizations turn after turn.

To achieve a scientific victory, the player must complete the Space Program, which is available at the beginning of the Atomic era. But there are plenty of things the player can do in the early and mid-game to give themselves an advantage and keep their lead.

Updated November 14, 2023, by Sean Murray: Looking for the best strategies for a science victory in Civ 6? Then we've got you covered. This guide has been refreshed with improved formatting, more breakout tips, and links to other helpful Civ 6 topics.

Which Civilizations Are The Best For Science Victories

Make sure to look through all the Civs and pick one with science bonuses. It is technically possible to complete a science victory with any civilization, but some Civilizations are better at it than others. Here is a shortlist of Civilizations that are great picks:

• Seondeok of Korea
• Barbarossa of Germany
• Pachacuti of the Inca (Gathering Storm DLC)
• Robert the Bruce of Scotland (Rise and Fall DLC)
• Sejong Dewang of Korea (Leader Pass)

There are plenty more Civilizations to choose from, so read through the other Civs as well.

It is also important to remember what your Civilizations perks are. That way, you can play into those strengths throughout the game. For instance, Korea receives science bonuses for building mines near Campus Districts.

Early Technologies To Research For A Science Victory

The best tip for achieving a quick science victory is to make sure you research Pottery first. This technology unlocks the path towards Writing, which gives you the Campus District. If you meet another Civ leader, you'll even be granted a bonus towards researching Writing.

You will want to build a campus as soon as you can. Campus Districts regenerate Science yields, which can help you research other technologies faster. It's the first step a player should take when aiming for a scientific victory, and it'll be great in the long run.

After you unlock Writing, you will focus your research efforts on other science technologies like Education and Scientific Theory. Ultimately, you want to research Rocketry and the succeeding technologies.

The faster you reach these technologies, the quicker you win, which is why it's also important to have good Production yields in your empire.

How Do Campus Districts Work

Districts are a new game mechanic in Civ 6 that allows you to devote entire city sections to developing specific game aspects, such as culture, money, or military. As mentioned early, the Campus District boosts the amount of Science your civilization creates. This boost to your Science yield is necessary to speed up the time it takes to research technologies.

Campus districts are essential for securing a science win. Therefore, when you decide to build a district in your city, you should prioritize building Campus Districts. You can construct other districts later, but the first district in any city should be a campus. Do not get too distracted by other districts, as your main goal is to generate science, so be sure to always prioritize that.

Additionally, Campus Districts provide other bonuses like:

• +1 Great Scientist point per turn
• Specialists grant +2 Science each

Where To Place Campus Districts

Campus districts are the primary source of Science in any Civilization, so their placement is vital. Depending on where you place a Campus District, it can receive a bonus Science yield. Therefore, you must strategically place the Campus Districts to generate more science.

Campuses receive adjacency bonuses from being placed next to these tiles:

• +2 Science when placed adjacent to Geothermal Fissure or Reef tiles
• +2 Science when placed adjacent to Pamukkale tiles
• +2 Science when placed adjacent to Great Barrier Reef tiles
• +1 Science when placed adjacent to Mountain tiles
• +1 Science when placed next to two Rainforest or District tiles

Where To Send Your Envoys For A Science Victory

Envoys are an elementary tactic and helpful in building diplomatic relations while also garnering useful resources such as Science, Gold, or Production. As you research different civics, envoys are given to the player to use as they wish.

For a scientific victory, send Envoys to scientific City-States, if you can. Doing so helps boost the Science your empire is generating - it's a quick and effective tactic.

You don't even need to be Suzerain of a City-State to benefit from it right away. Sending a single Envoy to a scientific City-State will automatically increase the Science yields in your capital, three Envoys increase the yields in every Campus District, and six Envoys increase double this number.

Become Suzerain Of The Right City-States

Suzerainty might bring extra benefits on top of sending Envoys to a scientific City-State. For example, if you've collected some Great Works during your playthrough, Anshan is a great City-State to invest in, since its Suzerain Bonus improves Great Works to generate +2 Science.

Of course, this would be ideal under specific circumstances. Unless you set up your own game, you will never know which City-State you'll encounter on the map. Be sure to check out the Suzerain Bonuses of all the City-States you come across as you scout the map, one might be game-changing, and if so you should invest your Envoys on it so make sure you become its Suzerain.

Best Wildcard Policies For A Science Victory

As you research civics, different policies become available for the player to use to their advantage. If the intent is a scientific victory, utilizing the Wildcard policies (purple) is essential. Additionally, you will want to prioritize economic, diplomatic, and military policies that grant bonuses to Science yields.

One of the first Wildcard policies available in Civ 6 is the Inspiration policy. Inspiration lets the player gain +2 Great Scientist points per turn.

Great Scientists boost science within your civilization, unlock future tech, and help complete space missions, making them necessary for a science win. Without this policy, achieving a scientific victory may be harder.

Other policies to look out for are listed below:

Avoid Wars Or End Them Quickly

Military combat and declaring war on other Civilizations are quintessential to Civilization 6. While this is an effective way to acquire resources and claim territorial dominance, war comes with a major loss to other resource production, such as Science, Culture, and Gold.

Participating in war costs you Gold and Production, which could go to scientific endeavors. If you want a scientific victory, they should avoid fighting unless necessary.

If another civilization attacks you, try to minimize your war efforts and aim for a peaceful resolution as quickly as possible.

Next: Civilization 6: Tips For Playing As Ludwig

How To Boost Research Time

Projects are another new mechanic in Civ 6, and they take several turns to produce resources for a city. This section is also where the space missions appear when the player is ready to start the space race.

But before that happens, there is a project available in every city with a Campus District called "Campus Research Grants," which produces Science once completed. If your Civilization is hurting for science, this is an excellent way to make up for the lack of progress, though it does take several turns to complete.

It is also a valid option if your Civilization has excess Production.

Start Alliances

Once you research the Civil Service, a Medieval-era civic, you'll be able to form all sorts of alliances with other Civilizations as long as you are declared friends. This isn't only useful when you're playing a game inclined towards a Diplomacy victory; it has its own perks for any type of victory.

You can form all sorts of alliances, and you'll want to start a Research Alliance. The longer your alliance remains active and the more trade routes you have with your ally, the faster you'll increase your Alliance Level, meaning you get even more benefits.

Here are all the perks of the three levels of a Research Alliance:

• Level One: Trade Routes grant more Science with your ally.
• Level Two: Every 30 turns, allies will share a boost to technology with one another.
• Level Three: Science is boosted whenever the two allies are researching the same technology or a technology that the other has already researched before.

Boosting Production

Production is the one commonality between all the victories. Regardless of the victory type, mastering Production is essential. It is effortless to ride the natural flow of production that comes with any Civilization, but there are ways to boost it.

Every city has its unique level of Production. This Production dictates the time it takes a city to build something or complete a task. To boost Production, you can improve tiles or construct an Industrial Zone District.

If you are looking for a quick temporary boost, you can even cut down woods and forests for a significant production boost in that city. This option does have its downsides, as it will hurt your city's Food and Amenities.

Ramping up your empire's Production helps with constructing Districts and Spaceports. Furthermore, it helps complete space mission projects faster.

Don't Generalize Your Focus

Civ 6 has lots of new ways to develop and advance empires, which is why it's so easy to get tied up in trying to experience every portion of the game. While it's beneficial to know and to utilize everything to your advantage, generalizing your focus in this game will slow down progress all over the board.

By spreading the focus too thin, you increase the time it takes to win, or worse, increase your opponent's odds of winning. If you stop prioritizing science for too long, securing a science victory will take much longer.

How To Build Spaceports For A Faster Science Victory

Two Spaceports may seem excessive, but it's an excellent strategy. Under certain circumstances, three Spaceports could even be ideal.

There are two reasons why you want more than one Spaceport. First, it increases the speed at which you finish Space Race tasks. There are five steps to complete the Space Race, which is how one wins a scientific victory. In the last Space Race project, you can have all of your Spaceports working on lasers to speed up your spacecraft. These lasers can speed up your victory. Second, to decrease the risk of disasters (captured cities, sabotage, natural disasters).

Make sure you build these Spaceports in high-production cities. A lot can happen during this late-game period, and therefore having a robust safety net is essential.

Additionally, if you build a tier-three Government Plaza, you can make builders assist Spaceport projects. This technique is a substantial boost to the late game, but make sure that your Government Plaza is in another city, away from your Spaceports. That way, you can make builders while working on Space Race projects.

How Do The DLC Packs Affect Science Victories?

Since its launch, Civilization 6 has seen plenty of new DLC. The four expansions added to the game are Rise and Fall, Gathering Storm, the New Frontiers Pass, and the Leader Pass. These expansions added new Civilizations, game modes, and new gameplay modifiers and rule sets. These additions can affect how you obtain a science victory. For instance, some tiles will give higher Science bonuses because of the Secret Societies game mode.

Your Civilization type matters too. For example, Hammurabi generates less Science but has Eureka bonus that fully unlocks that technology.

There are a variety of DLC modifiers that can change how you approach a Science victory. So, make sure you research how these game modes and civilization affect your Science yields. You can do this by reading through Leader Abilities and the in-game Civilopedia. With that in mind, these additions are not complicated, and the same principles you learned in this article still apply.

Choose The Right Governor (Rise And Fall DLC)

Seven governors were added to Civilization 6 with the Rise And Fall expansion pack. As you progress through the game, you'll gain Governor Titles, which allow you to promote or unlock more governors.

Each governor will have a different focus, so you must choose wisely before you assign them to a city. The same goes for their promotion. For example, if you'd like to focus on Culture, you might want to give Pingala the Connoisseur promotion so that he increases Theater Square Production or provides +1 Culture for each citizen in his city.

Alternatively, if you're aiming for a Science victory, you'll want to give him the Researcher promotion, which has the same benefits but regarding Campus District Production and Science yields instead.

But, like most Civ 6 elements, this isn't set in stone, and ultimately, it's all about analyzing the circumstances. You could be facing a scenario where you're fighting for City-State suzerainty and Amani could be your best option.

Next: Civilization 6: Tips For Playing As Elizabeth