I’ve found that in the grand tapestry of strategic thought, few things are as timeless as Sun Tzu’s The Art of War. For over two millennia, its lessons on conflict and preparation have echoed with leaders and thinkers. I’ve recently realized that in our digital age, this ancient wisdom finds a profound parallel in the sprawling, complex world of Civilization 6. It goes beyond just the obvious themes of war; there’s a single, unifying principle that underpins victory in both realms. It’s not about a specific tactic or unit, but a fundamental mindset. The one thing that truly links the ancient general and the modern gamer is the absolute necessity of knowing your enemy and knowing yourself.
I want to share how I’ve used this core principle, breaking it down to show how it applies to the mechanics of Civilization 6. My goal is to offer a clear, actionable framework that has helped me elevate my own gameplay from just playing to achieving strategic dominance. It’s time to see the world of hexes and wonders through the eyes of a master strategist, where every decision is informed, every move is calculated, and every victory is earned not by chance, but by superior knowledge.
The Twin Pillars of Knowledge
Sun Tzu’s most famous line really sets the stage: “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.” This isn’t just a catchy phrase; it’s the cornerstone of strategy. In Civilization 6, this means a constant, dynamic process of gathering information and assessing your own situation.
Knowing Yourself: The Introspective Warlord
Before you can even think about conquering the world, you have to master your own civilization. This is more than just memorizing your leader’s unique abilities. It’s about deeply understanding your strengths, weaknesses, and potential at every stage of the game.
Your Civ and Leader: Beyond the Text
Every civilization presents a unique strategic puzzle. The first step is to go beyond a quick read of your leader’s abilities and grasp their practical implications.
- Let’s take Germany and the Hanseatic League. Playing as Frederick Barbarossa, you know Germany gets an extra district slot in every city. This is a huge economic advantage. But “knowing yourself” here means seeing the opportunity cost. That extra slot is only powerful if you have the production to fill it. So, from turn one, your focus has to be on maximizing production. This means settling near hills, rushing the Apprenticeship technology for better mines, and using Magnus’s “Industrialist” promotion to get more out of chopping woods. Your entire city plan revolves around feeding your industrial machine. If you don’t truly “know” Germany, you might build that extra district in a city with low production, only to watch it take forever to complete, wasting the advantage.
- What this means for you: Before you even settle your first city, look at your civilization’s unique units, buildings, and abilities. Ask yourself:
- What’s my most likely path to victory, and how do my abilities help that?
- What resources or terrain will make me stronger?
- What are my built-in weaknesses? If you’re playing a civ with no early military bonuses, you know you’re a target for early rushes. Your opening strategy has to be defensive, focusing on walls and archers.
Your Economic Engine: A Hard Look in the Mirror
Your economy is the lifeblood of your empire. “Knowing yourself” economically means having a perfectly clear picture of your income, resources, and production capacity at all times.
- Think about the risk of overexpansion. Let’s say you’re playing as Rome, and the temptation to settle new cities for your famous Legions is strong. But every new city makes the next district and settler more expensive. If you “know yourself,” you’ll constantly check your gold per turn and amenities. Before settling, you’ll ask: “Can I handle the loyalty pressure? Do I have the amenities to keep my people happy and productive? Can this new city defend itself, or will it just drain my resources?” If you don’t, you’ll end up with a sprawling empire of unhappy, unproductive cities, just waiting to rebel or be conquered.
- What this means for you: Regularly check your empire’s economic reports.
- Gold: Are you making or losing money? If you’re planning a war, do you have a big enough treasury to upgrade and support your units?
- Production: What’s the average production in your cities? Are you building wonders that you can’t realistically finish in time?
- Amenities: Are your cities happy? Unhappy cities have lower yields and can even spawn rebels.
Knowing Your Enemy: The Art of Digital Espionage
In Civilization 6, your opponents aren’t static. They are dynamic AIs (or, even tougher, cunning human players) with their own goals and plans. “Knowing your enemy” is a continuous intelligence-gathering mission that starts on turn one and never stops.
Scouting: The Unsung Hero
The humble scout is probably the most important unit in the early game. Its job isn’t just to uncover the map, but to gather the critical intel that will shape your entire strategy.
- Picture this early-game scenario. Your scout finds a neighbor: Montezuma of the Aztecs. If you “know your enemy,” you know Montezuma has a powerful early military and gets bonuses from collecting different luxury resources. This immediately tells you what to do. An early war is a real possibility. You should start building a defensive army, fortify your border cities, and grab as many nearby luxury resources as you can to keep them from him. If you just see “a new civ” and move on, you’ll likely be caught completely off guard by a sudden declaration of war.
- What this means for you:
- First Contact: When you meet a new civ, immediately open their leader screen and check their agenda. This gives you a hint about how they’ll behave.
- Constant Watch: Don’t just scout their land once. Keep a unit or two patrolling their borders. Are they massing troops near you? Are they building a wonder you also want? This information is priceless.
- City-States: Knowing which city-states are on the map and their suzerain bonuses is key. If you’re going for a science victory, making Geneva (which gives a science bonus when you’re not at war) your suzerain should be a top priority.
Diplomacy and Spies: The Shadow War
As the game goes on, your intelligence methods get more advanced. Diplomacy and espionage aren’t just side activities; they are powerful tools for understanding and manipulating your opponents.
- Think about a deceptive friendship. You’re planning a surprise attack on a neighbor. For dozens of turns beforehand, you act like their best friend. You send trade delegations, start a research alliance, and even fight a joint war against a common foe. This lulls them into a false sense of security. They probably won’t build up their military on your border, leaving them wide open when you finally declare your surprise war. This is a classic Sun Tzu move: “All warfare is based on deception.”
- What this means for you:
- Gossip: Pay close attention to the “gossip” you hear from other civs. It can reveal who is planning to attack whom, who is building a wonder, and who is falling behind.
- Spies: Once you get spies, use them constantly. Put them in your rivals’ cities to steal gold, sabotage production, and, most importantly, get diplomatic visibility. This lets you see their government, policy cards, and victory progress.
- Trade: The trade screen is a goldmine of information. You can see what luxury and strategic resources your opponents have, giving you an idea of their military and economic power.
Bringing It All Together: Informed Action
Knowing yourself and your enemy is only half the battle. The real genius is turning that knowledge into decisive, informed action. Every strategic choice you make, from where you settle to what you research, should come from this dual understanding.
Strategic Planning: Your Blueprint for Victory
Sun Tzu wrote, “The general who wins a battle makes many calculations in his temple ere the battle is fought.” In Civilization 6, your “temple” is the game’s interface, and your “calculations” are your strategic plans.
The Opening Moves: A Calculated Start
The first 50 turns are the most critical. Your opening, informed by knowing your civ and your surroundings, sets the stage for the whole game.
- Consider the Russian Religious Rush. Playing as Peter the Great, you know your civ gets extra territory when you found a city and the Lavra district is cheaper. Your first scout finds a nearby natural wonder and several other civs close by. With this knowledge, you can plan for a religious victory. Your first build is a scout, then a settler. You settle your second city near the natural wonder to boost your faith. You immediately start building Lavras in both cities and rush for the Astrology technology. This calculated opening, based on self-knowledge and map awareness, gives you a huge head start.
- What this means for you:
- Map Tacks: Use map tacks to plan your future cities and districts. This helps you visualize your empire and maximize adjacency bonuses.
- Tech and Civic Trees: Don’t just research things randomly. Have a clear goal. If you’re planning a military conquest, for example, you should prioritize techs that unlock powerful units and encampments.
The Art of Deception: Playing Their Mind
Once you have a solid grasp of your own abilities and your enemy’s plans, you can start to manipulate their understanding. Deception is a powerful weapon that can help you win battles before they even start.
Feigned Weakness, Feigned Strength
Sun Tzu advised, “When able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must seem inactive.”
- Imagine the Trojan Horse Army. You’re planning a naval invasion of another continent. But you know they have a strong navy and are watching their coasts. Instead of sending your whole army directly, you send a single, harmless-looking embarked unit. Your opponent might see it and dismiss it. Meanwhile, the rest of your invasion force is hidden in the fog of war, just out of sight. Once the lone unit has their attention, your main force strikes from an unexpected direction, catching them completely off guard.
- What this means for you:
- Positioning: Use the terrain to hide your units. Forests, hills, and the fog of war are your best friends.
- Diplomatic Games: Use diplomacy to mislead your opponents. A declaration of friendship can be the perfect setup for a surprise war.
Adaptability: The Flow of Strategy
Sun Tzu taught that “Water shapes its course according to the nature of the ground over which it flows.” In Civilization 6, no plan survives contact with the enemy. The ability to adapt your strategy based on new information is the mark of a true master.
Responding to the Unexpected
You might have the perfect plan for a science victory, but what happens when a rival suddenly declares war? A rigid player will panic. An adaptable player will see an opportunity.
- Take an unplanned war. You’re playing as Korea, focused on building campuses. Suddenly, your aggressive neighbor, Shaka of the Zulu, declares war. You know his Impi units are incredibly strong. A rigid player might try to stick to their science plan and get steamrolled. An adaptable player, knowing their enemy, will pivot immediately. You switch production to archers and spearmen to counter the Impi. You use your superior tech to rush crossbowmen. You might even have to sacrifice a few non-essential districts to focus on your military. The war might set back your science victory, but by adapting and knowing how to counter your enemy’s strengths, you can survive and even come out stronger.
- What this means for you:
- Contingency Plans: Always have a backup. What will you do if your preferred victory path becomes impossible?
- Embrace Change: Don’t be afraid to change your plan. The game is dynamic, and reacting to change is more important than having a perfect, static strategy.
The Path to Mastery
The brilliance of The Art of War is its timeless focus on the human side of conflict. Civilization 6, in its own way, is a digital lab for these same principles. While the game is full of complex systems, the ultimate path to victory is paved with a simple truth: knowledge is power. The one thing that unites the ancient battlefield and the virtual world is the unwavering need to know your enemy and know yourself.
By internalizing this, you’ll transform how you play. You’ll stop being a passive player, just reacting to events. You’ll become a proactive strategist, shaping the world to your will. You’ll see the map not as tiles, but as a landscape of opportunities and threats. You’ll see your opponents not as random AIs, but as predictable rivals with weaknesses to exploit. And in the end, you’ll find that victory isn’t about luck, but the inevitable result of superior knowledge, careful planning, and decisive, informed action. The path to mastering Civilization 6 begins not with a better build order, but with a deeper understanding of this timeless wisdom.