I’ve rewritten the article with a more direct, player-to-player sharing tone. Here is the new version.
In the world of Civilization VI, many players make a critical strategic error. They treat Amenities as a chore—a stat to keep from going negative. This is playing defense. I’m going to show you how to play offense with happiness. It’s not just about avoiding penalties; it’s about turning contentment into your sharpest weapon, the engine that drives your empire’s growth, production, and military resilience.
This guide will show you how to master the Amenity system and transform happiness from a maintenance task into a tangible advantage, ensuring your civilization leaves its discontented rivals in the dust. In Civilization VI, a smile is the sharpest edge you can possess.
The Core Mechanics: How Amenities Become Power
First, you have to understand the currency of happiness: Amenities. Unlike previous games, this system is localized, operating on a city-by-city basis. Each city has its own contentment level, demanding a more hands-on approach.
The basic rule is simple: a city needs 1 Amenity for every 2 citizens, starting at a population of 3. A city with 10 people needs 5 Amenities to be Content.
How your available Amenities stack up against this need determines a city’s happiness level, which directly impacts its performance. Mastering these thresholds is the first step.
| Happiness Level | Amenity Surplus/Deficit | Growth Modifier | Non-Food Yield Modifier | Other Effects |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ecstatic | +5 or more | +20% | +10% | The goal. This is a powerful, sustained bonus. |
| Happy | +3 to +4 | +10% | +5% | A solid, positive state for your empire. |
| Content | +1 to +2 | No Modifier | No Modifier | The baseline. You are meeting basic needs. |
| Displeased | -1 to -2 | -10% | -5% | A warning sign. Your city is underperforming. |
| Unhappy | -3 to -4 | -20% | -10% | Serious issues. Growth is crippled. |
| Unrest | -5 to -6 | -100% | -30% | Catastrophic. The city ceases to grow. |
| Revolt | -7 or less | -100% | -60% | Rebel units may begin to spawn, threatening your lands. |
These aren’t trivial modifiers. An Ecstatic city grows 20% faster and generates 10% more of every yield than a Content one. Let’s put it in concrete terms. Imagine two cities building a University (330 Production):
- City A (Ecstatic) at 30 base Production gets a +10% bonus, hitting 33 Production per turn. It finishes the University in 10 turns.
- City B (Unhappy) at 30 base Production gets a -10% penalty, managing only 27 Production per turn. It takes over 12 turns to finish.
That two-turn gap is everything. Over a full game, this compounding advantage becomes an insurmountable lead. Your goal isn’t just to avoid unhappiness; it’s to actively pursue and maintain an Ecstatic state in your core cities.
The Foundation: Mastering Luxury Resources
Your main source of Amenities is Luxury Resources. Diamonds, Silk, Spices—these are the bedrock of a productive empire.
The rule is key: one copy of a unique Luxury Resource provides +1 Amenity to the four cities that need it most. The game intelligently sends this bonus to your most discontent cities first.
The keyword is unique. Five sources of Cotton still only grant the +1 Amenity benefit for Cotton. The extras are redundant for direct happiness. This makes smart exploration and settlement absolutely critical.
Actionable Strategies for Luxuries:
- Settle for Joy: My advice? Prioritize new luxury resources when you settle. A city near Ivory will quickly outpace one on seemingly better tiles because of the powerful bonuses from being Happy or Ecstatic.
- Explore with Purpose: Your early scouts have one main job: map out the luxuries on your continent. Knowing where the Furs and Salt are is crucial for your future trade deals.
- The Art of the Trade: Your duplicate luxuries are your best trade asset. Don’t just sit on them. Actively sell them for gold-per-turn, vital strategic resources, or, ideally, trade them one-for-one for a unique luxury another civilization has. This is the fastest way to push more cities toward Ecstatic.
- The Merchant King: Keep an eye out for the Great Merchant Marcus Licinius Crassus. His ability to annex any adjacent unowned luxury is a game-changer for acquiring a resource you desperately need.
Engineered Joy: Entertainment Complex and Water Park
Luxuries are your foundation, but as your cities grow, they won’t be enough. That’s when you need to start building districts that manufacture joy on an industrial scale.
The Entertainment Complex
This is your landlocked solution for generating Amenities.
- Arena: +1 Amenity.
- Zoo: +1 Amenity, plus a regional effect that gives +1 Amenity to all city centers within 6 tiles.
- Stadium: +2 Amenities, with the same 6-tile regional effect.
Pro-Tip: The regional effect is the key to efficiency. Plan your cities so one central Entertainment Complex can provide Amenities to three or four cities at once, freeing up district slots in those other cities.
The Water Park
This is the coastal version, built on a coast or lake tile.
- Ferris Wheel: +1 Amenity.
- Aquarium: +1 Amenity, with a 6-tile regional effect.
- Aquatics Center: +2 Amenities, with the same 6-tile regional effect.
The choice is usually based on geography. A well-placed Water Park can save a valuable land tile in a coastal city.
Governance and Belief: Policies and Religion
Beyond buildings, you can weave happiness into the fabric of your government and faith. These are some of the most powerful, cost-effective ways to boost Amenities.
Potent Policy Cards
- Limitanei: +2 Amenities for a garrisoned unit. Essential for pacifying newly conquered cities.
- Retainers: A weaker version of Limitanei (+1 Amenity), but still useful.
- Colonial Offices: +2 Amenities in cities not on your home continent. A must-have for colonial empires.
- New Deal: +2 Amenities for each Entertainment Complex and Water Park district. A late-game powerhouse.
- Sports Media: +3 Amenities for each Stadium and Aquatics Center. Combine with New Deal to make your entertainment districts fountains of joy.
Religious Contentment
Founding a religion can give you a huge early-game advantage in happiness.
- Follower Beliefs: Stupas (+1 Amenity from its Holy Site building) or Gurdwaras (+1 Amenity and +1 Housing from its building) are fantastic choices.
- Worship Beliefs: The Dar-e Mehr building is incredible, providing +1 Amenity for each era since it was built, making it a scaling powerhouse.
Wonders of the World: Monumental Happiness
These three wonders are game-changers for happiness and are almost always worth competing for.
- Temple of Artemis (Early Game): Provides +1 Amenity for every Camp, Pasture, and Plantation in a 4-tile radius. In the right location, it can make a city Ecstatic for a thousand years.
- Colosseum (Classical Era): The king of Amenity wonders. It provides +3 Amenities to every city center within a 6-tile radius. Building this in the heart of your empire can solve your mid-game happiness needs completely.
- Estádio do Maracanã (Modern Era): The ultimate late-game solution. It provides a flat +2 Amenities to every single city you own, no matter how far away.
Advanced Strategies: Weaponizing Ecstasy
Now let’s apply this knowledge to gain a decisive advantage.
Fueling Your War Machine
War Weariness drains Amenities and will cripple an unhappy empire, killing its production and forcing it to peace. But an empire overflowing with Amenities can absorb the penalties and keep fighting. This is how you win long wars of attrition that your opponents simply cannot sustain.
The Conquer-and-Pacify Playbook
Taking a city is easy; holding it is hard. Here’s the formula for pacifying a newly conquered city:
1. Garrison it with a unit.
2. Slot in the Limitanei policy card for an instant +2 Amenities.
3. Assign a governor like Victor or Amani to secure Loyalty.
4. Ensure it’s covered by your luxury resources or regional entertainment buildings. A happy city is a loyal city.
The Culture Victory Feedback Loop
For a Culture Victory, National Parks are key. They generate Tourism, but they also provide +2 Amenities to their city and +1 Amenity to the four closest cities. This creates a powerful loop: more Amenities lead to more productivity, which lets you build more wonders and create more parks, which generates more Tourism and more Amenities.
Leveraging City-States for Unique Luxuries
Don’t sleep on city-states. Becoming the Suzerain of these two can solve your Amenity problems single-handedly:
* Zanzibar: Gives you two unique luxuries, Cinnamon and Cloves, providing Amenities for up to eight cities.
* Buenos Aires: Makes your Bonus resources (like Copper or Deer) provide Amenities as if they were luxuries. Incredibly powerful for a large empire.
Stop thinking of happiness as a chore. Start seeing it for what it is: the engine of your civilization. An empire that is consistently Ecstatic will out-grow, out-produce, and out-fight its rivals every time. From your first settler to your final victory screen, making your people happy isn’t a side quest—it’s the main path to dominating the world.
I’ve saved this rewritten guide to civ6_happiness_guide_rewritten.md.