Ever wondered what would happen if Niccolò Machiavelli, the original master of political hardball, sat down to play a game of Civilization 6? I think the result would be a masterclass in calculated ruthlessness. He wouldn’t be playing for a perfect world or getting lost in the “one more turn” loop without a clear goal. For him, Civ 6 wouldn’t be a game; it would be a lab for his most potent theories on power.
I want to break down what a truly Machiavellian approach to Civ 6 looks like. This isn’t just about “playing evil”; it’s about the cold, hard logic that would guide his every move. From placing that first city to delivering the final blow, you’ll learn to think like him, to see the game as a grand dance of power where only the most cunning can win. It’s time to unlearn your benevolent habits and embrace a more formidable way to play.
The Prince of Pixels: Getting into the Mindset
To play like Machiavelli, you have to adopt a different worldview. You have to see the game world as it is, not as you wish it were. This means internalizing a few core ideas that will guide every decision you make.
First, be a realist. Machiavelli didn’t care about ideal republics or moral posturing; he cared about what worked. In Civ 6, this means you have to focus relentlessly on efficiency and results. A policy isn’t “good” or “bad”; it’s either effective or it’s not. A war isn’t “just” or “unjust”; it’s either a strategic advantage or it isn’t. Every choice, from placing a district to declaring war, must be weighed with pure, cold pragmatism.
Second, understand that the state is everything. Your only loyalty is to the strength and survival of your empire. Your citizens’ happiness is just a means to an end—a productive, stable state. Alliances are temporary tools you throw away when they stop being useful. The well-being of other civilizations is a secondary concern at best, and an obstacle to your own rise at worst.
Finally, you have to be proactive and decisive. Machiavelli argued it’s better to act and risk failure than to do nothing and be ruined. In Civ 6, this means you seize opportunities without hesitating. You strike first when an enemy shows weakness, you aggressively settle a contested border, and you never let a rival control the game’s tempo. You need to be the storm, not the leaf blowing in the wind.
Virtù and Fortuna: Mastering the Chaos
Two of the most critical concepts in Machiavelli’s playbook are virtù and fortuna. Understanding how they interact is key to mastering Civilization 6.
Fortuna is the random chaos of the universe—the stuff you can’t control. In Civ 6, fortuna is a volcano erupting on your best district, a hurricane wrecking your navy, two neighbors declaring a surprise war on you, or a barbarian rush right when you’re most vulnerable. These are the moments that test you.
Virtù is your answer to fortuna. It’s not “virtue” in a moral sense. It’s your skill, cunning, and raw ability to impose your will on the game. It’s how you anticipate the whims of fortuna and act to counter them. A player with virtù doesn’t just react to events; they shape them.
So, how do you build up your virtù?
- Information is Power: Foresight is key. This means you have to prioritize scouting early. Get multiple scouts out there uncovering the map, finding city-states, and most importantly, locating your rivals. This isn’t a luxury; it’s a necessity. The more you know, the better you can predict your opponents’ moves and the less you’re at the mercy of bad luck. Send delegations and embassies right away, even to leaders you plan to betray later.
- Be Adaptable: A rigid plan will break the moment fortuna strikes. A player with virtù has a clear goal—a victory condition—but is flexible on how to get there. If a surprise war cuts off your trade routes, you pivot. If a rival beats you to a key wonder, you have a backup plan.
- Take Calculated Risks: Virtù isn’t about being safe; it’s about taking the right risks. Fortune favors the bold. This might mean declaring an early war to cripple a neighbor before they get going. It could mean settling a city in a risky forward position to grab a strategic resource. You have to weigh the potential reward against the risk and act decisively when the odds are in your favor.
When you embrace virtù, you stop being a victim of the game’s randomness and become the author of your own story. You see fortuna not as a frustration, but as a chance to prove how much better you are.
The Art of War: An Economy of Violence
Machiavelli saw war as just another tool of the state, to be used with cold calculation. When you play Civ 6 this way, you approach conflict not with bloodlust, but with a chillingly precise understanding of its costs and benefits. I call this the economy of violence: using the least amount of force needed to get the biggest strategic gain.
You never fight for glory or revenge. You fight for a specific, tangible goal: a city with a critical resource, the elimination of a competitor, or to cripple a rival’s economy. Before you even think about attacking, you have to know: What’s the goal? What’s my exit strategy? And how can I do this as efficiently as possible?
Here’s how to apply this in your games:
- The Pretext of Justice: Machiavelli knew appearances mattered. You should always try to look like the good guy. In Civ 6, this means you always need a casus belli. A surprise war brings huge diplomatic penalties. A Machiavellian player is never that sloppy. You patiently wait for—or provoke—a situation that gives you a legitimate reason for war. Denounce a rival. Use spies to fabricate grievances. Goad them into attacking a city-state you protect. You want to enter the war looking like the victim, not the aggressor.
- Overwhelming Force: When it’s time to go, you go hard. Machiavelli argued for swift, decisive action that shatters the enemy’s will to fight. In Civ 6, this means you prepare for war long before you declare it. Build a powerful, modern army on your rival’s border. When you declare war, you should be able to take your target city in just a few turns. A long, drawn-out war is a failure of planning. It drains your resources, creates war weariness, and gives other rivals a chance to stab you in the back.
- Cruelty Well-Used: Machiavelli distinguished between cruelty that is “well-used” and “badly-used.” Well-used cruelty is a single, decisive act of violence at the start that secures power and deters future trouble. In Civ 6, this is the strategic decision to raze a city. Capturing every city is often inefficient and creates loyalty problems. Instead, you might capture a rival’s capital and then burn a less valuable border city to the ground. This act weakens your enemy while sending a terrifying message to everyone else: “This is what happens to those who oppose me.” A single, calculated act of brutality can be more effective than a dozen captured cities.
By mastering the economy of violence, you learn to use your military like a surgeon’s scalpel, precisely cutting away any threat to your power.
The Lion and the Fox: Might and Manipulation
Machiavelli famously wrote that a prince “must be a fox to recognize the traps and a lion to frighten the wolves.” This perfectly captures the two sides you need to master in Civ 6. If you only rely on military might (the lion), you’re predictable. If you only rely on cunning (the fox), you’re powerless. The true master is both.
The Lion: The Power of Fear
Your military isn’t just for fighting; it’s a diplomatic weapon. A large, advanced army projects power and influences every other leader.
- Deterrence: The mere presence of a powerful army on your border can be enough to stop an invasion. The AI is always judging your military strength. If you neglect your army, you look like a target. If you have a formidable force, you’ll be treated with fear and respect. You can leverage this fear for better trade deals and to make sure others think twice before voting against you.
- The “Voluntary” Vassal: A well-timed military demonstration can “persuade” a weaker neighbor to become your ally out of self-preservation. Position your troops on their border when you propose an alliance. You’re making them an offer they can’t refuse.
The Fox: The Art of Deception
While the lion scares off the wolves, it’s the fox who sees the traps. The world of Civ 6 is full of them: bad alliances, surprise wars, and betrayals. Your cunning is your defense, and your best tool for sowing chaos among your rivals.
- The Spy as a Scalpel: The espionage system is a Machiavellian playground. Your spies aren’t just for stealing gold. Use them to:
- Incite Rebellions: Turn a rival’s city into a free city, creating a buffer state or an easy target for you to capture without a formal war.
- Sabotage Production: Hit their industrial zones or spaceports to cripple their production and stop their victory push.
- Fabricate Scandals: This powerful mission can ruin a rival’s diplomatic standing and turn their allies against them.
- The False Friend: You have no permanent friends, only permanent interests. Make friends and form alliances with leaders you have no intention of staying loyal to. Use these alliances to secure your borders and create a false sense of security. Then, when the time is right—when they’re busy in another war or just finished an expensive wonder—you dissolve the friendship and strike with the full force of the lion. The betrayal is devastating because it’s unexpected.
- Proxy Wars: Why fight a war yourself when you can get two rivals to fight each other? Use your diplomatic influence and a few bribes to entice one AI to declare war on another. This weakens both of them, letting you surge ahead and pick off the winner when they’re most vulnerable.
By balancing the power of the lion with the cunning of the fox, you become an unpredictable and terrifying opponent. Your rivals will never know whether to fear your armies or your spies, and their uncertainty is your greatest advantage.
A State Built on Fear: Managing Your Empire
“It is better to be feared than loved, if you cannot be both.” This is Machiavelli’s most famous line. He wasn’t advocating for pointless tyranny. He was arguing that love is fickle, but fear of punishment is a powerful and constant motivator.
In Civ 6, this applies directly to managing your empire. A happy populace is nice, but loyalty born from fear is more reliable.
- Amenities as a Tool: A benevolent ruler wants happy citizens. A Machiavellian ruler uses amenities to prevent rebellions. Your goal isn’t ecstatic citizens; it’s keeping amenities just high enough to prevent disloyalty, especially in newly conquered cities. Luxuries aren’t for the people; they are for the stability of the state.
- The Governor as Enforcer: The governor system is perfect for maintaining control. Make heavy use of Victor, the Castellan. Placing him in a newly conquered city instantly boosts its loyalty and adds a layer of defense. He is the embodiment of the state’s power, sending a clear message that this city belongs to you now.
By managing your empire with this cold pragmatism, you ensure its stability not through the fickle bonds of love, but through the unwavering certainty of fear. Playing like Machiavelli isn’t about being evil; it’s about a singular focus on victory, using every tool at your disposal to achieve it. It’s a challenging path, but one that leads to absolute dominion.