In Civilization VII, a significant change has been made to the way settlements function, introducing a new distinction between towns and cities. This new mechanic is a departure from previous iterations, offering more depth and flexibility in how players expand their empire. Understanding how towns differ from cities—and how they can evolve—is key to mastering the game’s strategy.
Towns: A New Way to Manage Settlements
In Civilization VII, when players build settlers, they no longer immediately create fully functional cities as in previous versions. Instead, settlers initially establish towns, a less developed form of settlement. Unlike cities, towns are focused primarily on resource extraction rather than infrastructure development. These towns serve as a way to claim territory and tap into the resources of the surrounding tiles, without the need for heavy micromanagement.
Towns do not possess their own production queues like cities. Instead, infrastructure can be purchased with gold and all resources generated in towns—such as food, gold, or production—are funneled back into the nearest full-fledged city. This setup allows players to expand their empires without having to manage multiple production queues across several cities. As a result, towns provide a streamlined approach to empire management, focusing on economic output rather than city-building tasks.
The Specialization and Towns Focus
Towns are particularly effective for managing large rural areas. Their primary function is to extract resources from the land, making them ideal for controlling resource-heavy regions without the overhead of managing a full city. For example, a town located near a cluster of mines or farms will gather those resources and deliver them to a nearby city, which can then use those resources for its development.
Furthermore, Town Focus system allows players to specialize towns to gain specific bonuses relevant to the town location and availability of resources. Here is the list of Town Focus options in the Antiquity Age.
- Growing Town: Increases Town’s Growth by 50%. A general option to grow the town and claim more land.
- Fort Town: +5 Healing to Units and +25 Health to Walls in this Town. A good option for a border town with an aggressive Civ.
- Farming Town: +1 Food on Farms, Pastures, Plantations, and Fishing Boats. A town that is rich in food resources.
- Mining Town: +1 Production on Camps, Woodcutters, Clay Pits, Mines, and Quarries. A town that is rich in production yield resources.
- Trade Outpost: +2 Happiness to each Resource tile in the Town and +5 Trade Route range. A town that has a good number of luxuries and also geographically positioned for international trade.
- No Focus: 100% of food is sent to a connected city.
Resource Management
In Civilization VII, resources are managed in a more strategic and hands-on way than in previous games. Resources are no longer traded directly through diplomacy; instead, they must be actively assigned to cities or towns within your empire. This change introduces more depth, as players decide where resources like salt, silk, or iron are best utilized for maximum benefit.
Assigning Resources for City Bonuses
Each resource can be assigned to specific cities, providing unique bonuses based on where it’s allocated. For example, assigning salt to Rome increases its yields, allowing players to tailor their resource distribution based on the needs of their settlements. Some resources offer better benefits when placed in the capital, while others may work more effectively in smaller towns or specific cities, depending on the resource type and the current needs of the empire.
Bonus resources provide flat yields when assigned to a settlement, while luxury resources grant unique benefits but are limited to cities only. Additionally, imperial resources offer empire-wide bonuses, enhancing your civilization as a whole.
Empire-Wide Resources
In addition to city-specific resources, Civilization VII also features empire-wide resources that automatically provide bonuses across all cities. These resources, once acquired, do not need to be assigned manually and offer consistent advantages throughout the entire civilization. Managing these resources effectively is key to building a strong, prosperous empire.
To acquire these resources, you can improve them directly on the map or engage in the expanded trade system. By establishing trade routes with other civilizations, you can import all resources from their settlements while earning gold for each transaction.
This system evokes the feeling of managing a vast ancient empire, where resources from the hinterlands contribute to the splendor of a central capital. The economic gameplay ties closely to the Silk Road and similar historical trade routes, encouraging players to expand their networks and secure valuable resources that drive both growth and dominance.
Town Evolution: From Rural to Urban
One of the key features of towns is their potential to evolve into full-fledged cities over time. Once a town has developed sufficiently or when the player has amassed enough resources, they can choose to upgrade a town into a city. At this point, the town begins to develop its own production capabilities, infrastructure, and districts. This transition marks a significant strategic decision: should the player invest in growing the town into a more powerful urban center, or keep it as a rural resource hub?
Upgrading a town into a city unlocks more traditional city-building gameplay, such as constructing districts, managing citizens, and engaging in infrastructure development. However, this transformation requires a significant investment of resources, so players must carefully weigh the benefits of turning a town into a city against the value it currently provides in its rural state.
Cities: The Centers of Civilization
Cities in Civilization VII remain the powerhouses of a player’s empire. Unlike towns, cities can produce military units, develop infrastructure, and construct wonders. They are also where players can manage their population growth, build advanced districts and assign specialists. Specialists can be assigned to a district and provide science and culture at the cost of food and happiness. So large cities with excessive food and happiness would benefit the most.
One of the key differences between cities and towns is that cities have production queues. This allows players to decide exactly what the city will focus on—whether it’s producing new units, constructing buildings, or developing districts. Cities are also the only settlements capable of creating wonders, making them central to a player’s long-term strategy.
Towns as Support to Cities
While towns cannot build their own districts or wonders, they are crucial in supporting nearby cities. By providing essential resources, towns can allow cities to focus on more complex tasks like military production or wonder construction. Players can strategically place towns around key resource tiles, allowing their empire’s cities to focus on building an advanced infrastructure.
Flexible Expansion and Reduced Micromanagement
One of the primary advantages of this new town system is its flexibility in expansion. Players no longer have to worry about managing every new settlement as a fully developed city. Instead, they can expand their empire quickly by placing towns in resource-rich areas and later decide if and when to convert these towns into cities.
This system also reduces the burden of micromanagement. In previous Civilization games, each city required careful attention, often leading to an overwhelming number of production queues to manage. By introducing towns, Civilization VII allows players to maintain a large empire without being bogged down by excessive administrative tasks.
Strategic Considerations for Towns and Cities
Settlement cap is introduced in Civilization VII, making “city spamming” rather impossible. Because going over the limit would cost a huge happiness penalty, throwing the whole empire into a tailspin. There are certain options introduced throughout the game that allow a player to increase the settlement limit through policies, leader traits etc.
Choosing when to upgrade a town to a city is a critical strategic decision. Keeping a settlement as a town ensures a steady stream of resources, while upgrading to a city opens up new opportunities for growth and development. Players must assess whether the benefits of a full city outweigh the simplicity and resource efficiency of a town.
Additionally, towns are perfect for players looking to expand quickly without the overhead of managing multiple cities. They provide flexibility and allow for strategic resource collection without the need for large infrastructure investments. Conversely, cities are where the real power of an empire lies, offering the tools necessary for cultural, scientific, and military dominance.
Empire Building
The introduction of towns in Civilization VII adds a new layer of strategy to the game. By differentiating between rural towns focused on resource extraction and full-fledged cities that drive an empire’s progress, players are given more flexibility in how they build and manage their civilizations. This system provides a streamlined approach to expansion, reduces micromanagement, and allows for more strategic decision-making in how to grow and develop an empire.