City Spacing Strategies: How Far Apart Should Your Cities Be in Civ 6?

The ideal city spacing in Civilization 6 is a deceptively complex question with no single, universally “correct” answer. While the game mechanics allow for cities to be as close as 4 tiles apart (measured center to center), optimal spacing depends heavily on your victory condition, your civilization, the map type, and the availability of resources. Generally, aiming for 4-6 tiles between city centers provides a good balance between maximizing territory and ensuring efficient district placement. A 4-tile gap allows for overlapping workable tiles, increasing city density, and a 6-tile gap provides greater isolation, thus ensuring all tiles in your city are workable.

Understanding the Fundamentals: City Range and Tile Ownership

To understand the intricacies of city spacing, it’s crucial to grasp the fundamental mechanics governing city range and tile ownership:

• Workable Tiles: Each city can work tiles within a 3-tile radius of its City Center. This is the most important factor influencing city placement. You want your citizens to be able to access resources and improvements effectively.

• Territorial Influence: While cities can only work tiles within 3 tiles, their territorial influence can extend much further. Border growth occurs naturally over time, and can also be spurred through culture, Great People, or specific civilization abilities. Strategic resources within your territory can be improved at any distance.

• District Placement: Districts must be built within the city’s borders, and no more than 3 tiles from the City Center. This limitation significantly impacts city spacing decisions, as you need to ensure enough suitable locations are available for various districts, as well as their adjacency bonuses.

Why Density Matters: The Case for Closer Cities

In Civilization 6, the “go wide” strategy of settling many cities tends to be favored over the “go tall” approach of focusing on a few large metropolises. Here’s why closer cities, generally 4-5 tiles apart, can be advantageous:

• Maximize Territory: Although counter-intuitive, close cities can claim more overall territory. The overlapping 3-tile radii ensure fewer unclaimed tiles between cities, leading to more resources and potential district locations under your control. This aligns with the recommendation from the Games Learning Society to optimize learning through game mechanics.

• Leverage Adjacency Bonuses: Many districts provide bonuses based on their proximity to other districts or terrain features. Closer cities increase opportunities for creating interconnected district networks, leading to powerful synergies. Commercial Hubs next to Harbors, Industrial Zones boosted by Mines, and Campuses adjacent to mountains are just a few examples.

• Exploit Regional Effects: Certain buildings and wonders have regional effects that benefit cities within a certain radius. By clustering cities, you can maximize the impact of these effects, boosting production, amenities, or other key yields across multiple settlements.

• Rapid Expansion: Settling closer cities allows for faster overall expansion, securing valuable land and resources before other civilizations can claim them. This can be particularly important in competitive multiplayer games.

When to Space Further Apart: Considerations for Wider City Spacing

While close city spacing is generally effective, there are situations where a wider spacing (closer to 6 tiles or more) may be preferable:

• Resource Scarcity: If strategic or luxury resources are sparsely distributed, spreading out your cities can ensure access to a wider variety of resources. This can be especially important on maps with low resource density.

• Unique Terrain Features: If your civilization relies on specific terrain features (e.g., mountains for Incas, coast for England), you may need to space cities further apart to capture these features within their borders.

• Preserving Natural Wonders: Natural Wonders provide significant benefits, and you may want to ensure that each wonder is within the borders of a single city, rather than splitting it between two.

• Defense: More spaced-out cities can provide a more robust defensive network, making it harder for enemies to conquer large swathes of your territory in a single campaign.

• Civilization-Specific Abilities: Some civilizations have abilities that incentivize wider city spacing. For example, Australia receives bonus housing for coastal cities, making coastal-heavy expansion a viable strategy, even if it means greater spacing.

Adapting to the Map: Map Type and Terrain

The map type and terrain heavily influence optimal city spacing:

• Continents vs. Islands: On continents maps, denser city placement is generally favored to secure territory and resources. On island maps, you may need to space cities further apart to claim individual islands.

• Arid vs. Lush: On arid maps with limited arable land, you may need to spread cities further to access scattered oases or rivers. On lush maps with abundant fertile land, you can afford to pack cities closer together.

• Mountain Ranges: Mountain ranges can create natural barriers, forcing you to adapt your city spacing to the available gaps and passes.

• River Systems: Rivers provide fresh water and potential for hydroelectric dams. You’ll often want to settle cities along rivers, which can influence the overall layout of your empire.

FAQs: City Spacing and Expansion Strategies in Civilization 6

Here are some frequently asked questions related to city spacing, expansion strategies, and maximizing your Civ 6 empire:

1. What happens if I settle a city closer than 4 tiles to another city? The game will not allow you to settle a new city closer than 4 tiles (center to center) from an existing City Center.

2. How does city spacing affect amenities? Having many cities, especially without proper planning, can negatively affect amenities. Ensure you have enough luxury resources and entertainment complexes to keep your citizens happy.

3. Does city spacing impact trade routes? Yes. More cities mean more potential destinations for trade routes, boosting your economy and science/culture output.

4. Is it always better to settle a new city as soon as possible? Not necessarily. Consider your current resources, research, and military situation before expanding. Overextending can leave you vulnerable to attack or economic collapse.

5. How do I manage loyalty in newly founded cities? Loyalty is crucial, especially near other civilizations. Use governors (like Liang for establishing cities or Victor for defense), military presence, and strategic city placement to maintain loyalty.

6. What are the best tiles to settle on for new cities? Plains Hills, as they provide immediate production. Also, consider settling on fresh water, near resources, and with access to strategic locations.

7. How does city spacing affect district adjacency bonuses? Closer cities allow for more interconnected districts, maximizing adjacency bonuses for science, culture, production, and other yields.

8. Can I move my capital city in Civ 6? Yes, but only under specific circumstances (e.g., a game mode). The capital is often a prime location, so consider the benefits carefully before moving it.

9. What’s the role of governors in city placement and management? Governors are vital. Liang can establish cities with extra population and improvements, while Magnus excels in resource-rich locations.

10. How does map size affect optimal city spacing? On smaller maps, tighter city spacing is often necessary to secure limited territory. Larger maps allow for more flexible spacing, prioritizing resource access and strategic locations.

11. What are the benefits of capturing enemy cities versus razing them? Keeping captured cities provides immediate production and potential for growth. Razing can be useful for denying resources or strategic locations to the enemy, but you lose the benefits of the city.

12. How does religious pressure affect city spacing decisions? If you’re pursuing a religious victory, consider spacing cities to maximize the spread of your religion and defend against religious pressure from competing faiths.

13. Can I use a Great Person to claim territory or settle a city? Some Great People can claim tiles, settle cities, or provide other territorial benefits. Utilize these abilities strategically to expand your empire.

14. What is the impact of city-states on city spacing? City-states can occupy valuable land. Decide whether it’s more beneficial to befriend them for their bonuses or conquer them to claim their territory.

15. How often should I be producing settlers? This depends on your overall strategy and resources. Aim to produce settlers consistently throughout the game, balancing expansion with other priorities like military and infrastructure.

Ultimately, mastering city spacing in Civilization 6 requires a dynamic approach, adapting to the unique conditions of each game. Understanding the underlying mechanics, considering your specific civilization and victory goals, and carefully analyzing the map are key to building a prosperous and powerful empire. Experimentation and observation are key to learning the best strategies for your play style.