Best Civilizations For A Science Victory In Civilization 6

There's no doubt that a Science Victory can be one of the most difficult victories to get due to its complexity and tendency to be acquired late in the game by players of Civilization 6. This victory type needs a civilization to be well-versed in technology and have an abundance of production to be used in building the necessary city projects to launch space projects.

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By  Evan Arnoldi Sebayang

Due to these complexities, there are only a select few civilizations that can translate their strength into gaining a Science Victory in Civilization 6. Some may rely on their unique improvements, while others might instead try to maximize their civilization's ability to gain the special victory type.

Updated on January 20, 2025, by Mehrdad Khayyat: One of the most difficult tasks to accomplish in Civilization 6 is to reach a Science Victory when there is a hostile civilization that targets the player's cities. This creates a critical situation where the player has to shift focus away from science toward military production.

For a normal civilization, this could be a massive letdown, but those who come with certain traits for Science might actually manage to survive the situation and still have some hope of achieving a Science Victory.

13 Inca (Pachacuti)

A Mountainous Start Helps Generate Science

• Citizens can work Mountain tiles
• Mountains provide +2 Production and +1 Food per adjacent Terrace Farm
• Pachacuti: Domestic Trade Routes provide +1 Food per Mountain in their starting city, and Qhapac Ñan improvements can be built to cross Mountain tiles

By default, Mountain tiles add +1 Science and Faith to their respective District adjacency bonuses but can't be worked by Citizens. The Incas, however, can assign Citizens to Mountain tiles, which is great news since they start the game near a mountain range. For them, Mountain tiles also provide Production and Food, making them immensely valuable for Pachacuti players.

Since Production and Science are the two keys to obtaining a Science Victory, the Incas can end up with an edge by utilizing the Mountain tiles in their domain as much as possible. Highly productive Campuses and increased Production values mean that Inca players can get to the Space Race projects faster than other civilizations. And since mountains form a natural defense for a large part of the game, they don't have to worry about being invaded as much as other players, which allows them to focus their energy on getting their interplanetary expeditions underway.

12 Brazil (Pedro II)

Recruit More Great Scientists and Have Better Campuses

• Owned Rainforest tiles provide extra Appeal
• Rainforest tiles provide a +1 adjacency bonus to Campuses, Commercial Hubs, Holy Sites, and Theater Squares
• Pedro II: Refund 20 percent of a Great Person's Points cost after recruiting one

Like the Incas, Brazil benefits from its environmental bias. They tend to start near Rainforest tiles in Civ 6, which typically have a -1 Appeal and only give a 0.5 bonus (rounded down) to Campuses. Brazil, on the other hand, gains Appeal and +1 adjacency for Campuses and several other districts from Rainforest tiles.

This bonus is nice for a reliably good start on the way to a Science Victory. Brazil truly thrives scientifically, however, because of Pedro II's ability, which refunds 20 percent of a Great Person's cost in points, which means that Great Scientists will be recruited more quickly and more often. Having the extra Science from Great Scientists gives them a huge advantage for both Science and Culture victories.

11 Arabia (Saladin - Vizier)

Gain Science By Spreading Arabia's Religion

• Arabia is guaranteed the last Great Prophet, no matter how many points they've earned for it
• Gain +1 Science per turn for each foreign city following Arabia's religion
• Saladin: Arabian cities with a worship building gain a 10 percent boost to Science, Culture, and Faith per turn

Arabia under Saladin's powerful Vizier personality is set up for either a Science or Religion victory from the beginning of the game. As such, they should focus on these two aspects of their civilization the most throughout the game to maximize the synergy brought on by their unique abilities.

With bonus Science, Culture, and Faith due to building worship buildings, Arabia can start to move up the Technology tree very quickly once they have founded a religion. The guarantee of founding a religion also means that Arabia players can focus their early turns on areas other than Holy Sites to get an even earlier start on Science production. As their religion spreads, Arabia gets yet more boosts to their Science production, making them more likely to win a Science victory for every converted city to their religion. Having these two disparate aspects of the game working together in tandem makes Arabia a great civilization for Science Victories.

10 Sumeria (Gilgamesh)

A Unique Building That Grants Science

• Ziggurat: +2 Science once it's built. +1 Culture if built next to a River. Cannot be built on Hills.

The Sumerian is known for its combat capabilities in Civilization 6, but once the player makes enough progress, they can build the nation's unique building of Ziggurat which provides an impressive boost to the city's Science production.

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Although this building is not easy to achieve earlier in the game, it provides Science without any extra conditions, which makes it a straightforward source of progression toward a Science Victory. Each city can have one Ziggurat. So, it's essential to establish more cities.

9 Australia (John Curtis)

Gain Huge Production Bonus When Targeted

• Gain +3 Housing for each Coastal Cities.
• Building a Pasture will trigger a Culture Bomb on its surrounding tiles.
• Campus, Theater Square, Commercial Hub, and Holy Site gain +1 bonus yield when next to tiles with Charming appeal, and +3 bonus yield for Breathtaking appeal.
• John Curtis: Gain +100 percent Production for the next 10 turns after being a target of war declaration or liberating a city.

As one of the rare civilizations with the ability to gain strong output of both Science and Production, Australia under John Curtin became one of the strongest civilizations to achieve a Science Victory. Their unique civilization ability enables their district to become more potent than other civilizations thanks to its bonuses when placed near tiles with either Charming or Breathtaking appeal. Having a well-placed Campus next to Breathtaking tiles enables Australia to rapidly gain a technological advantage compared to its competitors.

Moreover, John Curtin's strong unique leader ability enables them to either quickly mobilize an army or gain bonus production when becoming a target of war declaration or liberating a city, making them a very flexible and well-capable defensive civilization. This quality will become important during the latter stages of the game when they are trying to both research crucial technologies and complete space projects, which can make them a target of war declaration by other civilizations in the game.

8 Macedon (Alexander)

Gain Science By Recruiting Non-Civilian Units

• When conquering a city that is not a Free City, receive a Eureka for each Encampment or Campus in the conquered city and an Inspiration for each Holy Site or Theater Square.
• Basilikoi Paides: Gain Science equal to 25% of the unit's cost when a non-civilian unit is created in the city that has the Basilikoi Paides building.

Macedon is by far the best civilization for a Science Victory when a critical situation like war occurs. Putting an emphasis on the military as a Macedon civilization boosts scientific growth rather than holding it back, especially if the player has already created the Basilikoi Paides, which is an essential building for this nation.

The city that owns Basilikoi Paides as a district will gain science for every non-civilian or military unit created. This focus on the military will strengthen the player's army, allowing them to boost their Science and keep an eye out on conquering rich cities, which also grants bonus Science to the civilization.

7 Japan (Tokugawa)

Focus Domestically, Gain Scientific Advantage

• Gain bonus adjacency for each adjacent district to +1 instead of +0.5
• Tokugawa: Domestic Trade Routes grant +1 Culture and Science and +2 Gold for every specialty district at the trade route destination. International Trade Routes grant 25 percent less yields and Tourism. Cities within 6 tiles of the capital are always loyal, and after researching Flight, gain +1 Tourism for every specialty district in each city.

Trying to achieve a Science Victory can be both a daunting and isolating task as other countering civilizations will quickly notice an effort to do so, leading to either denouncement or outright hostility from those competing civilizations, especially in a multiplayer game. However, the isolation works well to Japan's advantage under the rule of Tokugawa, as the country will be rewarded for prioritizing domestic affairs rather than trying to connect with other civilizations in the game thanks to their leader's unique ability, the Bakuhan.

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Bakuhan grants varying bonuses to each Domestic Trade Route, leading to a huge boost if the trade route is between each of Japan's own cities. This allows them to quickly build up scientific, growth, and production advantages without relying on outside factors, such as other civilizations and powerful city-states which might be heavily contested between other civilizations. The bonus for each adjacent district further increases Japan's already huge advantage of winning the notoriously difficult Science Victory.

6 Portugal (Joao 3)

Gaining Science Off Of Lakes And Coasts

• Navigation School: +1 Science for every two lake or coast tiles in the city that owns this building.

Portugal is one of the civilizations that might be difficult to master due to its tight situations for Trade Routes, but every experienced player knows that if this civilization is placed on the coast, it will become a force to be reckoned with.

Not only do Trade Routes benefit massively from coasts and harbors, but also Portugal owns a unique Navigation School building that rewards the city for every two tiles of lake or coast owned. So, imagine building the city on a bridge between a lake and the ocean! Expanding the Portuguese empire along the coastline will massively boost Science gain.

5 Scottish (Robert The Bruce)

Convert Happy Cities Into Smart Cities

• Happy cities gain +5 percent Science and +5 percent Production and generate +1 Great Scientist point in their Campuses and +1 Great Engineer point in their Industrial Zones. Ecstatic cities double these bonuses.
• Robert the Bruce: Can declare a War of Liberation with Defensive Tactics, instead of Diplomatic Service. +100 percent Production in all cities and +2 Movement for all units for the next 10 turns after declaring a War of Liberation.

Seemingly appearing unassuming at first, the Scottish civilization hides a powerful modifier that requires a unique prerequisite for the modifier to take effect. By having the cities happy, the population in those cities will have increased science and production, making them more productive than ever.

Although Robert's unique leader ability is not directly beneficial to a Science Victory, it allows the civilization to counteract any attempt at warmongering and Domination Victory by both producing and mobilizing units rapidly. Moreover, it allows the civilization to rapidly finish city projects needed to acquire a Science Victory, such as launching a satellite.

4 Indonesian (Gitarja)

A Maritime Empire that Can Aim For the Sky

• Coast and Lake tiles provide a +0.5 adjacency bonus for Holy Site, Campus, Industrial Zone, and Theater Square districts. Entertainment Complexes built adjacent to a Coast or Lake tile provide +1 Amenity.
• Gitarja: May purchase naval units with Faith. Religious units pay no movement cost to embark or disembark. City Centers adjacent to Coast or Lake tiles gain +2 Faith.

Surprisingly, a player can find it easy to win a Science Victory in Indonesia, although the civilization is traditionally paired up with a path towards a Culture Victory in the long run. Indonesia's unique ability to bestow adjacency bonuses from Coast or Lake tiles makes her quite flexible in placing her specialty districts.

Moreover, the unique Indonesian improvement, Kampung, makes the civilization able to capitalize on several resources all at once, which is the extra culture and production, crucial to finishing city projects that involve a Science Victory.