Civilization 7 Lead Advises Tutorial Use for First Play

The creators of Civilization 7 have detailed why they strongly advise all players—even series veterans—to complete the tutorial before jumping into their first full campaign.

In a Steam blog post, Firaxis Games' creative director Ed Beach shared essential tips for newcomers to Civilization 7.

"Civilization 7 introduces sweeping changes with fresh systems that redefine the series' core gameplay," he explained. "Given these substantial updates, we've carefully crafted onboarding resources to help every player hit the ground running."

The most transformative innovation is Civilization 7's three-Age structure—progressing through Antiquity, Exploration, and Modern eras constitutes a complete campaign. Each Age Transition brings simultaneous global shifts where players select new civilizations, carry forward strategic Legacies, and witness dynamic world evolution—unprecedented mechanics for the franchise.

Which Sid Meier's Civilization title remains your all-time favorite?

Civilization (1991)Civilization IICivilization IIICivilization IVCivilization VCivilization VIOther franchise entries (e.g. Civilization Revolution)

AnswerSee Results

Beach elaborated on the strategic reasoning behind Civilization 7's default Small map setting.

"While our dedicated community often prefers sprawling maps with maximum civilizations," he noted, "we've deliberately designed Small maps featuring three neighboring empires to ease players into Civilization 7's updated Diplomacy mechanics."

"Managing relationships and diplomatic influence becomes far more approachable with fewer immediate contacts. We also recommend the Continents Plus map type—its accessible coastal islands perfectly introduce oceanic exploration pathways during the critical Exploration Age."

The developer confirmed that Civilization 7 automatically enables tutorial guidance for first-time players, emphasizing its importance even for seasoned fans. "Our contextual tutorial delivers targeted guidance precisely when encountering new systems," Beach stressed.

"Four specialized Advisors guide players through compartmentalized learning experiences. We recommend concentrating on one Advisor's guidance at a time before eventually switching to 'Only Warnings' mode—this preserves crucial alerts about potential setbacks without continuous interruptions."

Following a special livestream announcement, Civilization 7 launches February 11 across PC (Steam), Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4/5, and Xbox consoles, with Deluxe Edition offering five-day early access starting February 6.