During that time I've beaten the game a handful of times with Culture and Science victories and have restarted the game more times than I want to count — seriously. So with that in mind, I've put together some tips and tricks for those diving into Civilization VI on Nintendo Switch. When I first reviewed Civilization VI back in 2016, here's what I had to say about it as I awarded it a score of 9.4 (for amazing) and nominated it for game of the year: 'Civilization VI will go down in history as the most fully-featured launch version in the series. Many of those are smartly revamped versions of Civ classics, but it finds its own identity with great new ideas like spread-out.

Sid Meier’s Civilization VI – great on any formatA reader details his most successful game of Civilization ever and how he thinks its mastery of Skinner box psychology is only a good thing.A is a simple psychological experiment whereby a subject is rewarded by identifying and following patterns, such as pushing a lever when it sees a light. It has become a vogue thing to reference in video game media. This is probably because the Skinner box mechanics in games can be easily identified and the idea of being psychologically manipulated is a prescient subject – with loot boxes, microtransactions, and insidious monetisation it’s an easy thing to make a consumer advocacy stump speech about.I would like to evoke the Skinner box model but to reference it in its original context, it’s simple idea of an action resulting in a reward, which drives compulsive repetition of that action.

We have a name for this loop in video games, it’s called one more go. AdvertisementThe game that precipitated this article is Civilization III, which I first played in the early 2000s with a friend on a battered old PC, but the version I’m playing today is Civilization VI on the Switch. It’s the quintessential Skinner box game and to my mind only Football Manager comes close to the sheer compulsion driven gameplay Civilization is capable of, and even today that loop is undiminished.I picked up right where I left off nearly 20 years ago, initially bewildered by the sheer wall of interlocking systems, the rainforest of onscreen options, and the icy desert of onscreen help; the barrier to entry for the Civilization series is almost terminal for the casual gamer. This is a problem that may not want nor need a fix; reducing intricacy may sound good but once you have mastered your options Civilization games become far more situational and exciting and I think the investment needed to understand it is the reason it has endured for so long.I won my first game ever last week and I was so damn happy. As I surveyed the recap screen adorned with an array of graphs, there were seven lines charting different metrics, making their mountainous way ever higher up the X-axis.

Almost like a metaphor for the main game itself they were initially daunting but with a little reading and comprehension very satisfying. In that mess of multitudinous lines charting the progress of hundreds of moves, one line broke ranks from the rest and climbed quicker to tower above all others, that of the mighty empire of Rome. I’d like to take a minute to savour that game with you all. AdvertisementI was, as mentioned, Emperor Trajan, one of the greatest emperors to ever don the purple and over 300-odd turns I dragged the Roman civilisation from a struggling bunch of barbarians, scraping a living by a dirty riverbank to the dominant civilisation in the known world. There are several victory conditions in Civilization, but in the end I aimed for and got a science victory which is obtained by being the first civilisation to colonise Mars. It wasn’t an easy journey and there was a lot of setbacks on the way but Civilization has a way of making even losses easy to manage over its long runtime.I ran into my neighbouring civilisation early on, in the guise of a charming and urbane Saladin. Me and him hit it off immediately and we remained allies throughout the game.

After this I ran into a veritable slew of city states (six in total) which can be considered Civilization’s version of non-player characters. They can be influenced by other civilisations and do their bidding, but they cannot win the game no matter how much they develop throughout the game. This bevy of city states were all located on a fat peninsula to my east, with no other civilisations nearby and leaving them all to be influenced by little old me. And that’s how the early game went.As I placed my cities, I encountered other civilisations, China and Qin, plus Germany’s Frederick Barbosa and a smattering of others. I had mapped the area well with my scouts and figured out that by placing my cities in a staggered line from north to south I could shield my six city state babies from exposure to other civilisations.

After a slight barney with Saladin for settling a bit too close to his lands I had built my human shield of six cities. The northernmost city was Marduk, which abutted the Chinese kingdom in a narrow choke point with the ocean to the eastern approach and a massive lake and Saladin’s kingdom to the west; with all my cities frantically pumping out science from their universities the game started to hot up.

AdvertisementUp to this point I had not caused any upset in my neighbours so had kept my military forces light and spread out, so I sent an archer unit on a literal round the world voyage from southernmost city (Velitrae) round the ocean to loop right round until it landed back in Marduk. It was when my plucky archer disembarked from his sodden odyssey that my constant wonder building caused my first of three wars to flare up with my foul-tempered Chinese flatmates.In hindsight I should have seen it coming, with my borders open the Chinese in plain sight moved siege materials into Marduk before their unprovoked declaration of war.

So, here it was, the game hung in the balance. The Chinese licking their lips thought they could roll over the technological peaceniks from the south, but they were wrong; Rome was made of sterner stuff.Rallying my beleaguered forces, and using my ample treasury to promote units several eras above their Chinese counterparts, my humble archer became a machine-gunner at a crucial point when they were about to be overrun. My smaller force was not only able to push the Chinese out of Marduk in a famous battle but to take the fight to the Chinese on their own turf. The Chinese would take two more shots but never break the iron chain strung from the great northern ocean to the mighty lake of Damieta.

From this point on it was a running battle repulsing the dogged Chinese until the final module of my Mars colonisation project finally blasted off into the stratosphere and I heaved a massive sigh of relief. AdvertisementAs an aside, the Switch is literally the perfect platform for a Civilization game, I know this gets said a lot these days but in this case it really, really is. The pick-up and play nature of the Switch lends itself to dipping into a game and coming back when you’ve had a chance to ruminate on your choices. You’ll think about your cities as a chess piece that can rise from pawn to queen over the course of a game and it’s not always clear whether a call made 50 turns ago will have the payoff you hoped it would, though the hope of that payoff is what drives the game ever forward.In the game recap screen I mentioned earlier there is a button visible in all the screens you scroll through and that button tells you that Firaxis understand the Skinner box nature of their game and fanbase better than anyone. Always in your eyeline tempting and tantalising you, that blue-bordered button has three words on it One More Go.By reader Dieflemmy (gamertag/PSN ID/NN ID)The reader’s feature does not necessary represent the views of GameCentral or Metro.You can submit your own 500 to 600-word reader feature at any time, which if used will be published in the next appropriate weekend slot. As always, email.

I didn’t make a secret about the fact that I’ve started playing Civilization VI on the Switch. Nor about the fact that I’m absolutely loving it.As a beginner there are some things that make life a whole lot easier. And although there’s an entire Civilopedia in your device, not all is obvious from the start.

Or it could be that I’ve just forgotten it after playing the lengthy tutorial.ChamZen is a veteran to the series and she’s giving me tips. Tips I’ll share here with you: so if you are a newbie too, it might work to check them out!And if you are already past the tutorial, check outPlus, we will be publishing a weekly article with a new strategy guide on how to proceed in the game.Don’t dwell too long on the tutorialI was feeling a bit hesitant to start up a game for real, so I stayed too long in the tutorial with Cleopatra.

Don’t, there’s no need. No one will judge you if you fail to gain any victory in the real games.There’s no online multiplayer on the Switch.

I know there are more seasoned players who lament about that, but I don’t really care. No pressure and again, no one will gloat over your failed attempts. Jump in, it’s a game you learn by doingAt the start the game asks what level you want to play, just choose settler. That’s the easiest one. Even when you start a full game, there is still an advisor who gives you tips. And guides you to information in the civilopedia. At first I was wondering what all the icons and symbols meant.

Just press – on the Switch top left, and for every hex or symbol you scroll past, you’ll see all info available.Check the OptionsPressing the + button brings up a menu. Here you can save, and you can also adjust the options. Things like Quick Combat, Auto End Turn and such, they can all be set to suit your preference. In there, you can also determine the level of your advisor. Mine is set to “New to Civilization VI”.Another important one in there is Show Yield Icons. It’s under Interface Options. Check the box, it will make life so much easier.

Using the L ShoulderThe L shoulder button gives a lot of useful info about your Technology Tree, your Civics Tree, your government, you’re ur Pantheon ( religion) and important people in your cities. What’s more, one more click to the right also give the opportunity to equip various lenses over your map. Like the settlers lens: it’ll show you in colors which hex is best to settle in. There are lenses for 6 other views, like religion and tourism.The other icon gives the possibility to add a pin to the map, and the last one hides the little overview of your map.Don’t forget the R ShoulderThe R shoulder gives loads of information as well. There’s a little cameo for the person you are playing. I’m Victoria as you see. Specific info is given for her character and her gameplay.

The ZR button shows the data for your relationships with other leaders. In my case Cleopatra, who isn’t happy with Victoria. The farthest right icons show the world rankings and what has been achieved in the bid for Victory.The second choice is for the City States you have encountered and all the info for them. The last choice is for your trade routes and the benefits you get from them. 4x strategy gameCivilization is a 4x strategy game.

4x stands for explore, expand, exploit and exterminate. You have 330 turns to gain a victory and it can be a victory in various fields. You don’t have to rule with an iron fist ( victory through domination): you can also be victorious through religion, science, culture and based on score.

To gain these victories there are milestones to be met, different ones for each sort of victory.For me, the fun is in playing, victory is still very far from my mind.Enough for now, right? Chosing a new game and going for Single Play will let the computer decide who you play against. Or, you can pick Create a Game and pick who you want to be in your game, what size the map has to be and so on.

So many choices, but just take the plunge. It won’t be your only game I’ll bet!So let’s jump in and see where the road takes us!Edit: I’ve been playing for some time now, enough to give the game our best rating in review! Owlboy map. Check it out here. Thanks for the tips, they really helped!Especially the ‘Show Yield Icons’ checkbox, using L&R and the what the + and – do.(- button was in a video in previous post, but very helpful to!)I didn’t finish the tutorial and dived right in. Wow, it’s big!

Age of Wushu Dynasty. Age of Wushu is a new martial arts-themed MMORPG directly from chinas Snail games leisure. Also called Age of Wulin and posted through gala-net in Europe, the online game covers, years of historical Chinese language Wuxia way of life, and boasts six enjoyable character epic arcs, allowing avid gamers to turn into true heroes in their personal studies. Age of wushu 2019. Now unlike other MMOs, where you’ll start off with basic gear and skills, Age of Wushu 2 starts you with nothing, so you have to struggle to survive as you try and learn how to get more skills, now I say “survive” and I mean it, the dev’s stated you there is a survival element to Age of Wushu 2, where you’ll need to get food, or you could end up dying. Age of Wushu (AoW) is the world’s first true Wuxia themed MMORPG, with cutting edge graphics and innovative gameplay. Relive more than 2000 years of Wuxia tradition in Snail Games USA’s colossal MMORPG, Age of Wushu. In your journey to master the ancient Chinese art of Wushu, delve into your character’s unique story, face the consequences for every action, and fulfill your destiny.

Far bigger and more complex than Revolution.I really like it, although I think it will be a wile till I figured even half of the game out.I just build my third settlement, but the people in the other 2 villages are so unhappy they might rebel against me.I’m not sure what they want (luxury goods?) Probably my fault for not finishing the tutorial.But it’s like you say, no one’s watching, so it’s ok to mess up. So you are hooked too! Im still trying to play as much as I can, I have Victoria running with three settlements, and Theodore Roosevelt with two settlements now. But in both I’m so hemmed in between all kind of city states and the ocean, that it’s difficult to make my empire larger.Currently I’m trying if ending my move with X automatically is working.

I was going so slow checking all my units before moving on. But I’m not sure yet if that’s the way to go.By the way, if you enjoy the music of the game, you can find Sogno di Volare by Christopher Tin on iTunes!