Settle near tiles with high yields or strategic advantages in Civilization VII (Civ 7) to quickly expand your empire. Follow our guide to know where to settle when you start a game or when you are building a new town.

Where to Settle in Civ 7

Settle Near Tiles With High Yields and Fresh Water

The best way to judge whether or not you should settle in an area is if the tiles have an above average yield of food and resources. You need a lot of food to grow your settlements, especially in the Age of Antiquity.

It is also best to build cities on fresh water tiles or near bodies of water like rivers. They will enable strong buildings to be built later on and grant your settlement a Happiness bonus.

List of All Resources

Use the Settler Lens

You can use the Settler Lens to check the yield and type of each tile. The building icon is the game's recommendation for a settlement.

Blue tiles are land with fresh water, yellow tiles are dry land, and red tiles are lands that cannot be used to create a settlement.

Turn it on by clicking the telescope icon on the bottom left of the screen, then check Settler under Lens.

Bad Starts are Manageable

When you spawn in the map, you may start on an area with low resources. Even if you are not near a river, a luxury resource, or a synergistic tile, it is best to create your Capital as soon as possible to start collecting resources.

We do not recommend taking more than 2 turns to find somewhere to settle because you will give the other civilizations a head start.

Stay Near Your Leader's Preferred Tiles

Some Leaders have unique bonuses with certain tiles. This is reflected in their Starting Biases that increases the chance of starting the game on certain tiles. They may even create unique buildings or units that are better in specific tiles.

For example, the Vietnamese Leader, Trưng Trắc, will increase a City's Science yield when its built on Tropical tiles. As such, with her as your Leader, you should expand on Tropical tiles like Plains and Deserts.

When you start with a Founder, it is worth taking a turn or two to find the tiles that are buffed by your Leader.

Civ 7 Leaders List and All Abilities

Where to Expand in Civ 7

Scouts Can Find Resources

When you are planning to expand by creating settlers, use scouts to reveal more parts of the map. You could find better tiles, ruins, bodies of water, other civilizations, or Wonders.

It's best to create 2 scouts at the start of the game to find ruins for resources or Independent Powers to trade with.

Find Natural Wonders

Natural Wonders are locations that give powerful unique buffs to adjacent tiles. They spawn at a random area of the map.

It is worth the effort to look for one with scouts for an early game lead. If you find one, create a settlement near it as soon as possible.

Wonders

Rivers Grant Several Bonuses

Rivers, especially navigable rivers, are a powerful tile that can give a ton of buffs. They can grant adjacent yield bonuses for buildings built across it, create trade routes to other civilizations, and serve as defensive tiles in case of war.

Settling near a river will definitely fast track your civilization's growth.

Coasts Enable Exploration and Trading

If you settle on a coast, you can use Sailing to make fishing boats and create ships. This is essential for exploring other parts of the map and unlocking trade routes with faraway civilizations in the Age of Exploration. You can also do this when you are near a navigable river.

Hills and Cliffs Can Defend Your Civ

Impassible or hard to maneuver tiles like hills can provide a militaristic advantage to your Civ. Enemy units will be forced to end their turn there or will have to go around them to reach your Capital.

Consider settling in chokepoints and other key areas on the map if you are planning a Military Victory.

Civ 7 Best Civs for a Military Victory

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