Hobbies And Interests
Setting Up the Game
The best strategy is to customize the settings instead of choosing the defaults. Picking a size for your world depends on how long you want to play the game; the bigger the world, the longer the game will be.
Choosing the level of difficulty will depend on the type of challenge you seek. Difficulty levels set the stage for many attributes, such as happy citizens, the rate of population growth and barbarian attack strength.
In "Civilization II," you can choose the historical empire you want to play. Choosing your country allows you to select the inventions you want to start out with. In the previous version, these options were preset.
Location
Choosing the right site for cities is crucial. A city needs food, water and resources in order to grow and be productive. You do not need to focus on an army in the beginning; the main goal in the early part of the game is to get cities established and developed quickly. Start by finding and collecting resources and building roads and irrigation systems around a city.
Huts
As you scout for new sites on which to build cities, you will find huts. Each hut you land on is a surprise; it may include a warrior who has decided to join your colony, barbarians or a settlement, or it may be an empty hut.
Happiness
In "Civilization," there was not much havoc when people were unhappy. In "Civilization II," when the population is unhappy it will create a revolution, and all production in that city is stopped. It is important to keep at least 50 percent of the people happy by building a temple, cathedral, granary, coliseum, or wonder. The J.S. Bach's Cathedral wonder, for example, decreases the number of unhappy citizens by two for each city in your civilization and doesn't become obsolete when technology advances.
Defending a City
It is important to protect your cities from invading empires. There should always be at least one unit in a city, even if it is only a warrior. Upgrade your units when the technology is available and fortify them for better defense.
You can improve your defense by building city walls, barracks, a coastal fortress and the Great Wall. This great wonder acts as a city wall in all of your continent's happy cities.
Money and Expenses
All city improvements cost money, which makes resources very important. You can increase income by building mines and forts where there are horses, wine, ivory or gold. Caravans establish trade routes between cities and add gold to the bank.
Wonders of the World
There are 28 Wonders of the World in "Civilization II," and each wonder bestows different benefits. There can be only one of each wonder in the world. In "Civilization II," you are given notification when another country is building a great wonder.
The High Council
You can consult the High Council during the game if you need assistance. The High Council includes advisors for military, trade, foreign affairs, attitude and science. Each advisor will tell you what they think you should do to improve your civilization.