and its discontents summary is one of those Civilization questions where the accepted answer is nearly right and the gap matters.

Short answer

The direct answer is above the fold; the reasoning underneath is there for when the direct answer does not fit your situation.

  • Test it yourself where testing is cheap.
  • Note the exception cases — they are specific rather than vague.
  • Keep a save or backup from before you start — it costs nothing and occasionally saves an evening.

Each Civilization entry reshuffles the rules enough that habits from the last one quietly stop working. The accepted community answer is broadly right and wrong in a specific way that matters here. Nothing here depends on a setting you are unlikely to have.

When the usual advice fails

None of this needs a paid tool, a third-party launcher or an account on a site you have never heard of. Most of the disagreement online comes from people describing different versions of Civilization. Edge cases are genuinely rare, which is why the simple answer is usually the correct one. Screenshots age faster than text, which is why this describes rather than shows.

It is worth separating what the game does from what players have concluded it does. The mechanic behind it is simpler than the discussion around it suggests. Anything that behaves differently on console than on PC is flagged where it matters.

The practical answer

Testing this yourself takes a few minutes and settles it definitively. Where something depends on your platform or region, that is called out rather than glossed over. The short version is near the top on purpose; the reasoning is there if you want to know why.

  • Revisit after a major patch if the behaviour changes.
  • Check which version any conflicting advice was written for.
  • Stop and reassess after two failed attempts rather than repeating the third.
  • Try the straightforward approach before the elaborate one.
  • Do not build a routine around an edge case.
  • Prefer the in-game option over an external tool when both exist.

What to do instead

There is usually a fast way and a reliable way, and it is worth knowing which one you are choosing. If your result differs from what is described here, note what is different first rather than starting over. The developers have changed their mind about this at least once, which explains the older advice. Civilization is not shy about hiding useful information two menus deep, so some of this is simply knowing where to look.

The awkward part is rarely the step itself, it is knowing which step comes first. There is no hidden trick here that the game is keeping from you. Patch notes move numbers around constantly; the shape of the answer holds even when a specific value shifts.

Why it works this way

Half the pages on this topic were written for a build that no longer exists, which is why they stop matching what you see. Treat anything stated without a version number as provisional. The community wisdom on this is roughly half right, and the half that is wrong costs the most time.

A single check up front replaces a lot of guessing later. If a step reads as obvious, do it anyway — the obvious ones are the ones people skip and then wonder about. If you are coming to this after a long break, the terminology has probably moved on.

Worth knowing alongside this

It helps to understand why a step exists, because then you can adapt it when your situation is slightly different. Most of the disagreement you will find online is two people describing different builds. Everything below is framed around the current state of Civilization rather than a launch-week impression.

Where people go wrong

  • Treating a rare edge case as the normal behaviour and planning around it.
  • Ignoring the platform-specific note and then wondering why the steps do not line up.
  • Assuming a guide from an older season still describes the current version.

Civ FAQ

Does this change between platforms?

The behaviour does not. Where menu paths or prompts differ, that is noted above.

What if none of this works for me?

Then something in your setup differs from the assumption — version, region or platform. Check those three before anything else.

Why do people disagree about this?

Mostly because they are describing different versions. Version drift explains the majority of contradictory advice about Civilization.

Does this work the same on console and PC?

The logic is identical. Menu paths and button prompts differ, and any real difference is flagged above.

If you only take one thing from this: the answer near the top is the part that matters, the rest is context.