This comes up often enough in Civilization that it deserves a straight answer rather than a thread to scroll through.

Short answer

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

  • Try the straightforward approach before the elaborate one.
  • Note the exception cases — they are specific rather than vague.
  • Expect one number in every guide to be out of date; the method is what matters.

Each Civilization entry reshuffles the rules enough that habits from the last one quietly stop working. Testing this yourself takes a few minutes and settles it definitively. The accepted community answer is broadly right and wrong in a specific way that matters here.

Worth knowing alongside this

The awkward part is rarely the step itself, it is knowing which step comes first. Nothing here depends on a setting you are unlikely to have. The mechanic behind it is simpler than the discussion around it suggests. The short version is near the top on purpose; the reasoning is there if you want to know why.

It is worth separating what the game does from what players have concluded it does. Edge cases are genuinely rare, which is why the simple answer is usually the correct one. A single check up front replaces a lot of guessing later.

What to do instead

Most of the disagreement online comes from people describing different versions of Civilization. It helps to understand why a step exists, because then you can adapt it when your situation is slightly different. Civilization is not shy about hiding useful information two menus deep, so some of this is simply knowing where to look.

  • Revisit after a major patch if the behaviour changes.
  • Check which version any conflicting advice was written for.
  • Region and platform change more than people expect, so confirm both.
  • Do not build a routine around an edge case.
  • Test it yourself where testing is cheap.
  • Stop and reassess after two failed attempts rather than repeating the third.

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. Screenshots age faster than text, which is why this describes rather than shows. Where something depends on your platform or region, that is called out rather than glossed over. Anything that behaves differently on console than on PC is flagged where it matters.

The community wisdom on this is roughly half right, and the half that is wrong costs the most time. What follows assumes you are on a current install and have not modified it. Most of the disagreement you will find online is two people describing different builds.

The practical answer

Everything below is framed around the current state of Civilization rather than a launch-week impression. None of this needs a paid tool, a third-party launcher or an account on a site you have never heard of. If you are coming to this after a long break, the terminology has probably moved on.

Nothing here assumes a particular playstyle beyond wanting the thing to work. Patch notes move numbers around constantly; the shape of the answer holds even when a specific value shifts. If a step reads as obvious, do it anyway — the obvious ones are the ones people skip and then wonder about.

When the usual advice fails

Where two approaches both work, the one with fewer moving parts is the one to keep. Do the cheap check before the expensive one — that ordering alone saves most of the frustration. There is usually a fast way and a reliable way, and it is worth knowing which one you are choosing.

Where people go wrong

  • Downloading a helper tool for something the game already does in its own menu.
  • Trusting a video thumbnail that promises a result the video never actually shows.
  • Treating a rare edge case as the normal behaviour and planning around it.
  • Grinding a method that was patched months ago because a thread still ranks well.

Civ FAQ

Is there a faster method?

Sometimes, at the cost of reliability. Where that trade exists it is described rather than recommended blindly.

Why do other guides describe this differently?

Most were written for an earlier version and never revisited. Compare the steps against what your build actually shows.

Do I need any mods or third-party tools for this?

No. Everything described here works with the base game on any supported platform.

Does this change between platforms?

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

Work through it in the order above and in a sentence stops being a question you have to look up again.