6-Armed Snowflake: Civ VI Map Guide

Overview

A guide to playing the 6-Armed Snowflake map

Overview

Designed for multiplayer and balance, this map is incredibly regular and symmetric. As such it is easily exploited in the single player game.

Players start off in one of 6 snowflake “spokes”. Move your settler(s) to the center and found your cities near one (or all) of four natural wonders, Mt. Kilimanjaro, Tsingy De Bemaraha, the Great Barrier Reef and the Galapagos Islands, which grant you bonus yields instantly and potentially 4 national parks later.

Rich in resources, the center is strategic, game changingly so. Settle and take control of it FTW. Trade extra copies of luxuries for gold and diplomacy.

Still, there are a variety of strategies for different civs, but the map is most suited to a religious or domination victory.

Try Monopolies and Corporations game mode.

America

The four natural wonders are perfect for Teddy. (Although he requires considerable forward planning). Try a medieval or later start. Settle 4 cities in the center of your “spoke”.

The Roosevelt Corollary will grant +1 appeal to tiles in your cities with a national park, so you may further boost toursim with your Film Studios from seaside resorts. Plan ahead and clear out coastal tiles of rainforest, forest and even harvest bonus resources to locate these.

Easy culture win.

Arabia

Play Arabia for a no-stress religious or science win. Saladin gets the Last Prophet.

Focus initially on settling the 4 natural wonders in the center while amassing an army of melee and heavy cavalry. (Also located in the center are two sources of iron).

A medieval start is best. Use your Mamlucks to ward off aggressors and to take out one or two of your rivals. Given the coastal bias of the map you may need naval support to effectively seige cities.

Brazil

Though not having lots of rainforest for Brazil to exploit, it’s Pedro’s Magananimous trait that benefits on this map. You will reap a ton of gold from trading excess luxuries which you can use to patronage great people. Couple that with a focus on faith and you have another source of income to purchase GPs, if you don’t found a religion.

Brazil’s unique unit will also allow some mid-late game offensive. The AI will mostly be very vulnerably situated on coastal (or near coastal) tiles. Easy pickings. While you don’t have to eliminate them, you can certainly trade Great Works and have wonderful cities ceded in peace agreements.

England

Medieval starts also suits England. Avoid settling the coast. Instead build your navy from Royal Navy Dockyards, that give them +1 movement. The Great Lighthouse boosts your movement further.

After Mercantilism, spam Sea Dogs to neutralise any aggressors.

The map is rich in archeology, so build Archeological Museums in as many of your cities as possible to reap England’s trait British Museum.

India

Try a classical or medieval start. India’s Stepwell can provide a solution to the housing/food problem settling the desert/tundra regions. That is if you can settle them before the AI.

India’s Varu unit may come in handy cos you might have to wage war to steal settlers from the AI to guarentee that. Land Surveyors is a useful policy to purchase tiles cheaply with your extra gold.

India benefits from being at the crossroads of civilizations. So again, avoid founding a religion and reap rewards of diplomacy, faith, culture and science from peace.

Japan

With so much coast and with land tiles in short supply this map is perfect for Japan. Being able to build compact cities allows Hojo to settlle 6 cities in the center instead of 4.

Hojo’s bonus to combat on the coast extends to religious units as well allowing you to station inquisitors on coastal tiles that are preferably holy sites. And just in case you fail to recuit a prophet you can always cruise to a cultural victory.

Try the Meiji Restoration achievement.

Kongo

Kongo can play similar to India benefiting from diplomatic bonuses to being at the heart of civilizations.

Settle 4 cities at the center and later expand onto the “spokes”. Though be careful to not remove jungle and forest as you need these to place Mbanzas.

Prioritize theatre and commercial districts to patronize Great Artists (for sculptures) and Great Merchants (for luxuries and tourism). You will need the luxuries to keep growing. Culture victory FTW.

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Maori

A perfect map for the Maori. As they can embark from the get go, embark your settler and settle Galapagos Islands or Barrier Reef.

Use your Tao to build Pa improvements on the hills of the snowflake branches.

Maya

This map is perfect for The Maya. Walk your settler to the centre of the map to locate your capital. Settle 6 cities on each of the snowflake branches no more than 6 tiles away.

You need to play a very aggressive start in order to achieve this. It may help to start in the Classical era.

Norway

Try a classical or medieval start. On this map you want to trade your luxuries to buy an army of Berserkers to eliminate your two nearest neighbours. Like Japan you want to settle coastal cities for an early offensive.

Norway can go for a domination victory if it fails to recruit a prophet. You can use your Longships (and caravels) to raid workers and settlers to settle safely in the center and your “spoke”. The center has enough luxuries to mitigate war weariness from lengthy wars.

Poland

Poland’s trait Golden Liberty means Poland doesn’t need to rush to land grab luxuries from the center. So Jadwiga can settle wide – 6 cities in the center, and not worry about losing tiles to rivals who settle close by, that is if you do purchase a few strategic tiles for your encapments.

With her bonuses to relics, you should certainly prioritise Mont St. Michel for Martyrs. (Special Apostles who produce a relic, a great work upon death). Couple that with the religious belief Reliquaries, to get triple faith and tourism.

Jadwiga can aim for a religious or early cultural win.

Russia

Russia suits a medieval start. Rush to settle the center, then each of the desert/tundra “shoulders” of the spokes. The AI will initially avoid settling these as they are relatively barren land. And unless you get there early you may miss out on valuable food resource tiles Mother Russia‘s additional 8 tiles will grant you for food and housing. Later you can trade internally for food.

Avoid founding a religion. Instead exploit Peter’s Grand Embassy trait to benefit from diplomacy, culture and science from trade with your neighbours.

Try the Silver Anniversary achievement.

Spain

Religious victory is tricky. Play against the Kongo.

Medieval start. Use the Revelation policy on founding your cap to get +2 GP points from the get go. Trade luxuries for gold and patronise the first prophet (cos they get more expensive).

Only 4 civs can found a religion. Convert Kongo with your first missionaries.

The AI will eventually send their apostles to convert your cities giving you a Casus Belli for declaring a Holy War. Just remember to use your inquisitors to convert your cities before you capture foreign cities with Conquistadors .

Scotland

This is a great map for Scotland, as Robert the Bruce likes to play tall. The golf course, though a unique tile improvement, is limited in that you can only build one per city, important cos land is scarce on this map.

With Scotland’s bonus towards Great Scientists and Engineers prioritise campuses and industrial zones for an early Science win.

Others

Because land is scarse, this map doesn’t really suit wonder builders or civs with unique tile improvements. For example: China’s Great Wall serves little or no purpose here. The coasts define territory and provide passive defence. Same for Egypt and Sumeria.

An exception is France. The centre is luxury rich and can benefit from a few chateaux built on rivers. Settling the centre allows Catherine to exploit her bonuses to diplomatic visibility and espionage.

This map isn’t particularly suited to warmongers such as Gorgo, Shaka and Genghis Khan.

Game Modes

This is a great map for Monopolies & Corporations mode. Also try Barbarian Clans mode. Or Heroes & Legends and Secret Societies.

This is not a good map for Zombie Defence mode. Or for Apocalypse mode. Dramatic Ages will be challenging.