Optimal Settler Placement

Founding Settlements: You begin with a Founder unit, which is used to establish your initial settlement. All new settlements start as Towns, which primarily generate Gold.

Towns vs. Cities: Towns are basic settlements that can be upgraded into Cities. While Towns accrue yields and allow for building purchases, they cannot produce anything on their own. Cities are the fully developed version, capable of production and other city functions.

Settlement Limits: The number of settlements you can establish is now limited by the current Age.

Rivers: Rivers are now categorized into small and navigable. Navigable rivers allow for the movement of naval units and embarked units, adding a new strategic layer to city placement. Rivers now flow through tiles rather than along their edges.

Influence Yield: A new yield type, Influence, is introduced and is essential for diplomatic interactions with other civilizations.

Age Transitions: The game is divided into Antiquity, Exploration, and Modern Ages, each with unique tech and civic trees. Your civilization is tied to one age, and you choose a new civilization to transform into for the next age based on leader, previous civilization, and gameplay elements (e.g., owning 3 Horse resources may unlock Mongolia in the Exploration Age).

Crisis Mechanic: During each Age shift, all players face a temporary 'Crisis,' requiring the implementation of negative policies. This mechanic aims to balance the game by preventing runaway leaders and giving lagging players a chance.