Victory Conditions

Civilization 4 has six ways to win: Conquest (eliminate every rival), Domination (two-thirds of the land and 25% more people than any rival), Cultural (three cities with Legendary culture), Space Race (reach Alpha Centauri), Diplomatic (win the United Nations vote) and Time (the highest score when the last turn ends, usually 2050 AD).

Civilization 4 can be won in six ways, and the Civilization IV manual (pp. 105-106) defines each: Conquest (eliminate every rival), Domination (control two-thirds of the land and have 25% more population than any rival), Cultural (three cities with Legendary culture), Space Race (build a spaceship and reach Alpha Centauri), Diplomatic (win the United Nations vote for Diplomatic Victory) and Time (have the highest score when the game's last turn ends, usually 2050 AD). The first civilization to meet any one of them wins, and everyone else loses. The manual sums up the choice as winning "by achieving political, cultural or technological dominance", or by crushing rivals "beneath the wheels of your chariot". Neither expansion added a seventh type: Beyond the Sword reworked the space race and opened a diplomatic route earlier in the game, as below.

Rendered scene of a soldier in a helmet and tan uniform driving a pole with a dark flag into dry, cracked earth, with red mesas and a blue sky behind. — A scene from 2K's Civilization IV page: a soldier in khaki plants a black flag in cracked desert ground, with rock pillars behind. Firaxis Games and 2K

Quick facts

Ways to win	6: Conquest, Domination, Cultural, Space Race, Diplomatic, Time
Time limit	A set turn, usually 2050 AD; highest score wins
Domination	Two-thirds of the land tiles and 25% more population than any rival
Cultural	Three cities at Legendary culture (50,000 points each at Normal speed)
Space Race	Every spaceship part built and launched, the ship reaching Alpha Centauri
Diplomatic	Win the "Diplomatic Victory" vote after the United Nations is built
Progress screen	Victory Conditions, F8
Turning victories off	At game setup (Custom Game)
After winning	You may play on, but nothing more is recorded in the Hall of Fame
Beyond the Sword	Delayed spaceship arrival; the Apostolic Palace as an earlier vote

Source: Civilization IV manual, pp. 105-106; Beyond the Sword manual, pp. 27 and 46.

The Victory Conditions screen (F8)

The Victory Conditions screen, opened with F8, lists every road to victory allowed in the current game and how close each civilization is to it, per the Civilization IV manual (p. 105). If a victory type is missing from that screen, it was switched off when the game was set up. For the space race the screen also counts the spaceship parts each player has finished. In Beyond the Sword a "View" button on the same screen shows your spaceship as it is built and lets you customize it, per the Beyond the Sword manual (p. 46).

Victory types are chosen on the Custom Game screen before a game starts (see Game Setup). Patch 1.61 made the game remember those choices: its notes on Firaxis's site list "game options and victory conditions now saved in ini file".

Conquest Victory

Conquest is won by eliminating every rival civilization. A civilization is eliminated when its last city is captured or destroyed, "even if it still has units in play", per the Civilization IV manual (p. 105). Teams in a locked alliance share victory and defeat, so a team wins Conquest together. Warlords added vassal states: a beaten civilization can capitulate and become your vassal instead of being destroyed, and the Warlords manual (pp. 13-14) explains how vassals count toward victory. Planning a war of conquest is covered in the War Guide.

Domination Victory

Domination is won by controlling two-thirds of the world's land tiles while having 25% more population than any rival, per the Civilization IV manual (p. 106). It usually ends a war game before full Conquest, because the last few rivals no longer need to be destroyed. Since Warlords, a master counts half of each vassal's land and population toward victory and score, per the Warlords manual (pp. 13-14), so vassals bring Domination closer without the cost of holding their cities. Patch 1.61 "improved rounding" in the population and land checks, by Firaxis's patch notes.

Cultural Victory

A Cultural Victory needs three cities with "Legendary" culture, which is 50,000 culture points per city at Normal speed, per the Civilization IV manual (p. 106). The same points expand a city's borders as they pass 10, 100, 500, 5,000 and 50,000 at Normal speed, and the thresholds differ at other speeds, per the Warlords manual (p. 102). IGN's 2005 review noted that this replaced the previous game's single-city requirement with three Legendary cities. The tools (Artists, Great Works, Cathedrals, the Hermitage, Free Speech) and the order to use them are on the Culture Victory Guide.

Space Race Victory

The Space Race is won by building every component of a spaceship, launching it and reaching Alpha Centauri, per the Civilization IV manual (p. 106). Parts can only be built after someone completes the Apollo Program project, and the base game's chart asks for 13 parts: five Casings, three Thrusters and one each of Engine, Docking Bay, Cockpit, Life Support and Stasis Chamber (manual p. 215).

In the base game, launching was as good as winning. GameSpot's Beyond the Sword preview of May 25, 2007 put it this way: "In Civ IV, you won the game the moment that you could launch your spaceship to Alpha Centauri". Beyond the Sword changed that. Its manual (p. 46) lets you launch with minimal parts or add redundant systems, and gives every ship a delayed arrival whose length depends on its components. The winner is whoever arrives first, not whoever launches first, and GameSpot's hands-on of Jun 26, 2007 added that capturing a launching civilization's capital "will doom the spaceship". Every part, cost and tech is on the Space Race Guide.

Rendered silhouette of a man with a hand raised to his head before a large square window full of stars, a glowing light and purple clouds of gas. — A scene from 2K's Civilization IV page: a man stands at a ship's window looking out at a bright star and colored nebula. Firaxis Games and 2K

Diplomatic Victory

A Diplomatic Victory is won by winning a United Nations vote. Once the United Nations wonder is built, a Secretary-General is elected, who "can then periodically call for votes on a variety of resolutions"; one of them is "Diplomatic Victory", and the winner of that vote wins the game, per the Civilization IV manual (p. 106).

The United Nations is a world wonder that needs Mass Media and costs 1,000 hammers; the manual's chart says it "triggers global elections" and guarantees its builder eligibility in diplomatic votes. Mass Media cost 2,800 research in the base game by GameSpot's guide of Jan 18, 2006.

Other resolutions shape the world before anyone wins. IGN's 2005 review lists votes that "open up new trade, ban nuclear units, or force all the civs in the game to adopt certain civic options", each becoming a global rule when enough civilizations vote for it. The same review said a player with "close friends among the larger civs" should have the final vote "sewn up". Relations with other leaders decide those votes, so the rules for winning friends are on Diplomacy. Beyond the Sword's final patch made the AI weigh its position before voting to ban nuclear weapons, per the 3.19 notes on Steam of Jun 11, 2009.

The Apostolic Palace (Beyond the Sword)

Beyond the Sword added the Apostolic Palace, a Medieval-era wonder that works like the United Nations but gives voting power by faith rather than size, per the Beyond the Sword manual (p. 27). Steam's Beyond the Sword page says it makes the United Nations "available earlier in the game, providing a way to win a diplomatic victory earlier", with new resolutions. GameSpot's May 2007 preview called it "an early game United Nations". The manual leaves the detail to the in-game Civilopedia, so the exact resolutions it can call are not covered here.

Time Victory and the score

If nobody has won when the last turn ends, usually 2050 AD, the civilization with the highest score wins, per the Civilization IV manual (p. 105). The score is shown beside each leader's name during play. The manuals do not publish the score formula. Patch 1.61 changed the ending so that the game "no longer ends on ties", by Firaxis's patch notes.

Scenarios often have time limits of their own. In Warlords' Peloponnesian War the side with the highest score after 100 turns wins (unless one side has taken the other's capital first), per the Warlords manual (pp. 58-60); other scenarios are on Scenarios.

Defeat, playing on and the Hall of Fame

You lose if you are wiped off the map or if any rival wins first, and then, the Civilization IV manual (p. 105) says, "All of the other leaders will mock you". A win that is "spectacular enough" may be recorded on the Hall of Fame screen, opened from the main menu. You can keep playing after a victory, but nothing more is recorded in the Hall of Fame, and no second victory of another type is possible.

Frequently asked questions

How many ways are there to win Civilization 4? Civilization 4 has six victory conditions: Conquest, Domination, Cultural, Space Race, Diplomatic and Time, per the Civilization IV manual. Warlords and Beyond the Sword added no new victory type.

What do you need for a Domination victory in Civ 4? In Civilization 4 you need two-thirds of the world's land tiles and 25% more population than any rival, per the manual (p. 106). Since Warlords, half of each vassal's land and population counts toward it.

How does a Diplomatic victory work in Civ 4? In Civilization 4 someone must build the United Nations, which elects a Secretary-General who calls resolutions; winning the "Diplomatic Victory" resolution wins the game, per the manual (p. 106). In Beyond the Sword the Apostolic Palace offers a similar vote earlier in the game.

When does a Civ 4 game end on time? A Civilization 4 game ends at a set turn, usually 2050 AD, and the highest score wins, per the manual (p. 105).

Do you win Civ 4 when your spaceship launches? In the original Civilization 4, effectively yes: GameSpot wrote that you "won the game the moment that you could launch". In Beyond the Sword the ship takes time to arrive, and the first to reach Alpha Centauri wins, per its manual (p. 46).

Can you turn off victory conditions in Civ 4? Yes: Civilization 4 lets you exclude victory types on the Custom Game screen before the game starts, and the F8 screen then lists only the ones still allowed, per the manual (p. 105).

Can you keep playing after winning Civ 4? Yes, Civilization 4 lets you play on after a victory, but later feats are not recorded in the Hall of Fame and no second victory is possible, per the manual (p. 105).