Mastering Civilization IV – Playing as the Egyptian Empire in Civ IV

Sid Meier's Civilization was THE computer game when it was introduced in 1994 and the series has been popular ever since. The latest PC playable version of Civilization is "Civilization IV", launched in October 2005.

3 years have passed and still, Civ IV is very enjoyable and has many fans With the victory options and most the pre-game selections (choosing the map, the climate and sea level, game speed and world size, Difficulty Levels (A,B)) covered, we continue with a review of civilization choice. The next nation is Egypt.

The Egyptian nation has the War Chariot as its unique unit (replacing the Chariot). The unit is more powerful (5 instead of 4) and is immune to first strikes. 20% combat withdraw chance (common for Chariot) is preserved, making the unit almost as useful as Horse Archer (although it has a strength of 6); being twice as cheap to produce and not requiring Horseback Riding technology. As you already have The Wheel as a starting technology, those units are a serious advantage in early stages of the game.

The starting technologies for the Egyptians are The Wheel and Agriculture. This enables War Chariots instantly (see above) and Pottery and Animal Husbandry are also available instantly.

The civilization has only 1 leader – Hatshepsut.

Hutshepsut is defined as “Spiritual” and “Creative”

“Spiritual” means you have “No anarchy” during revolution. Thus you should change your civics and/or religion frequently (there is a general limit of 1 revolution in 5 turns however). Of course, when doing so you must take into account the effects of the chosen Civics and Religion. Temples are constructed at double speed, meaning that you should discover Priesthood and maybe think of founding several religions. Building missioners is advisable in order to spread religions across your cities, as it will lead to more happy people when switching to “free religion” civic in modern times.

Being “Creative” means you have +2 culture in each city per turn. This will lead to your territory (defined by “Cultural borders”) growing rapidly and can save you building obelisks in your cities. With several wonders built you might even consider a cultural victory (though it is very hard to achieve). Theatres are built at double speed, giving you even more culture, and Coliseums (also double speed) will make people happier in your growing empire. Discover construction (a valuable technology in any case) as soon as possible, and acquire Drama when you can. The Globe Theater is very achievable as well.