Civilization V: Brave New World shakes up cultural victories

As a Civilization V player, I can’t help agree with Ed Beach in his interview with Curse when it comes to the cultural victory. The times I’ve won this way has been an overall passive experience overall. Usually I focus on cultural buildings, a more cultural based-religion, rush the culture aiding techs, and for the most part stay out of war when going for a victory through culture. While this is all completely legit, at times it can be a whole lot of isolationism. Beach said:

The problem with the cultural victory before has been a little bit of a passive play style. You built your cities, you got the cultural buildings like the opera house and museum and just sat back and hoped no one attacked you; that the culture system you put in those cites doesn’t get disrupted. We felt like that really wasn’t dominating the world through culture. It would be much more interesting if you built this amazing culture that everyone respected and looked forward to coming and visiting and then take that culture and spread it out to other nations of the world.

Ed Beach has mentioned that there will be a more aggressive or even offensive method of spreading your culture in the new expansion Brave New World. He hinted at a system where you’d build up your culture from within and then be able to spread it somehow. Sure this became slightly possible through religion, but will religion play an even larger role? What about the new trade system? Will there be new culture spreading units? I don’t have answers but I want them.

I’m completely in favor for this change from Firaxis Games and can’t wait to see the details in full.