Skip to main content

Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

Attract ‘great people’ in ‘Civilization VI’ by playing as Brazil’s magnanimous ruler

Exploring new territory, trading with other nations, and conquering the world through warfare are all perfectly sensible ways to play Civilization VI, but if you want to rule through kindness and a respect for Mother Nature, Pedro II’s Brazil will be your country of choice.

“Pedro II leads Brazil in Sid Meier’s Civilization VI,” the narrator says in a new “first look” video. “His nickname was ‘The Magnanimous,’ and he earned a reputation of being an enlightened monarch. He corresponded with scholars around the world and pushed for the abolition of slavery.”

Recommended Videos

Pedro II’s polite, kind nature doesn’t mean Brazil is at a disadvantage, though. Recruiting one of the game’s “great people” for Brazil costs less resources, most likely because of Pedro’s charm and dashing sense of style. His kindness extends to Brazil’s combat, as well. The nation’s unique unit is the Minas Gerais, a ship that focuses on defending against naval combat from afar. Trying to mount any offensive threat against Brazil will be quite a bit harder than against some of the other countries.

Brazil’s lush, green topography will also play a factor in your decisions. By building towns and civilizations close to rainforests, you’ll receive larger adjacency bonuses and more easily recruit “great people,” but this will limit the amount of space you can develop in a given area. A unique district, the “Carnival,” can be turned into a large-scale entertainment project that will earn even more points to spend on “great people.”

Which Civilization VI nation will you choose when the game is released for PC on October 21? We’ve been most impressed by Teddy Roosevelt and his Rough Riders, as well as the raw fighting power of Montezuma and his Aztecs. The latter country will be available as a pre-order bonus.

Pre-order on Amazon

Gabe Gurwin
Gabe Gurwin has been playing games since 1997, beginning with the N64 and the Super Nintendo. He began his journalism career…
What is Wordle and how do you learn to play it?
Woman playing Wordle on her smartphone.

If you've seen those green squares flooding your social media feed or keep hearing your friends and family talk about keeping their Wordle streaks alive, you're probably curious what this game is that has the world hooked. Wordle hit the mainstream in 2022 and has since become part of most people's daily routine. What makes it so addictive is how challenging it can be to solve a puzzle, which makes it important to know the best Wordle starting words or to check out some Wordle answers and hints for any given day's game. Wordle isn't as complicated as Connections, Strands, NYT Crossword, or the Mini Crossword, but it is a little tricky if you've never played it before. I'll go over all the rules and information you need to become a Wordle pro in no time.

What is Wordle?

Read more
I wasn’t a fan of Mario Kart World’s free roam mode until I changed my perspective
Daisy rides a jetski in Mario Kart World.

Long before Mario Kart World was announced, I theorized what Nintendo's next spin on the franchise would be. Mario Kart 8 introduced anti-gravity, and Mario Kart 7 brought us hang gliders, so I was curious what angles were left to explore that would keep the core kart racing experience intact. As we know now, that turned out to be one giant interconnected map that players are free to explore with no boundaries or time limits.

As interesting as that idea was on paper, I remained a little skeptical due to the lack of details Nintendo gave about what exactly I would be doing in this world. The last trailers showed off a few challenges and collectibles, but I wasn't convinced that was enough to justify the new open-world design. My first week with the game only reinforced that feeling. However, I realized my own expectations were at fault -- not the game -- and have come to appreciate Mario Kart World's world for what it is.

Read more
3 new PlayStation Plus games to play this weekend (June 20-22)
A crew in FBC: Firebreak.

More and more I am finding myself getting more excited for the PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium game announcements than the Essential ones. It always varies, but months like this are some of my favorites. We are getting treated to a day one release, a ton of sleeper hits that didn't get enough attention, and one influential PS2 classic that is great to have available as a PS5 game. Today also just so happens to be the first day of summer, so what better time than now to close the curtains, crank up the AC, and play some great games courtesy of PS Plus? This is my hand-picked selection of PlayStation Plus games you need to play this weekend.

FBC: Firebreak

Read more