America
Teddy Roosevelt
Uniques and adjacency effects read from the game data.
Victory focusCultureScience
Kit at a glance
Bull Moose Teddy turns preserved nature into yields — national parks and high-appeal land are the heart of the kit, with breathtaking tiles paying science and culture.
Opening: the first 60 turns
Bull Moose Teddy wants his first settlers placed with appeal in mind, which is unusual so early. Send the scout first, then a slinger for the Archery boost, then two settlers aimed at coast, mountains and woods on your home continent; leave the woods standing and do not mine every hill, because breathtaking tiles later pay science and culture on top of their base yields. Pottery into Writing is the standard tech line, but grab Astrology only if a river-and-mountain Holy Site is obvious. Civics should hurry to Early Empire and then Mysticism for a pantheon, then Games and Recreation so an Entertainment Complex can lift appeal. Around turn forty a third city should sit next to a natural wonder or mountain cluster to be your future national park site.
Unique to this civilization
Unit
P-51 Mustang
Replaces Fighter
Technology: Advanced Flight
Building
Film Studio
Replaces Broadcast Center
Technology: Radio
Adjacency effects
No adjacency bonus — standard district rules apply.
How to play it
Settle your continent wide, keep woods and mountains unspoiled for appeal, and beeline Conservation for naturalists. Fight defensive wars only and convert the peace into parks and tourism.
Victory paths
Culture is the primary route, but it arrives by an unusual road: appeal, not wonders. Preserved woods, coastal cliffs and mountain rings push tiles up to breathtaking appeal, and under this persona breathtaking tiles directly feed science and culture and later doubles as the footprint for national parks and seaside resorts. Beeline Conservation after the Medieval era, buy naturalists with faith, and let parks produce tourism while the extra science keeps you pace with rival researchers. A science finish is realistic as a fallback because the same land is quietly generating research without any Campus adjacency tricks. Domination is not on the menu; nothing in this persona's kit rewards conquest.
Synergies: city-states, wonders, policies
Cultural city-states pair well. Reyna with Forestry Management turns unimproved woods into gold and further appeal, and Liang's Aquaculture adds Fisheries along the coast. Wonders to chase are Eiffel Tower, which raises appeal empire-wide, and Chichen Itza where rainforest survives. Earth Goddess is the obvious pantheon, giving faith on breathtaking tiles that then funds naturalists; Goddess of the Hunt is a sound alternative on tundra starts. Policy cards Natural Philosophy and later Heritage Tourism match the plan, and Wisselbanken strengthens your alliances during the long peaceful middle game.
Weaknesses and counters
Flat, featureless land is the worst draw for this persona: no mountains, cliffs or woods means few high-appeal tiles and the whole yield bonus evaporates. Mines, quarries and Industrial Zones lower appeal, so the kit fights with the production needed for wonders and spaceports; players who over-industrialize end up with neither strong production nor breathtaking tiles. The persona has no combat bonus of its own, which makes outlying colonies soft targets, and nothing in the kit speeds early expansion, so a forward-settling neighbor can box you in. Rivals counter Teddy by attacking from the sea with naval bombardment, or simply by out-tempoing his slow culture curve with early wonders.
Similar civilizations
Related guides
- Culture Victory: Planning Cities for TourismHow tourism actually beats other players' culture, where Theater Squares and Great Works belong, how to protect appeal from the first settle for National Parks and Seaside Resorts, and the late-game push with trade routes, open borders, and Rock Bands.Last reviewed: 2026-10-03
- Which Civilization Should You Play? Picks by Victory TypeThree to four leader picks for each victory type — science, culture, domination, religion, and diplomacy — with the reason each one teaches that victory well, plus flexible all-rounders and a guide to matching a civilization to how you actually like to play.Last reviewed: 2026-10-03
- Early District Planning: The First 100 TurnsHow to read city sites for future adjacency, decide between settling for yields now or reserving tile clusters, and know when a planned layout should be abandoned.Last reviewed: 2026-10-03
- City-States and Envoys: Where Your Influence Should GoWhere envoys come from, how to spend the first handful, which city-state types match each victory plan, how to win and keep suzerainty against the AI, and when conquering a city-state is the right call.Last reviewed: 2026-10-03
Last reviewed: 2026-10-03