The Amenity mechanic in Civilization 6 determines whether or not a player's city is happy. Here's how Amenities affect cities and how to obtain them.

There are a lot of mechanics players need to keep track of in Civilization 6 to keep their kingdom, country, or empire strong. Science for technology research, and food for population growth, among other tasks. However, an integral part of keeping their people happy and satisfied is having enough amenities.

An amenity is a resource that contributes to many aspects of a city’s condition. In the most recent update, the developers of Civilization 6 altered how amenities worked to make them more important to a player’s strategy. This guide will examine what those changes were, how amenities influence a Civilization, and how players can increase their amenities.

What Amenities Do in Civilization 6

Amenities are designed to keep a player’s citizens happy and content. The larger a city’s population is, the more amenities they need to remain content; Every 2 citizens require 1 amenity to remain satisfied. Further, certain problems, like war-weariness and bankruptcy, will cause cities to suffer negative amenities. A city with excess amenities will yield bonuses, while one with fewer amenities will suffer penalties. There are different states of happiness cities can have, which are listed below:

• Ecstatic – 5 or more amenities. Population growth is increased by 20%, and all non-food yields, like production and science, are increased by 10%.
• Happy – 3 or 4 amenities. Population growth is increased by 10%, and all non-food yields are increased by 5%.
• Content – If a city has amenities equal to or between -1 to 2, they remain in a neutral state.
• Displeased – When a city has -3 to -4 amenities, Population growth is decreased by 15%, and non-food yields are decreased by 10%.
• Unhappy – When between -4 to -5, a city’s Population growth is lowered by 30% and loses 20% non-food yields.
• Unrest – Occurs between -7 and -6 Amenities. At this stage, the Population stops growing entirely and all yields are lowered by 30%. Rebellions will also pop up around the cities, which are barbarian units that spawn next to the city.
• Revolt – If a city manages to lose 8 or more amenities, all yields are lowered by 50% and rebellions have an increased chance of occurring.

As seen, keeping cities happy allows them to grow stronger and produce higher yields. Regardless of what victory type players are aiming for, healthy populous cities are always important in Civilization 6.

How to Gain More Amenities in Civilization 6

There are several different methods of increasing amenities. Originally, all cities started with one amenity by default. As of the August 2020 update, that is no longer the case, so players have more incentive to acquire amenities to keep their cities satisfied.

• Luxury Resources – The most common resource. Scattered across the world are resources that make citizens happy: Wine, Incense, Diamonds, Pearls, and many more. Players must improve these resources with their respective improvement, mines over diamonds, fishing boats over pearls, to acquire a copy of them. Cities settled on these resources still acquire them, so don’t shy away from placing a city right on top of that silver deposit. Each copy of a unique luxury resource grants +1 amenity to 4 cities, but copies do not. Extra copies can be traded away to other civilizations in trade deals, so they still have a use. Sending scouts out early in the game is important for many reasons and discovering new luxury resources is one such reason.
• Entertainment Complexes and Water Parks – These districts grant their city one amenity and have 3 buildings that can be unlocked that grant one more each. Their second and third building also grant +1 amenity to other cities within 6 tiles, so consider building them in a cluster of cities. As of the August 2020 update, these buildings also grant +2 culture to Theatre Squares, giving players more of an incentive to build them; especially those seeking a Culture Victory.
• National Parks – After researching the Conservation civic, players can purchase a naturalist unit with faith. This unit can create a National Park on a four-tile diamond with maximum appeal. It will then grant +2 amenities to that city, and one amenity for cities within a few tiles. Players aiming for a culture victory will want to build many National Parks because they also provide tourism.
• Wonders – Several wonders in the game are dedicated to improving the player’s amenities. The Roman Colosseum grants +3 Amenities to cities within 6 tiles, and the Brazilian Estádio do Maracanã permanently grants +2 Amenities to all of the player’s cities.
• Religion – There are several religious beliefs and pantheons that grant amenities when certain conditions are met. Choosing the River Goddess pantheon belief grants amenities when Holy Sites are built next to rivers, the Stupa religious building grants an amenity once built, and the Zen Meditation belief grants one to a city if it has 2 districts.

Next: Civilization 6: Best Mods for 2020 (& How to Install Them)

Civilization 6 is available for PC, Linux, iOS, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.