While players may argue about whether it is best to playCivilization 7on a PC or on a supported console, the core experiences are mostly identical across platforms. Indeed, the vast majority of features and systems that appear in the game’s PC version also appear in its console releases, and vice versa, and one version of the game cannot be considered objectively lesser than another. That said, there is one feature that is only available to players who are playingCivilization 7on PC, and it is something of which PC players should be aware.
This feature may become available on consoles if those platforms receivekeyboard and mouse support.
Civilization 7’s Force Next Turn Feature
During a turn ofCivilization 7, players are required to take a number of available actions before they can proceed to the next turn. Those actions include initiating some type of production within idle Cities, moving units, responding to opposing civs, and beyond, and players will not see the “next turn” arrow until they have addressed all of them. However, PC players can actually end their turns any time that they wish thanks to the version’s “force next turn” feature.
Indeed, at any point during a turn, PC players can put an immediate end to their turn byholding Shift and pressing Enter. While this feature may not seem particularly useful, it does have some noteworthy applications thatCiv 7playersmay want to incorporate into their overall strategies.
It is recommended that players who are playingmultiplayerCiv 7discuss “force next turn” with their opponents before using it. Indeed, some players are fully opposed to the feature and may consider its use cheating.
Why to Force Next Turn in Civilization 7
Saving Production
If a player uses the “force next turn” feature when a City has nothing in production, any Production that the City generates during that turn will be “saved.” This allows players to stockpile a City’s Production and get a jump-start when they ultimately decide to start working on a building, unit, orWonder inCiv 7.
To understand the value of this ability, players can imagine a scenario in which they have the following:
In this scenario, the player could put their Production towards making undesirable units or buildings while they wait for the Civic to finish. Alternatively, the player could save all that Production, by leaving the City idle and using “force next turn,” until the research is complete. All the saved Production would then be immediately applied towards the construction of the Wonder when it is initiated, cutting down on the number of turns that it takes to complete.
Players can also save Culture and Science if they are not researching a Civic orTechnologywhen they “force next turn,” though doing so is not as useful as saving Production.
Delaying Decisions
Not every decision can be delayed with force next turn. For example, players who attempt to use the feature to avoid a Crisis will find that a Crisis Policy has automatically been selected for them. That said, there are several decisions that can be delayed advantageously.
One such decision occurs upon the triggering of aCelebration inCiv 7, events that occur when enough Happiness is accumulated. While players will frequently want to start a Celebration as soon as possible, there are times when it could be beneficial to delay them by several turns with the “force next turn” feature. For instance, if a player had the opportunity to start a Celebration that temporarily increases their Production towards constructing Wonders, they might want to delay the Celebration until the turn upon which they will start that type of construction.
Another decision point that can be delayed comes when a player is asked if they will support an ally who is at war. This decision has some notable outcomes, as it either means going to war or ending an alliance, and players may want to avoid it until they are ready to deal with the ramifications.
Dealing With Idle Units
While this is, perhaps, a relatively niche application of the “force next turn” feature, players may occasionally find themselves with many units that they do not want to move or put to sleep. In this situation, the player could manually select “skip turn” for each unit, or they could simply “force next turn.”
Will Civ 7 For Console Ever Have Force Next Turn?
As previously mentioned, console players could gain access to “force next turn” if they were to receive the keyboard and mouse support that is needed to press Shift and Enter. However, it is currently unclear if such support will ever be added, and it seems unlikely that it will ever be possible to “force next turn” with just a controller. The feature may, thus, always be exclusive to PC, and PC players may want to try it out in their nextgames ofCiv 7.
