Civilization VII: George Washington Guide and Best Strategy

Civilization VII's Hall of History Collection landed on September 15 alongside the free Update 1.5.0, and George Washington is the headline addition for anyone who likes to win through Policies rather than Traditions. His kit rewards a specific kind of empire: one that celebrates often, expands fast, and leans hard into a Policy-heavy government rather than locking in permanent Traditions early. Here's what his ability actually does, how his Agenda affects your diplomacy, what the rest of the $19.99 collection adds, and how to build an opening around him.

01What the Hall of History Collection Adds

Hall of History is a paid Content Collection for Civilization VII priced at $19.99 on Steam, and unlike some earlier collections it released as a single package rather than staggered over several weeks. It adds two leaders, George Washington and Elizabeth I, alongside three civilizations: England, Babylon and the Gauls. Firaxis shipped it alongside the free Update 1.5.0, which also brought the long-requested True Start Location Earth map at Huge size and an update to map generation, so even players who skip the DLC get something out of the same patch.

Update 1.5.0 is available now in #Civ7, featuring: ⬢ TSL Earth Map ⬢ Updated Map Generation ⬢ Hall of History Collection ⬢ ...and more fixes & improvements! Read the notes - https://2kgam.es/Civ7Updates

— Sid Meier's Civilization VII (@CivGame), Sept 15, 2026 on X

If you already own the Hall of History Collection bundle, Washington and Elizabeth I are simply available to pick from the leader select screen — there's no separate unlock condition beyond owning the DLC and running Update 1.5.0. The same goes for England, Babylon and the Gauls in the civilization picker.

02George Washington's Unique Ability: Constitutional Convention

Washington's ability is called Constitutional Convention, and it's built around two resources most players undervalue early: Celebrations and Policy slots. Entering a Celebration grants you a Migrant in your Capital, which is a direct way to pull population toward your capital exactly when your government is running well. On top of that, you get increased Food per Age in Towns and increased Happiness per Age in Cities for every Policy — specifically Policy, not Tradition — slotted into your government.

That distinction matters. Civilization VII splits governments into Traditions (fixed, permanent) and Policies (swappable), and Washington's whole kit is a tax break on picking Policies over Traditions. He also starts with additional Policies and an extra Policy slot, unlocking two ability-specific policies immediately:

• Continental Ambition: increased Production toward training Settlers.
• Bill of Rights: increased Culture and Production per Age on the Palace.

Put together, Washington is a settler-spam, Policy-churn leader. He isn't the leader to pick if you want to lock in permanent Traditions and forget about your government screen — he wants you back in there every time a new Age unlocks more Policy slots.

03Attributes, Agenda and How Washington Treats Other Civs

Washington carries the Diplomatic and Expansionist attributes, which lines up with a leader whose ability rewards founding new settlements and managing relationships as you grow. His Agenda, Hearts of his Countrymen, is a direct read on how happy your neighbors' Towns are: he improves relations with civilizations that have the most Happy, Joyous or Ecstatic Towns, and worsens relations with whoever's Towns are Unhappy or Angry.

He has no Starting Biases, so you aren't nudged toward a coastal, river or hill start the way some leaders are — you can drop him into whatever map you're already comfortable playing.

04The Three New Civilizations: England, Babylon and the Gauls

Hall of History's civilizations lean into different Ages, which is worth knowing before you commit to a leader pairing. England's Apex Age is Exploration, and its unique ability, Magna Carta, increases Culture generated on Gold Buildings and Gold generated on Culture Buildings — doubled on Island Settlements, with the ability to purchase Gold Buildings in Island Towns. It's an economy-into-culture engine built for a coastal, trade-heavy game.

Babylon's Apex Age is Antiquity. Its ability, City at the Center of the World, grants an additional Growth Event every time you build a Food Building, Culture Building or Wonder in a City, at the cost of a reduced Settlement Limit at the start of each Age. Babylon carries the Cultural and Expansionist attributes, which makes it one of the more natural fits for Washington specifically — its Growth Events stack with the Migrants his Celebrations already generate.

The Gauls also peak in Antiquity. Their ability, Favor of Cernunnos, increases Production in Settlements that aren't near another Gaul-founded City Center, and increases Gold when a City Center sits close to a rival civilization's border; Towns can also purchase Fortification Buildings regardless of Town Focus. It's built for an aggressive, spread-out Antiquity rush rather than a slow Policy build-up, so it pairs more naturally with Elizabeth I's trade-and-expand approach than with Washington's Celebration loop.

05Best Opening Moves for a Washington Game

The fastest way to feel Constitutional Convention working is to build your opening around Celebrations and Settler output from turn one, rather than treating them as things that happen naturally later. None of this requires the Hall of History civilizations specifically — Washington's ability works with any civilization you pair him with, but the sequence below assumes you're leaning into his Policy-first identity rather than fighting it.

Washington's Turn-by-Turn Opening

1. 1Washington only appears on the leader select screen if you own the Hall of History Collection and your game is patched to Update 1.5.0. Check the main menu version number before you queue up a game.Before Turn 1
2. 2Pick a start with reliable early Food so you can push Happiness into a Celebration sooner rather than later — that first Migrant from Constitutional Convention is worth chasing early.Turns 1-5
3. 3As soon as your government screen opens new slots, fill them with Policies rather than Traditions. Constitutional Convention's Food and Happiness bonuses only trigger on Policy slots.Turns 5-15
4. 4Slot the Continental Ambition policy Washington starts with to boost Production toward training Settlers, and start pumping out Settlers while the bonus is live.Turns 10-30
5. 5Check your Happiness before switching Ages. If you can tip into a Celebration right before the transition, you bank a free Migrant and reset into the new Age with extra Policy slots to fill.End of each Age
6. 6Once your Capital's Palace is contributing meaningfully to Culture and Production, slot Bill of Rights to boost both per Age — it's a slower payoff than Continental Ambition, so it's worth delaying until your Capital is established.Turns 30+

The easiest way to waste this kit is to play Washington like a Tradition-focused Culture leader out of habit. If you slot Traditions instead of Policies, Constitutional Convention's Food and Happiness bonuses simply don't trigger, and you're left with a leader whose entire identity is switched off. Check your government screen every time a new Age opens up additional slots, and default to filling them with Policies unless a specific Tradition is clearly worth more in that exact moment.

The second common mistake is celebrating by accident rather than on purpose. Celebrations trigger from your Happiness curve, so if you're not tracking it, you'll get the occasional free Migrant without ever building a strategy around it. Treat each Age transition as a checkpoint: check your Happiness, decide whether you can push into a Celebration before switching Ages, and keep Settler production running so you have somewhere useful to send the Migrants Washington hands you.

06Which Civilization Pairs Well With Washington

Firaxis hasn't published an official "best pairing" for any leader — that's always been left to the community to work out patch by patch, and it's worth treating any specific pairing as a starting point rather than gospel. What the ability text does confirm is the shape of civilization you want: something with early Settler production support or a Production-leaning economy will get the most out of Continental Ambition, since that policy is only useful if you're actually training Settlers with it.

Similarly, since Constitutional Convention scales with Policy slots rather than Culture output directly, a civilization that reaches its Political or Economic legacy paths quickly will let you cash in Washington's bonus Food and Happiness sooner. Given Civ VII's civ-switching structure across Ages, Washington rewards whichever civilization gets you into a Policy-heavy government fastest, which usually means one with strong early Culture or Diplomacy output rather than a pure military civ.

07Elizabeth I: The Collection's Other New Leader

Elizabeth I ships in the same DLC and plays almost like Washington's opposite. Her ability, Royal Monopoly, gives unlimited Trade Route range, a free Great Work whenever you found a Settlement on a different continent than your Capital, and increased Movement for Naval Units, Embarked Settlers and Embarked Merchants. Merchants and Settlers train more cheaply under her, though Land Combat Units lose Combat Strength per Age as a tradeoff. She carries the Cultural and Economic attributes, a Coastal starting bias, and an Agenda — Trade Agreement — that favors civilizations running more Trade Routes than her and penalizes ones running fewer or the same.

Where Washington wants you settling land aggressively and cycling Policies, Elizabeth wants you crossing oceans and running Trade Routes. If your last few games have leaned toward tall, coastal empires, she's the more natural fit of the two; if you enjoy wide, Settler-heavy starts, Washington is built for exactly that.

08Watch: First Look at George Washington

Firaxis published an official First Look video walking through Washington's ability, Agenda and starting position in more detail than the written leader page covers. It's worth watching before your first game with him, especially the section on how Celebrations interact with his Migrant bonus.

Firaxis's official First Look at George Washington, published September 15, 2026.

Firaxis put out a matching First Look video for Elizabeth I on the same day, so if you're deciding between the two new leaders before buying the collection, both are worth watching back to back rather than judging either one from the written ability text alone.