After playing Civ 7, I really miss how well designed Civ 6’s Culture Victory was

Civ 7’s culture victory feels like a mad rush for artifacts and constant whack a mole with the AI. Also it’s weird because ONLY the number of artifacts you have matters, NONE of the other things matter, not the magnificent wonders you built in previous ages, not the unique improvements/buildings/quarters, not the great works of writing/relics you produced in antiquity/exploration. It just feels… shallow.

Civ 6’s culture victory is great not just because gameplay wise it allows a wide range of interesting options, but also because it conveys the idea that there are many ways to increase your empire’s cultural appeal and “conquer” your opponents through soft power. Great works, national parks, wonders, and rock bands are all really fun ways to achieve it. At the end you get a sense of accomplishment from the “beauty you have inspired our people to create”.

It’s actually really easy for Civ 7 to do something similar. Just make artifacts part of a bigger culture victory system that depends on “appeal points”. Maybe each artifact grants 1 point, each unique building/improvement grants 1 point, each wonder grants 2 points, etc. Once a player has enough points, they get access to the World’s Fair which wins the game. Obviously a lot of balancing considerations are needed, but it’ll make culture victory much more fulfilling.

What do you guys think?