Sid Meier's Civilization® V — Achievement Walkthrough
33 achievement guides · Full game page →
A lot of this list is single-run conditions that don’t conflict with each other, so you can earn several at once instead of replaying for each. Each plan below is one run. Achievements in a plan are marked with a ⛓ badge further down.
Beat the Mongol scenario on Deity. The five Khan achievements are explicit nested tiers - the descriptions literally say "or harder" - so one Deity win awards all five at once.
- ✓▢Genghis Khan — Beat the Mongol scenario on the Deity difficulty level.
- ✓▢Kublai Khan — Beat the Mongol scenario on the Immortal or harder difficulty level.
- ✓▢Supreme Khan — Beat the Mongol scenario on the Emperor or harder difficulty level.
- ✓▢Great Khan — Beat the Mongol scenario on the King or harder difficulty level.
- ✓▢Khan — Beat the Mongol scenario on any difficulty.
Chase only the highest difficulty you can actually beat; everything below it comes free. Do NOT try to fit Khaaan! into this run - that one requires running OUT OF TIME, which is the opposite result and needs its own throwaway game.
Play the Vandals. Take Rome with a naval landing, then go on to capture Constantinople as well. Because the Vandals are an enemy power, the same three captures satisfy all of these.
- ✓▢I Sunk Your Imperial Capital! — Capture Rome as the Vandals using a boat in the Fall of Rome scenario.
- ✓▢Double KO — Capture both Rome and Constantinople in the same game in the Fall of Rome scenario.
- ✓▢Turks Shmurks! — Capture Constantinople as any enemy power in the Fall of Rome scenario.
- ✓▢Et tu, Brute — Win the Fall of Rome scenario.
Pax Romana Aeternum cannot join this - it requires playing AS Rome, which is the opposite side. I Missed That Day in History Class is locked to the Celts, so it also needs its own run.
Pick any one of the five leaders and win on Prince, concentrating your Wonders in a single city and consulting the Oracle twice along the way. Three of these four have no leader requirement at all.
- ✓▢Thoughtful Telemachus — Win on Prince in the Wonders of the Ancient World scenario.
- ✓▢Wonderwall — Build 3 Wonders in the same city in the Wonders of the Ancient World scenario.
- ✓▢Know Thy Enemy — Consult the Oracle 2 times in a single game in the Wonders of the Ancient World scenario.
- ✓▢Ra's Mighty Truth — Win as Ramesses II in the Wonders of the Ancient World scenario.
The five leader wins are mutually exclusive - one leader per game - so they need five runs between them. But every one of those runs can carry Wonderwall, Know Thy Enemy and Thoughtful Telemachus, so only the leader achievement is ever the reason to replay.
Win as the Celts, Russia or the Almohads on Emperor or above. Renaissance Man has no civ requirement, so any of those wins earns it in the same game.
- ✓▢Renaissance Man — Win the Into the Renaissance scenario.
- ✓▢Never take our freedom! — Win as the Celts on Emperor or above in the Into the Renaissance scenario.
Richard the Lionheart and Mehmet the Conqueror ask you to CONQUER a city rather than win, so neither hands you Renaissance Man by itself - you would have to take the city and then go on to win.
Win the Civil War scenario on Deity as the Union. Red Badge of Courage has no side requirement, so it lands in the same game as the Union win.
- ✓▢Red Badge of Courage — Win the Civil War scenario on Deity.
- ✓▢Glory, glory, hallelujah! — Win the Civil War scenario playing as the Union.
Standing like a Stone Wall needs the Confederate side, so it is a second run - but it does not need to be on Deity once Red Badge is done.
Three of the four Empires of the Smoky Skies achievements have no win requirement, so do them during the game you intend to win: share intrigue early, build a Sky Fortress and kill something with a Flyer based there, and defend one honourable title from the moment you take it.
- ✓▢Modern Major-General — Win the Empires of the Smoky Skies scenario.
- ✓▢Gentlemen's Agreement — Share intrigue with another player in the Empires of the Smoky Skies scenario.
- ✓▢Sky Admiral — Destroy an enemy unit with a Flyer based at a Sky Fortress in the Empires of the Smoky Skies scenario.
- ✓▢Quite Accomplished — Retain control of the same honourable title for the entire length of the game it is available in the Empires of the Smoky Skies scenario.
Quite Accomplished is the one that shapes the whole run - the title has to be held for the ENTIRE time it is available, so losing it even briefly voids it.
Hold the same honourable title for the entire time it is available.
The catch is entire length — losing the title even briefly voids it, so this shapes how you play the whole game rather than being a one-off action. Decide at the start which title you are defending.
Win the Empires of the Smoky Skies scenario.
The other three Smoky Skies achievements have no win requirement, so all four can land in a single run — see the stacking plan at the top of this page.
Build 3 Wonders in a single city.
No leader requirement, so this rides along with whichever leader win you are chasing. Concentrate production in one strong city rather than spreading Wonders around.
Win the Civil War scenario as the Union.
Play it on Deity and you also earn Red Badge of Courage in the same run, which is the only reason to pick a difficulty here.
Run out of time without beating the Mongol scenario.
This is a deliberate loss, so it conflicts directly with the entire Khan ladder — you cannot fail on time and win in the same run. Do it as its own throwaway game: start the scenario, do nothing in particular, and let the turn limit expire.
Worth getting out of the way first, since it is quick and the winning run is the long one.
Win the Fall of Rome scenario.
Any power. If your victory comes from capturing both capitals, this arrives alongside Double KO and Turks Shmurks!.
Win the Civil War scenario as the Confederates.
The Union and Confederate wins need separate games. Whichever you play second, there is no need to do it on Deity if the first one already took Red Badge of Courage.
Consult the Oracle twice in one game.
No leader requirement and cheap to do, so fold it into any Wonders of the Ancient World run rather than playing for it alone.
Beat the Mongol scenario on any difficulty.
These five nest. The descriptions say or harder outright, so a single Deity win satisfies Khan, Great Khan, Supreme Khan, Kublai Khan and Genghis Khan together — there is no reason to play the lower tiers separately. If Deity is beyond you, win at the highest level you can manage and everything below it comes with it.
⚠️ Do not try to combine this with Khaaan!, which requires running out of time — that is the opposite outcome and needs its own run.
Share intrigue with another player.
A one-off diplomatic action with no win or difficulty requirement — do it early in whichever Smoky Skies game you intend to win.
Win the scenario on Prince.
No leader requirement — so if you take one of the five leader wins on Prince, this comes with it for free. That is the whole basis of the stacking plan for this scenario.
Win the scenario as Ramesses II.
The five leader wins are mutually exclusive with each other — one leader per game — so they need five separate runs. But each of those runs can also carry Wonderwall, Know Thy Enemy and, if you play on Prince, Thoughtful Telemachus, none of which care which leader you picked.
Win the Into the Renaissance scenario.
No civ requirement, so any of the civ-specific wins below also earns this in the same run.
Capture Constantinople while playing any power other than Rome.
The wording is any enemy power, which is what makes the Vandals run below work — see the stacking plan at the top of this page.
Win the scenario as Muwatallis.
The five leader wins are mutually exclusive with each other — one leader per game — so they need five separate runs. But each of those runs can also carry Wonderwall, Know Thy Enemy and, if you play on Prince, Thoughtful Telemachus, none of which care which leader you picked.
Win the scenario as Alexander.
The five leader wins are mutually exclusive with each other — one leader per game — so they need five separate runs. But each of those runs can also carry Wonderwall, Know Thy Enemy and, if you play on Prince, Thoughtful Telemachus, none of which care which leader you picked.
Win the scenario as Gilgamesh.
The five leader wins are mutually exclusive with each other — one leader per game — so they need five separate runs. But each of those runs can also carry Wonderwall, Know Thy Enemy and, if you play on Prince, Thoughtful Telemachus, none of which care which leader you picked.
Win the scenario as Darius I.
The five leader wins are mutually exclusive with each other — one leader per game — so they need five separate runs. But each of those runs can also carry Wonderwall, Know Thy Enemy and, if you play on Prince, Thoughtful Telemachus, none of which care which leader you picked.
Destroy an enemy unit with a Flyer based at a Sky Fortress.
The Flyer has to be based at a Sky Fortress specifically, so build one before you go hunting. No win requirement, so fold it into your winning run.
Beat the Mongol scenario on King or harder.
These five nest. The descriptions say or harder outright, so a single Deity win satisfies Khan, Great Khan, Supreme Khan, Kublai Khan and Genghis Khan together — there is no reason to play the lower tiers separately. If Deity is beyond you, win at the highest level you can manage and everything below it comes with it.
⚠️ Do not try to combine this with Khaaan!, which requires running out of time — that is the opposite outcome and needs its own run.
Capture Rome and Constantinople in the same game.
Both capitals in one run, so pick a power positioned to reach both. Because it also requires taking Constantinople, it lands Turks Shmurks! at the same time provided you are not playing Rome.
Capture Rome as the Vandals, using a boat.
The Vandals are an enemy power, so this run can also satisfy Turks Shmurks! and Double KO if you go on to take Constantinople as well — three achievements from one game. The boat requirement applies to Rome specifically: take the city with a naval landing rather than marching in.
Beat the Mongol scenario on Emperor or harder.
These five nest. The descriptions say or harder outright, so a single Deity win satisfies Khan, Great Khan, Supreme Khan, Kublai Khan and Genghis Khan together — there is no reason to play the lower tiers separately. If Deity is beyond you, win at the highest level you can manage and everything below it comes with it.
⚠️ Do not try to combine this with Khaaan!, which requires running out of time — that is the opposite outcome and needs its own run.
Beat the Mongol scenario on Immortal or harder.
These five nest. The descriptions say or harder outright, so a single Deity win satisfies Khan, Great Khan, Supreme Khan, Kublai Khan and Genghis Khan together — there is no reason to play the lower tiers separately. If Deity is beyond you, win at the highest level you can manage and everything below it comes with it.
⚠️ Do not try to combine this with Khaaan!, which requires running out of time — that is the opposite outcome and needs its own run.
Beat the Mongol scenario on Deity.
These five nest. The descriptions say or harder outright, so a single Deity win satisfies Khan, Great Khan, Supreme Khan, Kublai Khan and Genghis Khan together — there is no reason to play the lower tiers separately. If Deity is beyond you, win at the highest level you can manage and everything below it comes with it.
⚠️ Do not try to combine this with Khaaan!, which requires running out of time — that is the opposite outcome and needs its own run.
Capture a Sassanid city while playing the Celts.
Civ-locked to the Celts, so it cannot share a run with the Vandals plan. A short dedicated game is usually faster than trying to force it into something else.
Win the Civil War scenario on Deity.
No side requirement, so it stacks with either the Union or the Confederate win. Do one of those two on Deity and this comes with it — two achievements, one game.
Win on Deity as Eastern or Western Rome, holding every one of your original cities.
This one cannot be combined with the Vandals plan — it requires playing Rome, and the others require playing against Rome. It needs its own run, and holding all your original cities on Deity is the hard part rather than the win itself.
Win as the Celts on Emperor or above.
Because it is a win, it also earns Renaissance Man in the same game. The three civ wins are mutually exclusive with each other, so they need separate runs — but none of them needs a run of its own for Renaissance Man.
Win as Russia on Emperor or above.
Because it is a win, it also earns Renaissance Man in the same game. The three civ wins are mutually exclusive with each other, so they need separate runs — but none of them needs a run of its own for Renaissance Man.
Win as the Almohads on Emperor or above.
Because it is a win, it also earns Renaissance Man in the same game. The three civ wins are mutually exclusive with each other, so they need separate runs — but none of them needs a run of its own for Renaissance Man.
As England, conquer Jerusalem on Emperor or above.
Note this asks you to conquer Jerusalem, not to win — so it does not automatically bring Renaissance Man with it. If you want both from one game, take Jerusalem and then go on to win.
As the Turks, conquer Istanbul on Deity.
Like Richard the Lionheart this is a conquest condition rather than a win, so it does not hand you Renaissance Man by itself. Deity makes it the hardest entry in this scenario.
