Administrative Center
a District that serves as an Empire's seat of power in a Territory. Outposts evolve into Administrative Centers when the Territory is attached to a City.
Aerodrome
a District that permits the construction of aerial Units and serves as their base of operations.
Affinity
one of seven gameplay orientations that characterize every Culture in the game, providing it with a special gameplay ability in that domain. For example, the Harappans possess the Agrarian Affinity, specializing in the Food resource.
Aftermath
a brief report detailing the outcome of a Battle or Bombardment for all parties affected by the hostilities.
Airport
a District that permits the rapid deployment of military resources between Cities, while also being required for air-based Trade Routes.
Alliance
a special diplomatic state between Empires, characterized by certain freedoms like unrestricted Army movement across borders, and obligations like joining the other party’s wars.
Ally
another Empire with which an Alliance has been formed.
Army
the game’s fundamental military piece, an Army can be composed of multiple Units, but moves across the World map as one indivisible entity. Upon the commencement of hostilities, Armies are decomposed into their constituent Unit parts ready for a tactical turn-based Battle. Depending on their composition, they may also be called Fleets or Squadrons.
Assault
a secondary part of a Siege, whereby the besieging Army launches a direct attack against the Defender’s forces.
Assignment Policy
a procedure for distributing Population into the different FIMS sectors in each City. For example, the City Growth Assignment Policy will prioritize Food and Industry production, and place maximum Population in those sectors.
Atheism
a special category of the Religion system unlocked through a late-game Civic, whereby the State Religion is replaced by Atheism, fundamentally altering the gameplay around Faith and Holy Sites.
Attachment
the process by which an Outpost is attached to a City in an adjacent Territory, facilitating the creation of Cities that span multiple Territories.
Attack
an Army action that permits a military force to begin hostilities against a target such as an Independent People’s Army, an enemy City, or a wild animal.
Avatar
the player’s physical manifestation in-game, and a representation of the leader of the Empire in diplomatic interactions. The physical characteristics of the Avatar are chosen at the beginning of the Neolithic Era, while the accompanying clothes evolve with the Cultures through the Eras.
Battle
a military encounter between two or more sides, played out on a confined area of the World map.
Besiege
an Army action enabling the attack of an enemy City.
Biome
the natural environment of a Territory defined by several factors including its latitude, elevation and proximity to water.
Bombard
a special action available to some Units, allowing the bombardment of Armies, Districts, and battlefields without needing to join a Battle.
Capture Point
a Tile on the battlefield which the Defender must protect to win a Battle.
City
urban areas occupying one or more Tiles on the map, Cities are the production engines of Empires, converting Resources and the labor of Populations into City expansion, military growth, and scientific development among other things.
Civics
the representation of laws, customs, and traditions that reflect an Empire’s outlook as a society, Civics offer distinct gameplay choices with important Ideological consequences.
Civics Backlash
an adverse reaction from the Population of a City due to the cultural influence of another Empire who hold counter viewpoint on a specific Civic.
Cliff
an impassable border between two Tiles on account of the Elevation difference being greater than a single unit. Armies on the lower Tile have their Vision blocked in the higher Tile’s direction.
Combat Phase
the phase of Battle when Units engage with one another over several Rounds.
Confirmation Phase
a phase before Battle that permits auto-resolution of hostilities should both sides opt for it.
Constructible
anything that can be added to a City’s Construction Queue, including Infrastructures, Districts, and Units. Outposts also have a more limited range of Constructibles.
Construction Queue
the sequence of Constructibles to be built in turn in each City or Outpost.
Continent
a land mass surrounded by oceans, composed of one or more Territories.
Cultural Influence
the gameplay system that reflects how Empires exert soft power.
Cultural Wonder
a unique Constructible, Cultural Wonders must be claimed by one Empire before being built, and provide dramatic bonuses and abilities to the Empires that own them.
Culture
a gameplay incarnation of some of Earth’s peoples or civilizations, approximately matched to one of the six Eras of the game, and featuring a unique Quarter, Unit, and Legacy Trait, and one of the seven Affinities; an Empire will evolve through six Cultures as they proceed from the Ancient Era to the Contemporary Era -- unless they opt for Transcendence.
Curiosity
a small reward that spawns on a random Tile. Curiosities can be collected by Armies, but disappear after several turns if not gathered.
Cut Down
an Army action to fell Forest Tiles to supplement Industry yields in friendly Territory, or Siege Weapon construction in enemy Territory.
Defender
the defending side during a Battle.
Demand
an escalation of a Grievance, Demands are a feature of the diplomacy system, whereby one Empire makes a request of another. Making, accepting, and rejecting Demands all impact a Population’s War Support and are a key component of staving off – or embracing – war.
Deployment Phase
the phase immediately preceding Battle when the two sides deploy their Units, hidden from the eyes of their opponent.
Deployment Zone
an area on the map exclusive to each side in the Battle, dictating where their Units may be deployed.
Desert
a specific Biome characterized by lack of water and vegetation, a Desert features low Food output, but can be rich in other Resources, and are one of the game’s Landmarks.
Disembark
an action by which a land-based Unit leaves a seafaring transport, moving from the water to the land, and consuming all its Movement Points in the process. Construct a Harbor for a swifter experience.
District
a Constructible part of a City that occupies a Tile on the map, and provides benefits to the City in various ways, often FIMS gathering, but sometimes with a specialist function. For example, the Farmers Quarter is a District that harvests Food, while the Harbor offers access to the seas. Recognizing and exploiting synergies between adjacent Districts on the hexagonal-based map is key to successful City development.
Elevation
the height above sea-level of a specific point of the land. In Humankind, Tiles are assigned one of a dozen distinct Elevations. Elevation has important bearings on Vision, Army movement, and most critically, Battles.
Embark
an action by which a land-based Unit boards a seafaring transport, moving from the land to the water, and consuming all its Movement Points in the process. Construct a Harbor for a swifter experience.
Emblematic Quarter
a Constructible District unique to a specific Culture, each Emblematic Quarter gives a special gameplay option that reflects an aspect of the real historical Culture.
Emblematic Unit
a Constructible Unit unique to a specific Culture, each Emblematic Unit is blessed with exclusive attributes or special abilities, and reflects a facet of its real historical Culture.
Empire
the sum of the player’s Armies, Cities, Territories, and any other assets, an Empire is the political entity that the player will expand and shape through the entire game as they move from a Tribe in the Neolithic Era through all the Eras to the Contemporary Era. Empires interact by many means not limited to direct military confrontation, but also including diplomacy, trade, and cultural and religious influence.
Empire Improvement
a special Technology or other unlockable element that gives an Empire-wide bonus.
Empire Reserve
the Empire’s stock of Money and Influence; all Cities and Territories generate both resources each turn, which are then pooled together and available to spend at any time.
Encampment
the settlement of a peaceful Independent People.
Era
one of the seven time periods that the game is divided into, corresponding to the historical era of humanity plus the Neolithic Era. In chronological years, each Era is roughly two-thirds the duration of the one before, reflecting the acceleration of civilization. Players have the option of evolving their Culture when they transition between Eras.
Era Star
earnt for progress in one of seven different domains, Era Stars are permanent rewards that mark specific accomplishments and dictate when an Empire can move into the next Era.
a special District that is constructed on Strategic or Luxury Deposits, enabling the access of the corresponding Resource. For example, a Copper Mine.
Events
see Narrative Events
Faith
the central resource of Humankind’s religion system, Faith is generated by Constructibles and Civics, and, depending on its magnitude, can impact the Populations of nearby Territories.
Fame
encapsulating Humankind’s central conceit that the journey matters more than the destination, Fame embodies the game’s scoring mechanic, whereby every notable achievement in any Era contributes to a persistent, additive Fame score that can be compared come the end of the game.
FIMS
Food, Industry, Money, and Science; Humankind’s core Resources that must be carefully managed for 4X success.
Fog of War
an effect on the World map that partially obscures Tiles, indicating terrain that has been visited but is not currently within Vision of any of your Armies.
Followers
the amount of World Population that commune with a specific Religion.
Food
a core Resource that must be harvested in Cities to support and grow Population. Lack of Food can cause a City’s Population to stagnate and eventually shrink through Starvation.
Forest
a special environmental feature of some Tiles, a Forest affects various elements of Vision for Armies in or adjacent to it, and can be cut-down to provide Industry to nearby Cities.
Grievance
a representation of the offense that one Empire might feel on account of the actions of another Empire, always located at a specific location, and potentially underpinning a subsequent Demand and further escalations.
Harbor
a special District constructed on coastal Tiles, permitting the construction of seafaring Units, speedy Embarking and Disembarking onto transport vessels, and sea-based Trade Routes.
Holy Site
a special District that increases the Faith of its affiliated Religion in the Territory it is erected.
Ideological Proximity
an assessment of how close two Empires are along the four different axes of Ideology, impacting various game systems including war declarations and spheres of influence.
Independent People
a minor Empire never bigger than a single City, Independent People play a small, yet sometimes vital role, in the development of larger Empires.
Industry
a core Resource that represents the overall labor of a given City and determines the speed with which a City can build Constructibles.
Influence
the main currency of the Cultural Influence system, Cities can produce Influence through Cultural Wonders, Public Ceremonies and some Emblematic Quarters, bolstered by conjunction with specific Affinities, Legacy Traits, Tenets, and Civics.
Infrastructure
a Constructible part of a City that doesn’t occupy a Tile itself, but can enjoy synergies with Districts and other Infrastructures to greatly enhance FIMS production.
Lake
an inland body of water, often with River connections.
Landmark
a spectacular real-world natural feature like a great river or mountain range; named on the World map.
Legacy Trait
encapsulating a key flavor of each Culture, a Legacy Trait is a unique, passive effect that will be retained by the player’s Empire for the rest of the game. By the Contemporary Era, this means, a player would have six active Legacy Traits if they never Transcended Cultures.
Liege
an Empire with power over a Vassal Empire.
Line of Sight
an imaginary straight line from an observing Army, determining what is visible on the World map.
Luxury Deposit
the site of a natural Luxury Resource, Luxury Deposits of the same type tend to congregate geographically.
Luxury Resources
special commodities based on naturally-occurring substances, Luxury Resources play important roles in developing trade and maintaining public order.
an Extractor for Luxury Resources.
Main Plaza
the founding District of any new City, and the default Administrative Center.
Melee Unit
any Unit that must be on an adjacent Tile to an enemy in order to attack.
Militia Army
an Army drawn from a City’s Population when a City is under siege.
Money
a core Resource that represents the economic productivity of an Empire, Money is used in trade, diplomacy, and for cutting construction times.
Mountain
a part of the World map with one or more Tiles of high Elevation.
Movement Points
a parameter assigned to every Unit, dictating the number of moves it may make in a turn. Armies are limited to the speed of their slowest Unit.
Mutinous
a low Stability state for a City or Empire, where the Population becomes less productive and subject to rebellion.
Narrative Events
a unique situation that needs the attention of an Empire’s leader, Narrative Events offer difficult choices that can impact Armies, Cities, and even whole Empires, while helping shape its Ideological outlook.
National Projects
a special late-game Constructible that is built across multiple Tiles, and can be constructed by one or more Cities.
Natural Modifier
a representation of a fruitful geographical feature, granting a FIMS bonus on a Tile.
Natural Wonder
a unique geographical feature, the discovery of a Natural Wonder grants Fame and Science, and Cities whose Territories include Natural Wonders enjoy Stability and Money bonuses.
Occupied
a special state of a City in which an invading Army has taken over military control, often the endpoint of a successful Siege.
Ocean
large expanses of water between Continents, Oceans lie beyond coastal Tiles and can only be safely traversed by proper ocean-faring ships.
Osmosis
the process by which a Technology may be acquired by an Empire because one of its Cities possesses Territory under another Empire’s sphere of influence.
Outpost
the precursor of a City, an Outpost is built over several turns by an Army and is a means for an Empire to lay claim to a neutral Territory. In general, Outposts can’t expand over multiple Tiles, but can construct Extractors and specific Emblematic Units or Quarters.
Peace
the default Diplomatic State between two Empires.
Point of Interest
an optional physical element of any Tile in the World, a Point of Interest is a Strategic or Luxury Deposit, or a Natural Modifier which boosts the base FIMS output of the Tile.
Population
the people of the Empire living in Cities and Outposts, grouped into discrete units that can be assigned to different FIMS sectors, and whose feelings help shape internal and foreign affairs.
Population Growth
the mechanism by which a Population will grow, or shrink, depending on the availability of Food in the City.
Public Ceremonies
one-off events that can boost a City’s FIMS productivity.
Quarter
an alternative name for a District.
Ranged Attack
an attack during a Battle against an enemy Unit which is not on an adjacent Tile.
Ransack
an Army action where an Army pillages an inhabited Tile for resources, usually leaving the Tile in ruins.
Rebel Army
a hostile Army formed from the disgruntled Population of a City following a Revolt, this Army will appear close to the Mutinous City.
Redoubt
the settlement of a violent Independent People.
Reformation
a process by which an Empire changes its State Religion, leading to a brief period of reduced Stability.
Reinforcements
Additional Armies, besides the attacker and the defender, that can join a Battle after it has commenced.
Relation State
the characterization of the broad relationship between two Empires into one of a small number of possibilities, thus determining the potential diplomatic interactions.
Religious Leader
the Empire who dictates a Religion’s Tenets when multiple Empires share the same State Religion, determined by the Empire who possesses the most Holy Sites for that Religion.
Reputation Badge
reflecting the player’s actions, a Reputation Badge is a material representation of a player’s reputation with other Empires, and applies passive effects in diplomacy.
Reserves
Units that are part of a Battle but which haven’t be deployed into the battle area yet, generally because there is not enough room for them.
Resource
an asset that can help an Empire develop, split into two broad categories: firstly, FIMS, the core productions of a City and its Population; secondly, Strategic and Luxury Resources, commodities that need to be extracted from the land.
Resource Deposit
the site of a Strategic or Luxury Resource on the World map.
Retreat
an option to leave a Battle.
Revolt
an uprising in a City, where some of the Population will be lost, becoming a nearby Rebel Army.
Revolution
a process by which an Empire with very low overall Stability can change its Civics after a brief period of civil unrest.
Round
a sub-turn used in Battles, where a normal game turn is divided into five Rounds and Units can move and attack once each Round.
Science
a core Resource that represents the overall scientific capability of an Empire and determines the speed with which the Empire researches Technologies.
Secularity
a Civics choice whereby an Empire opts to not possess a State Religion, losing its Tenets, but preventing itself from being the target of religious Grievances.
Settled
the state of a City/Empire with high Stability, leading to a boost to Influence production.
Siege
an attack on a City that takes place over a number of turns around the Main Plaza, with the Defender fighting off the attack with Militia Units, while the besieger builds Siege Weapons.
Siege Weapons
special weapons built during Sieges for the express purpose of destroying City fortifications.
Sortie
a counter-attack by a besieged side whose City is under Siege.
Spawn Point
a place on the map where Units appear in various contexts, including following their construction in a City or deployment as Reserves during a Battle.
Sphere of Influence
the set of Territories under the cultural domination of an Empire.
Stability
a measure of the degree of control that the ruler of an Empire has on the Population of a City.
State Religion
the official Religion of an Empire, even if Followers of other Religions exist within the Empire.
Starvation
the state of a City which produces inadequate Food to feed its inhabitants, leading to a decrease in its Population.
Strained
the state of a City/Empire with mid-level Stability.
Strategic Deposit
the site of a natural Strategic Resource.
Strategic Resource
fundamental commodities based on naturally-occurring resources, Strategic Resources are critical for Unit and City development.
an Extractor for Strategic Resources.
Surrender
an option for a City under Siege, often used to avoid damaging hostilities.
Surrender Terms
a list of reparations required to end a war.
Technology
a specific application of scientific understanding manifested in a particular process, device, or body of knowledge that enables the construction of new Infrastructures, Districts, or Units, or other more specialized gameplay mechanics.
Technology Tree
the branching paths of Technology development, determining mandatory prerequisites for the acquisition of newer Technologies, and divided into Eras.
Tenets
representations of the principles and commandments of a Religion, Tenets apply various effects and come in tiers that can be enacted once an Empire has enough Followers of its Religion.
Terra Incognita
uncharted land and seas that can be discovered by an Empire’s roaming Armies or via its Allies.
Terrain
the physical features of the land, dictating the available Resources.
Territory
a fixed, non-changeable division of the World map into a small region, each Territory can be settled by no more than a single City.
Tile
hexagonal building-blocks of the entire World map.
Trade
the exchange between Empires of Strategic or Luxury Resources for Money, reliant on functioning Trade Routes and certain diplomatic relationships.
Trade Route
a valid, active path between the Extractor of an Empire selling a Resource and the closest City of the Empire buying it.
Trade Port
a waypoint on the sea-bound part of a Trade Route for Territories that do not possess a Harbor.
Trading Post
a waypoint on the land-part of a Trade Route for neutral Territories.
Transition
the evolution of an Empire from one Culture to another one as the Empire moves into a new Era.
Transcendence
the keeping of the same Culture as an Empire moves into a new Era, exchanging a lack of a new Emblematic Unit or Quarter, or Legacy Trait, for a boost to future Fame gains.
Treaty
a diplomatic agreement between two Empires that grants certain effects, predicated on the Empires’ Relation State and requiring the consent of both parties to be enacted, although breaking a Treaty can be done unilaterally.
Tribe
a wandering Army that represents the player during the Neolithic Era before the founding of their first City and the beginning of their Empire.
Unit
the fundamental military element of Humankind, Units are grouped together into Armies so they can move together on the World map, before being deployed into individual Units on the battlefield.
Vassal
an Empire under the power of a Liege Empire.
Vassalage
a Relation State that defines a Liege with power over a Vassal.
Veterancy
the level of combat experience of a Unit, increases in Veterancy levels lead to greater Combat Strength.
Vision
the faculty by which Armies can see the World around themselves, revealing opponents, but impeded by various factors including Forests and Mountains.
War
a specific Relation State between two Empires involving out and out hostilities.
War Score
a representation of how successful an Empire was in a given War, used to determine the number of Surrender Terms that can be imposed.
War Support
the representation of the Population’s support for war against a specific Empire, War Support must be carefully monitored during wartime to avoid forced surrender.
White Peace
the end of a War after the mutual agreement of both parties, avoiding the need for any reparations.
World
the entirety of the map of the game, composed of a fixed number of Tiles.
Zone of Control
the adjacent Tiles to a hostile Army or Unit which mean more Movement Points must be spent when bypassing.
