Germans
The Germans are a European civilization whose economy begins with three Settler Wagons rather than a large group of ordinary Settlers. A Settler Wagon costs more but gathers faster; the source describes the starting wagons as working at roughly the rate of two ordinary villagers each. Germans also receive Uhlans with most Home City shipments, turning an economic or military delivery into an additional cavalry force. The tradeoff is that shipments require 10% more experience to earn, and the starting worker group is smaller than many civilizations. The civilization’s distinctive roster includes Settler Wagons, Landwehr, Doppelsoldners, Uhlans and War Wagons, supported by a Mercenary Camp. Its Home City is Berlin. German armies can become extremely mobile and powerful, but their shipment timing, early worker count and slower-developing military demand careful management. A shipment is never only its printed cargo: it can also add Uhlans, except for TEAM shipments, and mercenary shipments contain more Uhlans. This makes experience generation a central part of both economy and army planning.
Economy & identity
Protect Settler Wagons as high-value economic units. Their faster gathering lets a small number support a useful economy, but losing one removes much more gathering capacity than losing an ordinary worker. The Germans begin with three wagons and resource crates; two additional Settler Wagon shipments in the Exploration Age and a three-wagon shipment in the Commerce Age are important early Home City options. Germantown Farmers later allows Settler Wagons to be trained at the Mill, changing the initial shipment-based access into repeatable production. Uhlans arrive with most non-team shipments from the Commerce Age onward. Because they are included alongside the card’s stated cargo, German shipments can create sudden cavalry pressure or reinforce a retreat without requiring a Stable queue. Mercenary shipments bring more Uhlans, while the additional 10% experience requirement slows the next shipment. Plan around both effects: an early resource delivery may also provide a raid force, but sending cards more slowly can leave a gap before the next reinforcement. Uhlans hit hard but have fewer hit points than many Heavy Cavalry, so use their speed and attack to strike exposed targets and withdraw from anti-Cavalry troops. War Wagons provide the more durable ranged-cavalry role. They have more hit points and range than a standard Dragoon, move more slowly, and carry 20% hand resistance rather than the usual 30% ranged resistance. Their short firing setup delay means they cannot perform the same immediate hit-and-run pattern as other ranged Cavalry; use them as a resilient line that advances with support rather than as a unit to kite freely. Doppelsoldners are close-combat Heavy Infantry with a sweeping attack, while Skirmishers and their German Needle Gunner upgrade provide ranged pressure against Infantry. Landwehr are an affordable German rifle unit with higher base damage but less bonus damage than a standard Skirmisher. A diverse force can combine these roles, but it matures over time; the Uhlan shipments bridge the early military timing.
Research condition
The starting German force has three Settler Wagons, 300 Food, 100 Wood and 100 Coin in crates. The Explorer regenerates 15% faster. Each non-team Home City shipment from the Commerce Age onward includes Uhlans, while mercenary shipments include additional Uhlans; earning shipments requires 10% more experience than normal. The extra experience requirement is important even if the Uhlans are not immediately useful, since it affects the pace of later deliveries. Settler Wagons are faster gatherers than ordinary Settlers and can be received through early Home City shipments; the Germantown Farmers card later allows training them at a Mill. The German Royal Guard units are the Skirmisher, upgraded to Needle Gunner, and the Uhlan, upgraded to Prussian Uhlan. Unique military units include the Landwehr, Doppelsoldner, Uhlan and War Wagon. Update 13.27885 added Landwehr and the Mercenary Camp to the listed German roster. The Camp trains mercenaries such as Landsknechts, Jaegers, Giant Grenadiers, Black Riders and Pandours. The Home City can also ship those mercenaries, along with Bosniaks, Harquebusiers, Elmetti, Highland Army and Holy Roman Army. The Prince Electors card can enable European native warriors at a Native Embassy, including Mounted Infantry, Line Infantry, Totenkopf Hussars, Black Brunswicker, Drummer, Royal Huntsman, Northern Musketeer, Trabant, Saxon Cuirassier, Mountain Trooper and Chevauleger. The German civilization cannot research the Fortress Age Mercenary Contractor to receive additional mercenaries through a Tavern or Mercenary Camp, so do not assume its options match other European civs. Age advancement uses Politicians. Commerce choices include The Inventor, The Logistician, The Naturalist, The Philosopher Prince and The Quartermaster. Fortress choices include The Bishop, The Exiled Prince, The Gentleman Pirate, The Marksman and The Sergeant at Arms. Industrial choices include The Cavalry Marshal, The Engineer, The Papal Guard, The Tycoon and The Viceroy. Imperial choices include The Black Duke, El Presidente, The General, The Mercenary Contractor and The Knight. German revolutions in Definitive Edition include Argentina, Hungary, Livonia, Prussia and the German Confederation through Prussia; earlier expansions also list José de San Martín and Simón Bolívar. The revolution changes the normal shipment and worker plan, so check the selected path before relying on future Uhlan deliveries.
Military & matchups
Choose Germans when the map gives the Settler Wagons room to work and shipment experience can be earned safely. Keep the wagons out of raids; they represent a large share of the starting economy. Use the Explorer’s regeneration to support scouting and avoid unnecessary idle time, while remembering it does not replace a military escort. Build the first army around shipment timing: Uhlans can pressure exposed workers and ranged units, while a Settler Wagon delivery can improve the economy and add a cavalry group at the same time. If the opponent is ready to punish the smaller starting worker count, prioritize survival and a useful shipment rather than assuming a standard European opening will work unchanged. Later, combine Uhlans with War Wagons, Needle Gunners or Landwehr and Doppelsoldners according to the enemy composition. Uhlans threaten vulnerable targets but should avoid concentrated anti-Cavalry fire. War Wagons can withstand more pressure but are slower and cannot kite in the same way as Dragoons. Doppelsoldners can punish units that close on the line, while German ranged Infantry deal with enemy Infantry. The Germans do not receive a two-Falconet Fortress Age shipment, so make a separate siege plan for fortified positions.
Practical direction
German play centers on the relationship between shipment experience and free Uhlans. A shipment that looks economic can also be a military timing, and a shipment that provides troops can still bring its printed cargo. This makes the Home City unusually important to unit production: Germans do not need to train every Uhlan in a Stable, but the extra experience cost slows the sequence of cards. Read the map for opportunities to earn experience through exploration, combat, Trade Routes or other available sources, then choose deliveries that maintain both economic growth and army pressure. TEAM shipments are an exception and do not include Uhlans. Mercenary shipments carry more, so their exact payoff differs from ordinary card cargo. After a revolution, shipment behavior may change; the source notes that the extra experience penalty can persist while Uhlans no longer arrive. Do not assume a standard shipment cycle survives the transition. The economic opening is powerful when the Settler Wagons remain alive. The starting wagons gather faster, and early shipments can add two wagons in the Exploration Age or three in the Commerce Age. Their value makes them a priority for retreating from an enemy raid; they are not ordinary disposable workers. Germantown Farmers can later make them trainable at the Mill, turning an early shipment identity into a longer-term production option. When deciding whether to add wagons, compare their higher cost with the time available for them to gather. A wagon built too late may not repay its cost before the match ends, while losing one early removes substantial income. The Germans also begin with only 100 each of Wood and Coin in addition to 300 Food, so the first buildings, shipments and military queues should match the actual resource crates and map. The army has clear roles and tradeoffs. Uhlans are hand Cavalry with high attack but low hit points; use them to flank, chase, raid and protect the army from exposed ranged units, then withdraw when enemy Pikemen or other anti-Cavalry troops arrive. War Wagons have much more durability and range than ordinary Dragoon-type Cavalry, but their speed is 6 rather than a standard Dragoon’s 7.25, their unupgraded range is 16 rather than 12, and their resistance is hand resistance rather than ranged resistance. They also pause briefly before firing. These characteristics make the War Wagon a slower, resilient ranged platform, not a faster version of the Dragoon. Doppelsoldners bring a sweeping melee attack that can punish clusters of nearby enemies. Needle Gunners and Landwehr provide ranged Infantry; Landwehr are affordable and have strong base attack, but less bonus damage than a conventional Skirmisher. Use these pieces as a combined army rather than stacking Uhlans alone. A pure cavalry force can win an early raid but is vulnerable to a prepared anti-Cavalry response; a mixed force can hold ground and protect the Settler Wagons. The Mercenary Camp broadens the roster with hired troops, but its access rules differ from other civilizations. German camps can train Landsknechts, Jaegers, Giant Grenadiers, Black Riders and Pandours, and the Home City can ship those and other mercenaries. The Prince Electors card adds European warriors through the Native Embassy. However, Germans cannot select the Fortress Age Mercenary Contractor to add the same extra Tavern or Camp mercenary function available elsewhere. Check which units are trainable from the Camp, which are finite shipments, and which require a card before building an army around them. This distinction prevents a Home City reinforcement from being mistaken for sustainable production. Politician choices and revolutions provide further timing decisions. The named options vary by Age, and some can support a resource-focused, mercenary or cavalry plan. Compare the actual reward cards and units before aging. German revolutions include Argentina, Hungary, Livonia and Prussia, with the German Confederation reached through Prussia. Historical campaign content places Germans in Act I: Fire as Hessians allied with the British. They appear in The Rescue, Crossing the Delaware, Saratoga, the Battle of Morristown and the Battle of Yorktown; Kuechler’s army is represented in the Saratoga sequence, and the pre-Definitive Edition campaign includes Cornwallis at Yorktown. The Hessian presentation reflects British use of German mercenaries during the American War of Independence. In skirmish AI, the German opponent is noted for using Imperial Cannons because the AI does not use Factories to produce artillery. German units speak modern Standard German with a theatrical pronunciation rather than the historical German of the campaign setting. These campaign and presentation details are separate from the competitive army rules, but they explain the civilization’s scenario appearances and audio identity.The civilization description combines several centuries of German-speaking military history into one playable roster. The Wiki identifies the Kingdom of Prussia and the later Holy Roman Empire as its principal historical references, while the skirmish civilization represents a unified gameplay set rather than a single campaign army. That distinction matters when reading the unit list: a match can field Settler Wagons, Uhlans, War Wagons and Doppelsoldners together, but a campaign scenario may instead present Hessian forces under British command. The playable Germans therefore provide a broad Home City identity; the scenario appearances use particular contingents and objectives. The game associates the Home City with Berlin and its leader portrait with Frederick the Great, supporting the Prussian theme without making every unit a representation of one exact period. The roster is built to make shipments affect the battlefield immediately. Uhlans are the defining shipment companion, but they do not remove the need to choose a suitable card. A resource shipment can keep Settler Wagon production and buildings moving while its cavalry scouts the flanks; a mercenary shipment may deliver a larger cavalry group while committing more of the shipment cycle to military strength. Since the Uhlans arrive as a separate force from the printed card cargo, control groups and rally points should be checked after each delivery. Send fragile or expensive workers toward a safe gathering area before calling a shipment near the front. If Uhlans appear beside a resource crate or mercenary group, gather the payload safely first and then send the cavalry to raid, screen or join the main army. German army choices also change with the map and opponent. Open terrain gives Uhlans room to move around slow Infantry and threaten exposed Settlers, but tight passages make their approach easier to block. War Wagons can support an advance across open ground with their range and durability, yet they need time to set up attacks and benefit from infantry cover when forced to hold a narrow position. Doppelsoldners punish enemies that crowd the line, while Needle Gunners and Landwehr can contribute ranged damage from behind it. This creates a practical sequence: use Uhlans to reveal and pressure the edges, let the slower units contest the center, and preserve the Settler Wagons behind the formation. Do not read the German roster as a requirement to build every unique unit; select units that answer the opponent and can be supported by the resources currently available. Home City choices should reflect whether the game is expected to remain in the Commerce Age, move into a Fortress Age fight or reach Imperial upgrades. Early Settler Wagon deliveries address the smaller starting worker group, whereas military or resource cards can be more urgent when the opponent is already applying pressure. Later cards can support a mercenary plan, cavalry strength, native warriors or the standard army. The named Politicians and their rewards are not identical across all civilizations, so inspect the current age-up choices instead of assuming that a familiar European option grants the same package. The extra experience requirement makes a sequence of low-impact cards costly: each shipment should either improve the economy, establish a useful military timing or enable a planned transition. When a revolution is available, compare its worker and shipment rules with the ordinary Uhlan cycle before committing, since the conversion can alter how future reinforcements arrive. The campaign material adds a separate historical layer. In Act I: Fire, German forces are represented through Hessian soldiers serving in the British campaign, and missions such as Saratoga and Yorktown place them within the larger American War of Independence narrative. These appearances explain the game association between the Germans and hired troops, but they do not make the standard civilization identical to the campaign faction. Skirmish mode has its own rules and roster, and a card or scenario can grant access that ordinary production does not. The Germans also use an Eastern European architectural style in the civilization presentation, a German theme, and modern Standard German voice acting. Those features identify the faction in the interface and reinforce its setting; they do not change gathering rates, unit counters or shipment mechanics.
Shipment economy and Uhlan timing
The German economy combines three high-output Settler Wagons with Uhlans delivered by most Home City shipments from the Commerce Age onward. Each shipment therefore supplies its printed cargo and, in many cases, a cavalry group; mercenary shipments provide additional Uhlans, while team shipments are an exception. Germans need 10% more experience to earn shipments, so the extra cavalry arrives alongside a slower card cycle. Time shipments around the army’s next engagement and avoid sending cards without considering the Uhlans and the delay before the next delivery. Settler Wagons gather quickly, but losing one removes a large share of the early economy.
Army roles and production transitions
Uhlans provide mobile pressure but have fewer hit points than many Heavy cavalry, so strike exposed targets and withdraw from anti-cavalry fire. War Wagons are more durable ranged cavalry, although they move more slowly and use a firing delay that makes them less suited to free kiting. Doppelsoldners add close-range area damage; Needle Gunners or Landwehr supply ranged pressure against infantry. Germantown Farmers can later allow Settler Wagons to be trained at a Mill, changing the economy from shipment-dependent access to repeatable production. Build the army around the map and opponent, and plan separate siege because Germans do not receive a two-Falconet Fortress shipment.