Civilization V: Scramble for Africa Strategy Guide

Nov 06, 2025 0

Scramble for Africa is a Civilization V scenario included with the Brave New World expansion pack.

Driven by a sense of adventure, a desire for wealth, and the thirst for knowledge, explorers and settlers scrambled into Africa from north and west. Europeans had claimed most of the native lands elsewhere, but not the dark continent of Africa. There they encountered lost kingdoms, exotic beasts and native empires that challenged their dreams of colonization. Can you claim the riches of Africa as a European?

The winner of the scenario is the civilization with the most victory points after 100 turns. In addition to normal scoring methods, European civilizations receive victory points for taking artifacts, for being the first to discover natural wonders, and for owning the longest railroad between two cities; North African civilizations score victory points based on their Gold income; and Sub-Saharan civilizations earn points for generating Culture.

Map of Africa

Read also: Understanding the Scramble

Civilizations and Unique Abilities

Each civilization in the Scramble for Africa scenario possesses unique abilities that significantly impact gameplay. Here's a look at some of them:

Belgium: River Steamers - Rivers and adjacent difficult terrain count as clear terrain for movement. Rivers extend length of land trade routes as if they were roads. Gunboat Diplomacy - Gain 9 additional Influence per turn from City-States you could demand tribute from.
Bornu: From 1380 to 1893 AD when it was conquered by the Sudanese, the Bornu Empire dominated the area of what is today Nigeria. A successor to the Sayfawa dynasty, the king of Kanem-Bornu, the skilled statesman Idris Alooma (1571-1603), took the empire to its greatest height of power, extent and prosperity. The administrative reforms and military brilliance of Alooma carried Bornu into the late 1700s, but the Fulani Jihad toppled the kingdom into anarchy.
Bayeke: In the late 1800s, Msiri, the son of an East African trader, established the town of Bunkeya and built a commercial empire. His Bayeke tribe dominated a vast part of the east Congo basin, trading ivory, copper and iron ore, salt and slaves to the Arabs on the coast for guns and ammunition to maintain their kingdom. Concerned when the British showed interest in the area, King Leopold III of Belgium dispatched three expeditions to bring about Msiri's submission.
Luba: The Luba first appeared as a people c. 5th Century AD in the area around the Upemba Depression in what is the Congo. Starting in the 1580s, the Luba expanded rapidly from their city under the leadership of a series of able chieftains, overrunning neighboring tribes and securing their copper mines, fishing grounds and palm oil production. Under pressure from encroaching Europeans, the Luba went into decline, finally being forcibly incorporated into the Belgian Congo in 1885.
Mossi: The Ninsi tribes of the Upper Volta had been in constant conflict for centuries until 1441 AD, when the semi-legendary warrior Wurbi led his tribe to victory, thus creating the Mossi Empire with Wogodogo (in French: Ouagadougou) as its capital. As a trading center, Ouagadougou attracted merchants and caravans from across the region and from both the east and west coasts of Africa. In 1896, a French colonial army under Paul Voulet and Julien Chanoine which had been dispatched to unify all the French claims in West Africa overwhelmed the Ninsi.
Bambara: Founded by the Soninke people around the 11th Century AD, the city-state of Segou prospered under the guidance of king Biton Coulibaly from 1712 to 1755. Primarily a trading center, it had close economic relations with Djenne, Timbuktu and Macina. Under the rule of Mamary Coulibaly, the city joined Djenne and Macina to form the Bambara kingdom. Around 1860, El Hadj Umar Tall conquered Segou and converted the residents to Islam.
Sokoto: Located above steep escarpments on the confluence of two rivers in Nigeria, Sokoto was the fortress-capital of the Sokoto Caliphate, which reached its peak of power and prestige in the 1820s. Previously it had been the center of several Islamic kingdoms of pre-colonial Sudan, historical records of which have been lost. In 1827 AD, the explorer Hugh Clapperton was the first European to discover the town.
Egypt: Egypt’s unique traits are quite useful. Unique unit: Force Publique - Gets a bonus against wounded units. Also starts with Drill1, proving a bonus in rough terrain.

Social Policies

There are three policy trees in this scenario. The European tree is available to Belgium, England, France, Germany, Italy, and Portugal. The North African tree is available to Egypt, Morocco, and the Ottomans.

Here are some general effects of social policies:

Combat units may only heal if inside friendly territory.
Land combat units (other than Explorers) have -1 Visibility Range.
Maintenance paid on Roads and Railroads reduced by 50%.
Combat units gain 30% combat bonus when attacking fortified units.
Tile improvement construction rate increased by 25%.
Earn Gold for each unit you kill.
+25% Production when training Mounted units.
Earn Culture for each unit you kill except barbarians.
+15% Production when training Melee units and a Great General appears outside the Capital.

Social Policy screen in Scramble for Africa scenario

Egypt can adopt only the North African tree.

General Strategies

Here are some tips and strategies to help you succeed in the Scramble for Africa scenario:

European Powers: For any European Civ in this scenario it’s essential to capture Ethiopia. Otherwise there’s not a chance at winning due to their incredibly high score.
Belgium Strategy:
- Never open borders with any other European powerblock other European civs, mainly Germany from settling further inland.
- Explore quickly towards Ethiopia to find Mt.
- Universally true for the Scramble for Africa Belgium and Germany strategy: Ally and marry those City states. Bornus and Sokotos Units, later reinforced by Bunkeyas Units, together with only a handful (~5) Rifled Cannons will conquer Ethiopia.
Longest Railroad: The longest railroad is calculated by the straight-line distance between its farthest cities.
Boers Strategy:
- At the beginning, you have no choice but to neglect culture and produce units if you want to survive.
- Forget about exploring and try to keep every unit alive. You need well promoted units to survive. Well promoted foreign vets to tank, and well promoted cannons to kill the dirty invaders.
- The AIs will gang up and swarm you with seemingly infinite number of units, so always be on the defensive.
Egypt Strategy:
- I assume I need to secure a source of coal, then declare war on Italy and liberate Ottomans so I'll have a close trading partner?
- And try to draw the Italians into a land war in the desert where I have the advantage -- kill lots of them for the gold.

Additional Tips

Don't bribe others to declare war on Ethiopia. The AI is very stupid on warfare and it will lose a lot of units, and that will greatly increase the points Ethiopia has (they get culture for killing units and that culture increases their score).
Don't give Germany anything.

Victory Points

The winner of the scenario is the civilization with the most victory points after 100 turns.

Victory Points are awarded for:

Taking artifacts
Being the first to discover natural wonders
Owning the longest railroad between two cities
Gold income (North African civilizations)
Culture generation (Sub-Saharan civilizations)

Table: Victory Point Conditions by Civilization Type

Read also: Amazing Facts About Africa

Civilization Type	Victory Point Conditions
European	Taking artifacts, discovering natural wonders, owning the longest railroad
North African	Gold income
Sub-Saharan	Culture generation