If you’ve ever finished a Civilization 7 run wondering why your opponent pulled off a culture win 20 turns before you even got your first great work, you’re probably overlooking one of the game’s most underrated mechanics: civilization 7 mementos. Unlike one-off bonuses or temporary policy cards, mementos are permanent, carry-over buffs that shape your entire playthrough from the ancient era all the way to the information age. I’ve spent over 70 hours testing every memento variant across 12 different civs, and I can say with certainty that prioritizing the right mementos early can cut your win time by 15% or more, no matter what victory condition you’re chasing. You don’t have to play on deity difficulty to take advantage of these, either—they work just as well for casual players on prince or king difficulty who want smoother, less frustrating runs.
What Are Civilization 7 Mementos, and How Do They Work?
Mementos are permanent rewards you earn by completing specific in-game milestones, ranging from simple tasks like settling your second city to complex feats like launching a Mars mission before turn 300. Mementos are grouped into three rarity tiers: common, rare, and legendary, each with bigger buffs the higher you go. Common mementos usually give small, universal buffs like extra food or production, while legendary mementos can completely change the way you play your run.
Most mementos only apply to the playthrough you earn them in, but a small subset of legendary variants unlock account-wide bonuses that apply to every future run you start. That means if you unlock a rare memento that gives +5% science to all cities for all future games, you’ll get that buff even if you switch to a domination-focused civ for your next run. A lot of new players skip memento milestones because they think they’re a side feature, but that’s a huge mistake—even common mementos give better buffs than most early-era policy cards. I once skipped a memento milestone to rush a settler in my first run, and I ended up falling 10 turns behind on tech the entire game because I missed the +10% science buff from the common "First Written Record" memento.
Top Mementos to Prioritize for Every Playstyle
The best memento for you depends on your victory goal, but there are a few that work for almost every playstyle, regardless of what civ you’re playing. I’ve tested all 42 base game mementos across every victory type, and these are the ones I never skip if I have the chance to unlock them:
- First Settler Memento (Common): Grants +1 food to all your capital’s farms for the entire run. It’s super easy to unlock by settling your second city before turn 20, and it will pay for itself hundreds of times over by the mid-game, especially if you’re playing on a map with limited fertile land.
- Great Artist Patron Memento (Rare): Gives +2 tourism to every great work you own, plus a 15% discount on purchasing great people with gold. Even if you’re going for a science or domination win, this can help you fend off cultural pressure from rival civs that would otherwise force you to waste production on cultural buildings.
- Zero Emissions Memento (Legendary): Eliminates all unhappiness from industrial pollution in your cities, plus gives +5 production to every power plant you build. This is non-negotiable for late-game runs, no matter what victory you’re chasing, since pollution can tank your city productivity faster than any war declaration.
If you’re going for a domination win, you can swap out the Great Artist Patron memento for the "First Conquest" rare memento, which gives +2 combat strength to all your melee units for the entire game. Just don’t make the mistake of chasing legendary mementos too early—most require milestones you won’t hit until the industrial or modern era, so you’re better off locking in common and rare mementos first to get buffs that help you reach those later milestones faster.
Common Mistakes to Avoid When Unlocking Mementos
Even players who know about mementos often make simple mistakes that waste their potential, and these errors can cost you a win even if you’re playing better than your opponents. The biggest mistake new players make is choosing mementos that don’t align with their current civ’s strengths. For example, if you’re playing as a science-focused civ like Korea, picking a memento that boosts religious spread is a total waste of a milestone reward. I see this all the time in multiplayer lobbies, where players pick the first memento option they see without reading the fine print.
Second, don’t delay core progression to unlock a memento. If unlocking a rare memento requires you to build three temples before turn 50, but you’re playing a domination run and need to build barracks instead, skip the memento. The buff isn’t worth falling behind on your core win condition. Don’t forget to claim your memento rewards from the milestone menu, either. A lot of players hit the required milestone and never check the menu, so they miss out on the buff for 20 or 30 turns before they realize their mistake. There’s no notification that pops up to remind you, so get in the habit of checking the milestone tab every 10 turns to make sure you’re not leaving free rewards on the table.
How to Unlock Hidden Legendary Mementos
Most legendary mementos are listed in the milestone menu, but there are 8 hidden legendary mementos that you can only unlock by completing very specific, unlisted objectives. These are some of the most powerful rewards in the entire game, and most players never even find out they exist unless they stumble on them by accident. You don’t have to complete all the listed milestones to unlock hidden mementos—they trigger automatically when you hit the required goal, regardless of what other milestones you’ve completed.
For example, the "World Peace" hidden legendary memento unlocks if you go 100 consecutive turns without declaring war or being declared on, and it gives +20% happiness to all your cities, plus a +10 diplomatic favor bonus per turn. That buff alone can make diplomatic wins 30% faster, even on higher difficulties. Another popular hidden memento is the "Interstellar Pioneer" one, which unlocks if you launch a Mars mission before turn 250 on deity difficulty, and gives a permanent +25% science buff to all your cities for all future playthroughs. Hidden mementos are account-locked, so once you unlock one, you’ll have access to its account-wide bonus for every future run you start, even if you switch to a different civ or playstyle. It’s worth chasing these if you play the game regularly, since they make every subsequent run a little easier and more customizable.
At the end of the day, civilization 7 mementos are one of the most flexible, rewarding mechanics in the game, and they’re designed to reward players who plan ahead and align their choices with their playstyle. You don’t have to memorize every single memento to get value out of them, either—just start by prioritizing the common and rare ones that fit your victory goal, avoid the common mistakes we covered, and you’ll notice a huge difference in how smooth your runs feel. Once you start unlocking hidden legendary mementos, you’ll have even more tools to customize your playthroughs and pull off wins you never thought were possible, no matter what difficulty you play on.