While Age of Empires 4 contains a rather attractive Story Mode, it's Skirmish Mode where you'll find most long-time players getting the most out of the game.
This sandbox game mode places you on a map and says 'Here's some villagers and a Town Centre... win the game'. How exactly can you win a game of Skirmish in Age of Empires 4? Well, there are a few different ways and we're going to take you through them all here...
Age of Empires Skirmish Mode Win Conditions
Build and Defend a Wonder
One of the easier win conditions to achieve is to build and defend a Wonder. These special game-ending buildings are only available once your each the fourth age in a match. Just getting to this point can be tricky as you'll be fending off enemy advances and trying to ensure your resources are always full.
Once you reach the fourth age, the option to build a Wonder will be available. They cost 3,000 of each resource; Gold, Wood, Food and Stone. They take 10 minutes to build if only using one worker but you can use your entire army of villagers to help out and reduce the build time.
When you finally construct it, you must then defend it from enemies for 15 minutes to claim victory.
Destroy all Enemy Landmarks
The default objective of Skirmish Mode in Age of Empires 4 is to win via brute force and destroy all enemy landmarks.
Landmarks are earned and built each time you advance through the ages. If you're planning to win via this method, you want to ensure you're using an army at its max effectiveness. Don't just build a large number of units and go charging in.
It's best to build up some smaller groups first and start poking at enemy structures. Make sure you're also using your scouts wisely to get a lay of the land.
Hold back the bulk of your forces to defend your town and once you're confident you can eliminate an enemy, head out on the path of destruction.
Control all Sacred Sites
There are three sacred sites on each map and if you manage to control all three at any given time, you will win the match. This has not been considered the best win condition and many purists are unhappy with its inclusion but it can be turned off as a method of victory when setting up a match.
In order to capture a Sacred Site, you must sit a monk (or a civilizations equivalent) on it but only if you have reached at least the Castle age.