


If the Secret Societies Game Mode is enabled, the Owls of Minerva can further increase the Spy capacity by 2, allowing for a total of 8 spies, 9 if playing as Catherine de Medici. Catherine de Medici can have one more Spy than normal (6 in Vanilla and 7 from Rise and Fall onward). The maximum number of Spies a civilization can have is 5 in Vanilla and 6 from Rise and Fall onward. Note that you can always maintain a certain maximum number of Spies in your empire, similarly to Traders. The Diplomatic Service Civic allows you to train your first Spy, and subsequent Civics (and the Computers tech) will allow you to maintain more than one. Espionage becomes possible in the Renaissance Era, thanks to Civics development.
