You can choose to adopt policies once you have gained Culture to unlock your first government. Policies will be unlocked as you progress through the Civics Tree, and changing your government will allow you to slot different combinations of policies to better suit your play style. Any time a new government or policy is unlocked from the Civics Tree, you will have the opportunity to reselect policies or change your government for free. Otherwise, there will be a cost to make these changes.
Gaining Policies
You can choose to adopt policies once you have gained Culture to unlock your first government. Policies will be unlocked as you progress through the Civics Tree, and changing your government will allow you to slot different combinations of policies to better suit your play style. Any time a new government or policy is unlocked from the Civics Tree, you will have the opportunity to reselect policies or change your government for free. Otherwise, there will be a cost to make these changes.