Civilization · Terrain
Desert
0 food · move 1 · def +0%
Dry but workable — a mined desert matches a plains tile for shields, and an Oasis rivals the best food tiles in the game.
What it does
Yields 1 shield. Irrigation adds 1 food (5 turns), mining adds 1 shield (5 turns), a road adds 1 trade. An Oasis special turns the tile into a 3-food breadbasket.
Key details
- Yield
- 0 food, 1 shield, 0 trade
- Movement cost
- 1
- Defense bonus
- +0%
- Special resource
- Oasis — 3 food
About terrain in Civilization
Every map square is one of twelve terrain types, each with a yield of food, shields and trade, a movement cost, and a defense bonus. Settlers improve tiles with irrigation, mines and roads — and some improvements transform the terrain itself (clearing Forest to Plains, draining Swamp to Grassland). Special resources like Coal, Gems or Fish appear in fixed cluster patterns and dramatically boost a tile's yield.
Strategy — Cities live on food: settle on Rivers or beside Grassland and Plains. Under Despotism any tile producing 3+ of a resource is penalized one — so don't waste early Settler turns irrigating grassland; road the shield-grassland first.
