Civilization · Terrain
Mountains
0 shields — 1 shield · move 3 · def +200%
Impassable to economics, priceless to defense. A Gold mountain worked by a big city funds a whole tech program.
What it does
Yields 1 shield and triples a defender's strength. Mining adds 1 shield (10 turns); mountains cannot be irrigated. A Gold special adds 6 trade — the richest tile in the game.
Key details
- Yield
- 0 shields — 1 shield, 0 food, 0 trade
- Movement cost
- 3
- Defense bonus
- +200%
- Special resource
- Gold — 1 shield, 6 trade
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.
