Civilization · Terrain
Swamp
1 food · move 2 · def +50%
Worthless wetland with one exception — Oil, which turns the bog into one of the strongest production tiles in the game.
What it does
Yields 1 food. Irrigation drains Swamp to Grassland (15 turns); mining converts it to Forest (15 turns). Oil specials add 4 shields.
Key details
- Yield
- 1 food, 0 shields, 0 trade
- Movement cost
- 2
- Defense bonus
- +50%
- Special resource
- Oil — 1 food, 4 shields
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.
