Civilization II · Terrain
Glacier
0 food · move 2 · def +0%
The polar cap, and the emptiest square in the game — unless it is hiding Ivory or Oil, in which case it is suddenly one of the richest.
What it does
Yields nothing at all. Mining adds 1 shield, but takes 15 turns. Engineers can transform Glacier into Tundra. Irrigation is impossible.
Key details
- Yield
- 0 food, 0 shields, 0 trade
- Movement cost
- 2
- Defense bonus
- +0%
- Mining
- +1 shield (15 turns)
- Transforms to
- Tundra
- Special resources
- Ivory — 1/1/4 · Oil — 0/4/0
About terrain in Civilization II
Every land square is one of eleven terrain types, and a river can run across any of them. Each type has a yield in food, shields and trade, a movement cost and a defense multiplier. Settlers irrigate, mine and build roads; Engineers — unlocked by Explosives — go further and transform one terrain type into another entirely, which is how a swamp becomes farmland and a mountain becomes hills.
Strategy — A river is the best thing that can happen to a city site in Civilization II: +1 trade on the square, a 50% defense bonus, and the water access irrigation needs without a lake or coast nearby. After that, look for hills — a city built on one is mined and irrigated for free and doubles every defender standing in it.
