Civilization II · Terrain
Tundra
1 food · move 1 · def +0%
Thin northern ground that feeds a citizen and little else — until you find Game or Furs on it, which are among the best specials in the game for a cold start.
What it does
Yields 1 food. Irrigation adds 1 more (10 turns); it cannot be mined. Engineers transform Tundra into Desert — rarely what you want, but it is the only route out.
Key details
- Yield
- 1 food, 0 shields, 0 trade
- Movement cost
- 1
- Defense bonus
- +0%
- Irrigation
- +1 food (10 turns)
- Transforms to
- Desert
- Special resources
- Furs — 2/0/3 · Game — 3/1/0
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.
