City

Cities are the hubs around which Nations revolve. Each City is a production hub, defensive outpost, and patch of territory that allows its Nation to further expand its influence and exploit the land. Each City provides three major benefits. The first is that a City adds the land around its City Site to its Nation's territory upon founding, allowing this land to be exploited by Improvements built by Workers, generating additional Yields for its Nation. The second is that each City has a build queue which allows it to work on a single Unit, Specialist, or Project at a time by dedicating all Yields of a certain type to that production until its cost has been paid. Finally, each City is worth Victory Points based on its Culture Level, meaning that control and development of Cities is crucial for a Points Victory.

Each City must be founded by a Settler at a City Site. Settlers can only found Cities on City Sites that enemy Nations have not claimed. City Sites can be claimed by moving a Unit to the central tile. Upon founding, the City must be assigned to a Family, granting the City bonuses depending on the Family chosen. As soon as the first City is founded, an unoccupied second City Site nearby is revealed on the map. The first City founded is a Nation's Capital.

Family Affiliation

Upon founding or gaining control of a city, a player must assign one of their Nation's Families to it. Assigning new cities to a Family will provide an Family Opinion boost, but City Discontent will lower that Family's opinion, so that giving more Cities to a Family will not necessarily increase their Opinion. There is also a Family Opinion benefit if their cities are near to each other, forming a cluster. Each Family Class applies a different set of bonuses to its cities, and the first city of a Family (the Family Seat) comes with additional benefits.

Borders

Upon founding, City borders extend to each tile adjacent to the Urban tiles making up the City Site, plus two tiles in all directions from the tile the Settler founded the City on.

City borders can continue to expand into new unclaimed tiles throughout the game. New Urban Improvements and newly placed Specialists will add adjacent tiles to the borders, and special effects from research and events can also expand them. The Colonies Law and the Landowners Family Seat allow tiles adjacent to City borders to be purchased with Money by moving a Unit to the desired tile.

As detailed here, the following tiles are added to the City borders whenever borders expand, including upon founding:

• Urban tiles adjacent to city borders
• Tiles with a Resource adjacent to a tile within city borders which does not have a Resource
• Mountain and water tiles adjacent to two or more passable (not mountain) tiles within city borders, or adjacent to one passable tile within city borders if that tile is the only passable tile adjacent to the tile being added
• Tiles with city borders on two opposite sides

Yields

Each City has a base Yield of 8 Growth, 8 Training, 8 Civics, 1 Science, 5-10 Discontent (depending on difficulty), and 2-16 Money (depending on difficulty, with +10 for the capital) per turn. In addition, Resources within City borders will grant a small base Yield—for instance, Ore provides 1 Iron/Turn. All City Yields are added to the global stockpiles if one exists, or used within the City if not (in the case of Growth, Culture, and Discontent/Happiness). If a City is producing something, one of the City's Yields will be spent to produce that item instead of being added to the global stockpiles (see City Production).

Besides Resources, Cities do not provide any base Yield of Food, Stone, Iron, or . To produce these Yields, Workers must build Improvements on tiles within City borders, which will add Yields to the global stockpiles each turn.

Cities do not produce Culture or Happiness by default. These are produced by some Improvements, as well as various other effects—for instance, each City gets +2 /Turn per Religion in the City, and +1 /Turn if the State Religion is in the City.

City Production

Each City can and must work on one Unit, Specialist, or Project at a time. While the City is building something, one of its three production Yields— Growth, Training, or Civics—will be dedicated to that item until finished, instead of going to the global stockpile (in the case of Training or Civics) or towards Population growth (in the case of Growth). For example, a Slinger costs 60 , so a City with a base Yield of 8 /Turn will take 8 (60/8 rounded up) turns to build a Slinger, during which time the City's Training output will be dedicated to producing the Slinger and will not go to the global stockpile. Since all Cities start with a base yield of 8 Growth, Training and Civics per turn, even a newly-founded City can immediately start producing.

Rushing Production

Production in a City can be rushed, immediately reducing the remaining build time on an item to one turn, if certain conditions are met. Different Yields can be used to rush, with different conditions for each Yield—for instance, Civics can be used to rush if the City has a Culture Level of Developing or higher, while Orders can be used to rush if the Orthodoxy Law has been adopted. Each time City production is rushed, rush costs increase and the City gains a one-time boost to Discontent.

Hurry Production Cost

The base formula for the cost of rushing production is listed below.

1. Remaining "production units"
2. + 50% (XML stored modifier)
3. + a base cost defined for each currency
4. +10% per previous rushing in the city using the same currency
5. + another global modifier
6. + missing percent to 50% (penalty if less than 50% completed)
7. rounding up to the next round 10

Culture

Culture is a Yield produced and accumulated in each City. As a City produces Culture each turn, its Culture bar fills. Once the bar is full, the City gains a Culture level, which increases its Victory Point value by 1, triggers a Culture Event, and allows higher-level Urban Improvements and Wonders to be built in that City. The Culture Levels are Weak, Developing, Strong, and Legendary, with additional levels numbered as Legendary II, Legendary III, and so on.

Population

As accumulates, the City gains Population, which may be trained into Specialists. Each Specialist requires an idle Citizen to train.

Discontent

As Discontent accumulates, the City gains Discontent levels. Each level of Discontent reduces Science output, reduces Growth, and increases Maintenance. Discontent buildup can be slowed and eventually reversed by sources of Happiness, with each point of Happiness cancelling one point of Discontent.

Trade Network

A Nation's Trade Network consists of all Cities connected to the Capital by a continuous stretch of Roads and water (including Rivers and water tiles). Cities in the Trade Network are Connected, which grants +2 /Turn, +1 /Turn, and -10% /Turn. Riders Cities are always Connected.

Governors

If a Garrison has been built in a City, the City can be assigned a Governor for 2 and 100 . Governors apply a percent modifier to City Yields based on their stats—for example, a Governor with 3 No Icon Found Wisdom and -1 No Icon Found Discipline will grant a City +20% Science and -6% Money per turn.

In addition, Governors may have abilities which further enhance or harm a City's Yields by adding a flat Yield, possibly based on Culture Level, or a percent modifier to a certain Yield or Improvement.

Combat

Cities can be attacked and taken by Units.