Civilization III food, shields, commerce and city growth
Read the city screen before adding another settler or expensive building.
Edition covered
Civilization III fundamentals, using Complete as the pictured edition. Complete includes Play the World and Conquests; expansion civilizations, traits, units and scenarios differ from the 2001 base game. Scenario rules can override the standard epic-game rules.
Separate the three tile yields
Food supports population, shields build units and improvements, and commerce funds the national budget. A city working a high-commerce tile may still starve if its food balance is negative.
| Yield | Main use | Typical improvement |
|---|---|---|
| Food | Population support and growth | Irrigation on suitable terrain |
| Shields | Unit and building production | Mines on suitable terrain |
| Commerce | Research, treasury and luxuries | Roads on worked tiles |
| Culture | Border growth and cultural influence | Temple, Library and other cultural buildings |
Build for the local bottleneck
A Granary accelerates repeated growth by retaining food, while an Aqueduct permits growth beyond the normal size-six limit when fresh water does not already satisfy the requirement. These solve different problems.
| Building | Main effect | Useful when |
|---|---|---|
| Granary | Retains part of the food box after growth | Repeated growth or settler production |
| Aqueduct | Allows larger cities without suitable fresh water | A settlement is stuck at size six |
| Hospital | Allows growth beyond size twelve | Late-game population is constrained |
| Marketplace | Improves tax income and luxury benefits | A commercial city has connected luxuries |
| Library | Improves research and adds culture | A science-producing city needs investment |
Remember the settler population cost
Settlers consume population as well as production. A city that is too small cannot complete the normal settler cycle efficiently, so pair expansion with reliable food and roads to the next site.
Control disorder early
Unhappy citizens can halt a city's work. Luxuries, the luxury slider, happiness buildings and suitable government tools provide different solutions; inspect the citizen display before ending the turn.
Unhappy citizens can halt a city's work. Luxuries, the luxury slider, happiness buildings and suitable government tools provide different solutions; inspect the citizen display before ending the turn.
References
| Reference | Website |
|---|---|
| Publisher game and edition listing | store.steampowered.com |
| Publisher manual | shared.fastly.steamstatic.com |