The support of your units will be one of your major expenses.
Each unit requires one production point per turn,
except for settlers and engineers — the two units derived
from citizens — which instead require one or two food points
per turn depending on your form of government. Note that autocratic
governments force cities to support several units for free, which
can save production points for other uses.
Every action undertaken by a unit consumes movement points. This
manual describes each action in the section where it is most
relevant; see the index for the full list of actions. Actions
require one movement point unless otherwise noted.
Note that military units, settlers, and engineers cannot move
between squares adjacent to enemy units — they must retreat
into unthreatened territory before again coming into range of an
enemy unit — unless the square they enter already holds a
friendly city or unit. Note also that land units can embark and
disembark from transports whenever the transport is adjacent to
land or another transport — this does not require ports or
other facilities.
Bronze Age |
Expansion and primitive warfare require no technology. Settlers
can not only found new cities, but improve land and build
roads.
|
 |
Phalanx
Cost:20 M:1
A:1 D:2 HP:10 FP:1 |
 |
Archers
Cost:30 M:1
A:3 D:2 HP:10 FP:1 |
These three units require only one technology each. They provide
heavy defense, mobile offense, and heavy offense.
|
Iron Age |
 |
Trireme
Cost:40 M:3 C:2
A:1 D:1 HP:10 FP:1 |
This simple transport must end each turn near shore or suffer a
50% chance of sinking.
|
 |
Chariot
Cost:30 M:2
A:3 D:1 HP:10 FP:1 |
 |
Legion
Cost:40 M:1
A:4 D:2 HP:10 FP:1 |
A second tier of more expensive and capable units becomes
available. Attack strength outpaces defense strength, making
defense difficult outside of walled cities.
|
Besides building an embassy, your diplomat can attempt to bribe
or incite rebellion, and perform espionage and sabotage; see the
section on diplomacy.
|
Age of Exploration |
Because explorers treat all terrain as roads, each move expends
only one third of their one point.
 |
Caravan
Cost:50 M:1
A:0 D:1 HP:10 FP:1 |
Each caravan can enhance trade by creating a trade route, or can
carry production points to contribute toward a Wonder.
|
 |
Pikemen
Cost:20 M:1
A:1 D:2 HP:10 FP:1
Obsoletes Warriors, Phalanx |
 |
Knights
Cost:40 M:2
A:4 D:2 HP:10 FP:1
Obsoletes Horsemen, Chariot |
Both feudalism and chivalry advance
military organization and make most Bronze Age units obsolete.
Pikemen are similar to the phalanx but are doubly effective against
horsemen, chariots, knights, and dragoons.
|
 |
Caravel
Cost:40 M:3 C:3
A:2 D:1 HP:10 FP:1
Obsoletes Trireme |
The caravel offers greater capacity than the trireme and does
not need to remain near shore.
|
Age of Gunpowder |
 |
Galleon
Cost:40 M:4 C:4
A:0 D:2 HP:20 FP:1
Obsoletes Caravel |
 |
Frigate
Cost:50 M:4 C:2
A:4 D:2 HP:20 FP:1 |
 |
Ironclad
Cost:60 M:4
A:4 D:4 HP:30 FP:1
Obsoletes Frigate |
Magnetism
replaces the caravel with two ships: the high capacity galleon and
the heavily armed frigate. The steam engine
offers the even more specialized ironclad warship.
|
 |
Musketeers
Cost:30 M:1
A:3 D:3 HP:20 FP:1
Obsoletes Legion, Archers, Pikemen |
 |
Dragoons
Cost:50 M:2
A:5 D:2 HP:20 FP:1
Obsoletes Knights |
 |
Cannon
Cost:40 M:1
A:8 D:1 HP:20 FP:1
Obsoletes Catapult |
The advent of gunpowder and the
advances which follow make all earlier combat units obsolete. Since
this advance does not require feudalism, the
medieval units may be skipped by those eager to reach powder. The
new units follow roughly the bronze age pattern of heavy defense,
mobile offense, and heavy offense, except that musketeers are
really as strong attacking as defending.
|
 |
Engineers
Cost:40 M:2
A:0 D:2 HP:20 FP:1
Obsoletes Settlers |
Engineers work twice as fast as settlers and offer more ways in
which land can be transformed.
|
The Industrial Age |
 |
Transport
Cost:50 M:5 C:8
A:0 D:3 HP:30 FP:1
Obsoletes Galleon |
 |
Destroyer
Cost:60 M:6
A:4 D:4 HP:30 FP:1
Obsoletes Ironclad |
Both the transport and warship are replaced by more powerful
versions. These and all later ships can see two squares away rather
than one.
|
 |
Riflemen
Cost:40 M:1
A:5 D:4 HP:20 FP:1
Obsoletes Musketeers |
 |
Cavalry
Cost:60 M:2
A:8 D:3 HP:20 FP:1
Obsoletes Dragoons |
Rifles give foot soldiers greater attack than defense strength
for the first time since the ancient legions. Cavalry are simply an
improvement over dragoons.
Like explorers, alpine troops expend only one-third of a
movement point to move one square. Beware that attacking with only
a partial movement remaining reduces your attack strength to that
fraction of its normal value.
|
 |
Freight
Cost:50 M:2
A:0 D:1 HP:10 FP:1
Obsoletes Caravan |
 |
Spy Cost:30
M:3
A:0 D:0 HP:10 FP:1
Obsoletes Diplomat |
Both trade and diplomacy gain mobility. Spies are capable of more actions than diplomats; can
be given more precise orders; and often survive and can be
reused.
|
Modern Technology |
 |
Cruiser
Cost:80 M:5
A:6 D:6 HP:30 FP:2 |
Two new warships offer less mobility but vastly enhanced
firepower.
 |
Submarine
Cost:60 M:3 C:8
A:10 D:2 HP:30 FP:2 |
The submarine compensates for its weak defense by stealth
— the ship is invisible to any units that are not immediately
adjacent. Unlike other ships it cannot attack land units, and can
only carry missiles.
|
 |
Marines
Cost:60 M:1
A:8 D:5 HP:20 FP:1 |
Not only are marines powerful troops, but they are the only land
units that can attack directly from ships (instead of having to
move onto land first).
 |
Partisan
Cost:50 M:1
A:4 D:4 HP:20 FP:1
Obsoletes Explorer |
The partisan behaves like an armed explorer, treating all
terrain as roads and thus requiring only one-third movement point
to move one square. Some cities will generate them when conquered
(the details are described here). Remember that they are weakened
when attacking with less than a full movement point.
 |
Artillery
Cost:50 M:1
A:10 D:1 HP:20 FP:2
Obsoletes Cannon |
Bombardment continues its steady advance.
|
 |
Fighter
Cost:60 M:10
A:4 D:3 HP:20 FP:2 |
With flight
combat takes to the air. While aircraft can attack ground units,
they can themselves be engaged only by other aircraft, and cannot
enter and take undefended enemy cities. Fighters need fuel to avoid
crashing and thus must end every turn in a city or on a
carrier.
|
High Technology |
 |
Carrier
Cost:160 M:5 C:8
A:1 D:9 HP:40 FP:2 |
The defense strength of the AEGIS cruiser is double when
attacked by an aircraft or missile. While transports can carry only
land units, the carrier may bear only aircraft.
|
 |
Armor
Cost:80 M:3
A:10 D:5 HP:30 FP:1
Obsoletes Cavalry |
 |
Howitzer
Cost:70 M:2
A:12 D:2 HP:30 FP:2
Obsoletes Artillery |
The final generation of ground forces offers the familiar choice
between heavy attack strength and defense capability. When
attacking units within cities, the howitzer negates any defense
advantage that would be offered by city walls.
Unlike other airborne units, the helicopter can conquer an
undefended enemy city like a land unit. Like bombers they expend
all their remaining movement points when they attack an enemy
target. Though they do not crash for ending their turn outside a
friendly city, it does cause two hit points of damage.
|
 |
Bomber
Cost:120 M:8
A:12 D:1 HP:20 FP:2 |
Bombers can end one turn aloft before returning to a city or
carrier to refuel. They can make only one attack each turn which
expends all their remaining movement points, stranding them until
their next turn when to survive they must return to refuel.
 |
Nuclear
Cost:160 M:16
A:99 D:0 HP:10 FP:1 |
To survive, missiles must end each turn in a city or upon a
carrier or submarine. They are always destroyed when they finally
attack. The effects of a nuclear missile are described here.
|
The Space Age |
The final military advances produce stealth aircraft. While not
actually invisible to opponents, they offer greater strength and
longer range than the aircraft they replace.
|