Coast

“Where the land meets the sea, fortune awaits – for those brave enough to cast their nets.”

Coast represents shallow waters near land, teeming with marine life and offering access to maritime trade. These tiles produce a modest combination of food and gold, and can be significantly improved with Fishing Nets once Sailing technology is researched. Coastal tiles are only workable by cities within range, and only naval units can enter them.

Yields

Movement

Valid Improvements

• Fishing Nets – +2 food (requires Sailing)

Strategy

Coastal tiles are valuable additions to any city’s working radius. Their base yields of 1 food and 1 gold are modest but useful, and once Fishing Nets are built, coastal tiles become excellent food sources – 3 food and 1 gold per tile rivals the best land-based improvements. Cities with access to several coastal tiles can grow rapidly once Sailing is researched.

Settling on the coast also opens up naval production and maritime trade. A coastal city can build naval units for exploration, trade, and warfare, while an inland city cannot. In games with significant water on the map, coastal positioning is essential. However, coastal cities are also vulnerable to naval attack, so be prepared to defend your shoreline once rival civilisations develop navies of their own.

When evaluating city locations, count the coastal tiles within working range. Three or more coastal tiles with Fishing Nets can transform an otherwise mediocre city site into a food powerhouse. Prioritise researching Sailing if you have coastal cities to unlock this potential early.

Historical Background

Coastal waters have sustained human populations since the earliest migrations out of Africa. Shell middens – ancient refuse heaps of discarded shells – found along coastlines worldwide testify to the importance of marine resources in prehistoric diets. The coastal waters of the Mediterranean, the North Sea, the South China Sea, and the Pacific Northwest supported dense populations long before the development of agriculture.

As civilisations advanced, coastal waters became highways of commerce and conduits of cultural exchange. The Phoenicians, Greeks, and Romans built their empires around the Mediterranean’s coastal trade routes. Fishing villages grew into trading ports, and trading ports into great cities – Athens, Carthage, Venice, and Constantinople all owed their prominence to their coastal positions.