Desert
“Nothing lives here. Nothing grows. And yet empires have fought and died for this sand.”
Desert is barren, arid terrain that produces no yields of any kind in its natural state. These scorching wastelands of sand and rock offer nothing to a civilisation without the technology and effort to transform them. However, with irrigation through farms, even the most desolate desert can be made to bloom.
Yields
| Yield | Base Value |
|---|---|
| Food | 0 |
| Production | 0 |
| Gold | 0 |
Movement
| Movement Cost | 6 |
| Defence Bonus | None |
Valid Improvements
- Farm – +1 food (requires Agriculture)
- Road – Reduces movement cost to 2 (requires The Wheel)
Strategy
Desert tiles are, bluntly, terrible. With zero base yields across the board, an unimproved desert hex contributes absolutely nothing to your empire. Cities founded in desert regions will struggle to grow, struggle to build, and struggle to generate income. Avoid settling in the desert unless you have a compelling reason – a strategic resource, a defensive position, or no better alternative.
That said, desert is not entirely without value. Farms can coax +1 food from desert tiles, and desert hills (if present) can support mines. Desert can also serve as a natural buffer zone, since enemy armies marching through desert territory gain nothing from the barren tiles and may overextend their supply lines. If you find yourself with desert territory, prioritise farming every tile you can and look for any resources that might redeem the otherwise useless land.
Historical Background
The great deserts of the world – the Sahara, the Arabian Desert, the Gobi, the Atacama – have shaped human history as much by what they prevented as by what they contained. The Sahara served as a near-impassable barrier between Mediterranean and sub-Saharan civilisations for millennia, forcing trade along narrow corridors through oases and mountain passes. The Arabian Desert’s harsh interior concentrated populations along its coasts and in oasis cities, while the Silk Road’s passage through the Taklamakan and Gobi deserts made Central Asian trade one of the most dangerous and lucrative enterprises in the ancient world. Remarkably, some of the world’s earliest civilisations flourished in desert environments – Egypt and Mesopotamia thrived in arid regions made fertile only by the flooding of great rivers.