Worker
“Give me stone and I shall build you roads. Give me seed and I shall feed your people.”
The Worker embodies the tireless labour force that transforms raw wilderness into productive terrain. These skilled engineers, farmers, and builders construct the improvements that turn a fledgling settlement into a thriving empire.
Stats
| Stat | Value |
|---|---|
| Attack | 0 |
| Defence | 0 |
| Movement | 2 |
| Range | – |
| Cost | 40 Production |
| Required Tech | None |
| Required Resource | None |
Abilities
- Build Improvement – Constructs terrain improvements on the current hex:
- Farm – Increases food output of the tile.
- Mine – Increases production output of the tile.
- Road – Connects tiles for faster movement and trade routes.
- Lumber Mill – Harvests forest tiles for production.
- Quarry – Extracts stone resources.
- Plantation – Works luxury resource tiles.
- Pasture – Improves animal resource tiles.
Upgrade Path
The Worker has no upgrade path. It is a unique civilian unit available from the start of the game.
Strategy
Workers are the backbone of your economy. Without them, your cities sit surrounded by unimproved land, producing a fraction of their potential output. Prioritise building at least one Worker early to begin improving tiles around your capital – farms for growth, mines for production, and roads to connect your cities.
Like Settlers, Workers are defenceless and can be captured by enemy units. A captured Worker is put to work for the conquering empire, making them a tempting target for aggressive neighbours. Keep Workers behind your front lines during wartime, and always have a military unit nearby during peacetime if barbarians roam the map.
Historical Background
The organised labour forces of antiquity accomplished feats that still astonish modern engineers. The Roman road network, stretching over 400,000 kilometres at its peak, was built by military engineers and conscripted labourers who laid foundations of crushed stone topped with carefully fitted paving slabs. These roads endured for centuries and many modern European highways still follow their routes.
In agrarian societies, the transformation of land through irrigation, terracing, and crop rotation represented an equally impressive achievement. The qanat systems of ancient Persia channelled water from mountain aquifers through underground tunnels spanning dozens of kilometres, turning arid plains into fertile farmland – a technology so effective that many qanats remain in use today.