Grass:

Learn how to leverage Grass terrain in Sid Meier's Civilization VII for early food, build, and trade gains, and understand its transformation options like Forests and Railroads.

Alright, let's talk about Grass in Sid Meier's Civilization VII. This is probably going to be the most common terrain you see, especially early on. Think of it as your starting bread and butter for growing your cities.

When you first settle a city, Grass tiles give you a base of 2 Food. If you're rocking a Republic or Democracy government, that bumps up to 3 Food after you irrigate it. For other governments, it's still 2 Food even after irrigation. Build points are zero from Grass itself, but if you've got a good spot for shields (build points), it's worth 1. Trade points are also zero initially, but with roads, it jumps to 2 in Republic/Democracy and 1 elsewhere. Movement cost is normal at 1, and it offers no defensive bonus.

The key thing early on is that these un-irrigated Grass tiles provide that essential Food, helping your city population boom without needing to invest in irrigation right away. Focus on irrigating other spots first if you have them.

Now, Grass isn't just static; you can actually change it up to suit your needs later in the game. Here are your options:

• Forest: This is a trade-off. Forests give you more 'Build' points (shields) for production, while Grass is better for Food. It'll take you 15 turns to convert a Grass tile into a Forest. Decide if the extra production is worth losing that food potential.
• Irrigation: While I said to hold off early, later on, irrigating Grass tiles becomes super valuable. They can jump from 2 Food to a whopping 4 Food! It only takes 5 turns to irrigate.
• Road: Building a road on Grass is a no-brainer. It costs just 2 turns to build and makes your units move three times faster. Plus, it significantly speeds up your science output, which is crucial at literally every stage of the game.
• Railroad: Once you've got a road, upgrading to a railroad is even better. It takes 4 turns to build, but it multiplies your gains by 1.5. So, if that tile was giving you 2 Food, it'll now give you 3 (remember, it's only whole numbers). If it was 3 Food, it becomes 4.

So, what's the absolute best a Grass tile can offer? An ideal, fully developed Grass spot can net you 4 Food, 1 Build point, and 2 Trade points.