When do you want to make Cottages?

[Ghengis Thom]

I have a hard time not just wanting to make Food/Production. Any one have a simple tip as to when its best to make Cottages?

Ghengis Thom

[Didymus]

I would say, if you are isolated on an island, build cottages and farms first, since shield don't matter yet -- you need growth and money for research. On a crowded map, pimp growth, then switch. The thing about cottages is, they grow into hamlets, villages, and towns the longer they are worked, which means bigger gold bonuses.
The beauty of Civ4 is it all depends.
Dealing with Raging barbarians? Lots of shield for military is recommended!
Also, traits matter here. If you have the financial trait, a cottage on grasslands/plain next to a river yields +3 gold (+1 for river, +1 for cottage, +1 for financial). Early on, that can help you snag that religion-founding tech one turn ahead of your rivals.

[Ghengis Thom]

Thanks Didymus.
That helped quite a bit. I dont why I couldnt wrap my head around it.