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Everyone knows that workers and settlers are the only units that you absoloutely must build to win (ok, so maybe you could get along without them but it wouldn't be fun). When to build and how to use workers are some of the most important concepts in the game. By following a simple set of rules, you can keep your improvement habbits successful and do-able. So here is how I think it should be done (feel free to tell me you think I'm wrong at any time but keep in mind that this is merely as set of ground-rules and I'm not saying it is the ONLY thing that should ever be done).
First, for inland cities:
The first priority is, of course resources. Thes provide substanial benefits to every city. They should be accessed first unless it halts growth. After accessing resouces, review the surrounding terrain, health, and happiness of a city. If your city looks as if it may go into unhappiness or very serious unhealthiness soon: make growth controlable. Build cottages and a mine or two so that your growth hovers arround zero in a very controllable fashion. Basically, you are stalling until conditions improve.
If you rid yourself of the impending unhappiness or unhealthiness (or never had it), then you can proceed with growing. Immediately build a few farms on floodplains or grasslands if you have none (plains if you don't even have grasslands) and watch the population skyrocket. Once you see that your city will be able to grow to a size in the teens, stop building farms. However, AS LONG AS YOU HAVE FLATLAND GRASSLAND/FLOODPLAIN TILES LEFT AND ARE FREE OF HEALTH/HAPPINESS BURDENS, NEVER BUILD MINES. PRODUCTION CAN WAIT FOR FOOD UNDER ALL CIRCUMSTANCES. If you are an advanced player, breaking this rule can provide advantages, but do so at your own peril. Instead of mines build cottages everywhere. When only plains are left, then, and only then, consider stopping. AT THIS POINT, AND ONLY AT THIS POINT, BEGIN TO SPECIALIZE (or don't if you don't want to). If it is to be a commerce city, continue with the cottages or go with scientists/merchants. If it is to be a production city, go with mines, engineers, or priests. If it is to be a GP factory, go with farms until you can farm no more or have health/happiness problems, then use as many specialists as makes your city growth stagnant. If it is to be a hybrid, consider all options, but do all the farms and cottages you will make first.
For costal cities: ensure resources just like for other cities. If your health/happiness is endangered, go ahead with mines and cottages.
After this problem is fixed (or if it never occurred), build farms until you forsee growth into the teens. This is essentially like an inland city except that the 2 food (lighthouse is a must), 2 commerce sea squares available will probably make this point occur much earlier (the farm step may be entirely unecessary). Once again, build cottages as you would for inland cities. When you have cottaged all 2+ food tiles, out to the sea you go. Stay out there until health/happiness or like of tiles stops you. Then, build mines, cottages, and farms and utilize specialists in the manner most conductive to your long term or (I hate to say this but it is acceptable so I will) even your short term goals. But remember, FARMS AND COTTAGES FIRST.
You may be wondering why I have not mentioned trees once, ignore them in your improving habbits. If they die, so be it. If they live, so be it. Let me re-iterate myself: resist the urge to go for ealy production; killing population unnecessarily cutting down trees, and mining prematurely will cause you nightmares in the mid-game. Waiting for production to naturally come will give you a gigantic mid-game boom that hurtles you into first place and lasts for ever. The moral is: food, commerce, production and specialists; in that order; almost every time.
First, for inland cities:
The first priority is, of course resources. Thes provide substanial benefits to every city. They should be accessed first unless it halts growth. After accessing resouces, review the surrounding terrain, health, and happiness of a city. If your city looks as if it may go into unhappiness or very serious unhealthiness soon: make growth controlable. Build cottages and a mine or two so that your growth hovers arround zero in a very controllable fashion. Basically, you are stalling until conditions improve.
If you rid yourself of the impending unhappiness or unhealthiness (or never had it), then you can proceed with growing. Immediately build a few farms on floodplains or grasslands if you have none (plains if you don't even have grasslands) and watch the population skyrocket. Once you see that your city will be able to grow to a size in the teens, stop building farms. However, AS LONG AS YOU HAVE FLATLAND GRASSLAND/FLOODPLAIN TILES LEFT AND ARE FREE OF HEALTH/HAPPINESS BURDENS, NEVER BUILD MINES. PRODUCTION CAN WAIT FOR FOOD UNDER ALL CIRCUMSTANCES. If you are an advanced player, breaking this rule can provide advantages, but do so at your own peril. Instead of mines build cottages everywhere. When only plains are left, then, and only then, consider stopping. AT THIS POINT, AND ONLY AT THIS POINT, BEGIN TO SPECIALIZE (or don't if you don't want to). If it is to be a commerce city, continue with the cottages or go with scientists/merchants. If it is to be a production city, go with mines, engineers, or priests. If it is to be a GP factory, go with farms until you can farm no more or have health/happiness problems, then use as many specialists as makes your city growth stagnant. If it is to be a hybrid, consider all options, but do all the farms and cottages you will make first.
For costal cities: ensure resources just like for other cities. If your health/happiness is endangered, go ahead with mines and cottages.
After this problem is fixed (or if it never occurred), build farms until you forsee growth into the teens. This is essentially like an inland city except that the 2 food (lighthouse is a must), 2 commerce sea squares available will probably make this point occur much earlier (the farm step may be entirely unecessary). Once again, build cottages as you would for inland cities. When you have cottaged all 2+ food tiles, out to the sea you go. Stay out there until health/happiness or like of tiles stops you. Then, build mines, cottages, and farms and utilize specialists in the manner most conductive to your long term or (I hate to say this but it is acceptable so I will) even your short term goals. But remember, FARMS AND COTTAGES FIRST.
You may be wondering why I have not mentioned trees once, ignore them in your improving habbits. If they die, so be it. If they live, so be it. Let me re-iterate myself: resist the urge to go for ealy production; killing population unnecessarily cutting down trees, and mining prematurely will cause you nightmares in the mid-game. Waiting for production to naturally come will give you a gigantic mid-game boom that hurtles you into first place and lasts for ever. The moral is: food, commerce, production and specialists; in that order; almost every time.
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