Cutting an AI's resource

[MrWhereItsAt]

I had my best laid plans go awry in my latest game when the Zulus managed to upgrade to Axemen after connecting Copper. It was surprising enough that I had to stop and consider what to do.

Am I right in saying that, although having enemy troops sitting on a resource like Copper denies a nearby city the ability to WORK that tile, it does NOT deny them USE of the resource?

I declared war and moved my warriors onto the sole Zulu Copper tile as soon as it was connected. I noticed that turn they had only warriors in the city next door, and with several forests and no road between that city and their next one, there was no way anything could have made the trip within that turn. Yet next turn one of the warriors in the close city was now an Axeman, showing that the Zulus were still able to upgrade their warrior after I had moved MY warriors to (what I thought would) block their use of the Copper.

Or the alternative explanation I can think of is that the Zulus upgraded as soon as the road was connected, before I declared war, only the upgrade didn't actually happen until the turn AFTER. Which seems less likely.

Am I right in the first instance?

[rah]

Did they have Iron?

[Kuciwalker]

I'm pretty sure you have to pillage the mine.

[Tattila the Hun]

Originally posted by Kuciwalker
I'm pretty sure you have to pillage the mine.

Yep, just sitting on it does nothing. It does prevent the city from using it for hammers. Come to think of it, it really should stop the flow of the resource, when you have a hostile army merely occupying the square...

[MrWhereItsAt]

Originally posted by rah
Did they have Iron?

No way, rah. I only concocted my plan to switch gears to military and wipe them out when I found out they were trapped on a peninsula right next to me, and with the exception of the copper they plonked a city next to before my borders grew enough (blast them!) they had nothing - no Horses, Iron or Copper.

Thanks sky, Tattila - I was all set to post here about a bug when I realised after mulling over it for around a day that this was likely the case. With better knowledge, I will go and crash their party before they finish the road this time!