Open Borders

[logicman49]

I have issues with this. It seems you need it for trade and good realations but I tend to always choose 'Care to negotiate' and try for a trade instead. The AI always takes my targeted spots that I am building settlers for a city and they create a city. I hate this. Anyone else have a comment?

[Thrak]

Sure.

Go open borders once you have blocked the civ-facing border area with your culture, and anytime you see a settler enter your culture just cancel the deal.

You can cancel it immeditely after 10 turns ^^

[Palpster]

I usually don't open borders until I've got the cities (resources) I really want. After that anyone's welcome unless I can lock them up in a corner or I feel keeping a good relationship with their enemy is better.

[snoopy369]

OB is not that important until later in the game anyway - you can always go OB with a civ that's not immediately near you if you want the trade, but when it's just one trade route and 1 commerce per route, for 5 or 6 cities, that's not a big deal. Settle out your area (and you should be doing this early), and then make your OBs.

[joncnunn]

Early game Open vs Closed Borders is very much a function of the map. If your in a wide open map, it does no good to keep the borders closed, they'll find a path that doesn't cross your culture to found that city anyway.

It's only if you have a cultural choke point set up that keeping the borders closed will keep the AI out of your desired spots.