Trade Routes With Barb Cities

[Bloody Monk]

You fellows are way over thinking this and getting lost in the minor, ignoring the bigger picture.

You do not need to have the road/RR go all the way to a city to get the bonus. All you need is a station city along the route.

Monk

[debeest]

If I'm not mistaken, to get the delivery payoff bonus, the road has to be connected at the receiving city's end, not the sender's end. That means the receiving city has to be connected to a station city. I'd like to be wrong. Am I?

[Elephant]

You are both right. For the delivery bonus the path traces from the destination city (the Barbs) to the first city along the optimal path. For trade routes, though, the path goes from the origin city to the first city on the optimal path. For the SSC the trade route path (outgoing) is the key one, and the nearby station city can obviate the need to worry about Barbs or other civs blocking the path.