destroy or capture an AI-city of size 1

[Karl Biedermann]

Dear Experts,
when I approach enemies`cities with my soldiers early in the game, all of a sudden they atre reudced in size to 1. Whenn I attack them and win the battle, they are destroyed in most cases and captured in some seldom cases even with the size of 1.
I would like to learn the reasons for these variances.
Thanks in advance
Karl-Eduard.Biedermann@t-online.de

[SpencerH]

Not that I'm an expert, but the deciding factor whether or not a size 1 city is either destroyed or captured is its culture value. A size one city with no improvements is very likely to be destroyed but a size 1 with a temple is not.

[Willem]

They're reduced in size because the enemy civ is either pop rushing or drafting. If you manage to capture the city intact, you generally don't want to keep it. Doing these things creates unhappiness in the city, which can compound negatively. Meaning that, if a civ pop rushes 5 times, losing 5 citizens, when the population starts growing again, the first 5 new citizens will be unhappy.

And if you try and build a Settler from this city, the unhappiness will be carried with the unit into the next city it builds.

[jdjdjd]

Yes, razing these cities and then bringing in your own settler to take over the location, assumning there's some strategic importance seems to be the best way to deal with these cities.