I keep seeing this phrase, but I'm not sure I get what it means.

Could someone explain what the 'culture bomb' is, and, in brief, how it is used?

Thanks as always.

The "Culture Bomb" refers to the use of a Great Artist to create a great work in a city. This instantly creates a large amount of culture in the city, which can cause the borders to expand multiple times (assuming a low amount of culture in the city to start with), and possibly cause nearby foreign citoes to switch sides to you. It is also often used in newly captured cities as it immediately terminates any revolt in progress, and expands the borders.

An excellent guide that explains the use of the culture bomb is at:

http://civ4info.com/Sullla/civ4_walk_4.html . I recommend you read the whole guide as well, it's awesome! :goodjob: There's a lot of strategic uses for a culture bomb, some of which MrCynical covered. :)