Buying a tile: Why does the cost change?

[FilthyRobot]

So I just started a game. I settled my city (which instantly takes all of the first ring), and there's a hill 1 tile outside of my first ring. Initially the tile was 75g. Within a few turns (possibly after I finished a monument, if it matters) the tile dropped to 55g.

Why did the tile change price and how can I predict when tiles will change price and how much they will cost?

 

[danaphanous]

I have no idea, but I noticed costs go down in some places as you accumulate culture and after the city expands near the same tile.

 

[KrikkitTwo]

I have no idea, but I noticed costs go down in some places as you accumulate culture and after the city expands near the same tile.

Costs depend on
1. if the tile has rough/water terrain
2. if the tile is in the 2nd or third ring
3. if the tile is one of the ones that would be selected next anyways*
4. the number of tiles you have bought throughout your empire

*that is probably the one that matters... your city probably just got its first choice, and the tile you are looking at is the next choice

 

[FilthyRobot]

Costs depend on
1. if the tile has rough/water terrain
2. if the tile is in the 2nd or third ring
3. if the tile is one of the ones that would be selected next anyways*
4. the number of tiles you have bought throughout your empire

*that is probably the one that matters... your city probably just got its first choice, and the tile you are looking at is the next choice

There's a missing component somewhere, because those factors don't quite explain what happened.

My city was growing for a Deer in the second ring. There were 2 hills, both in my second ring. They were 75g each. The city either grew to the deer, or was one turn away from that, and then the hills, both of them, became 55g. Additionally, after the city finished the deer, it switched to a oasis in my 2nd ring.

Also, I'm fairly certain cultural borders don't like crossing rivers.

 

[LoneRebel]

I think KrikkitTwo's explanation does explain what happened. The city grew to the deer tile, so the next preferred tiles were the hill tiles, so they became cheaper.

Although the cultural expansion of cities seems to put a pretty low priority on hills, which means I have to buy them sometimes.

Another thing I've consistently noticed is that tiles that have a natural resource or natural wonder on them are consistently cheaper than plain tiles. This is somewhat contrary to expectations because normally one would expect more valuable tiles to cost more. Instead, it seems that it's better to buy those valuable tiles and let cultural expansion take care of the less valuable ones.

 

[joncnunn]

Predicting when cost will go down:
That's easy whenever it culturally takes the last of the lowest price tiles, all prices of remaining tiles drop; basically what was second cheapest is now cheapest, what was third cheapest is second cheapest, etc.

Also discovering the tech for a strategic resource sometimes lowers the price for that one tile.

Predicting when prices will increase:
Even easier, every time you cash buy a tile, cash buying of all future tiles goes up 5 gold.

 

[TamirLenk]

On tile expansion, I know chopping redirects the expansion. Is there any way to get hills? I always end up buying them. For instance, does the city focus impact expansion at all?

 

[GWashington]

Well you built a monument which decreased culture tile costs, so the same probably happened with the gold due to the monument.

 

[HorseshoeHermit]

City focus doesn't change expansion, but constructing tile improvements or chopping can steer the governor towards a tile. A trick I like is building forts on strategics or 4th ring luxuries. You can't depend on it but I know chopping and forts can change the governor immediately.

 

[Fluffball]

There's a missing component somewhere, because those factors don't quite explain what happened.

My city was growing for a Deer in the second ring. There were 2 hills, both in my second ring. They were 75g each. The city either grew to the deer, or was one turn away from that, and then the hills, both of them, became 55g. Additionally, after the city finished the deer, it switched to a oasis in my 2nd ring.

Also, I'm fairly certain cultural borders don't like crossing rivers.

I believe the missing component is that i have noticed the cost of tiles also seems to relate to the number of adjacent tiles you already own so when it was 75g you probably owned 1 tile adjacent to it for example but then you expanded to the dear next to it and then had 2 tiles adjacent to it. You can consider the effect like the flanking bonus for combat.