Does a resource have to be worked from a city?

[Padmewan]

Does a resource (strategic, luxury, health) have to be "worked" by a city's residents to "count"? I'm pretty sure the answer is "no," if only because of my Civ3 intuitions, but I'm asking only because I'm unfamiliar with health resources. Now that you can "see" the city working a tile it seems almost weird that you can benefit from a cow pasture or gold mine without seeing something happening there.

Without colonies I imagine it's impossible to benefit from something outside your borders, of course...

 

[DaEezT]

Short answer: no

A resource needs to
a) be withing your borders
b) be connected to your cities by a road/rail
c) have the resource specific improvement built on it (e.g. mine on copper)

 

[CitizenCain]

b) be connected to your cities by a road/rail

.../river/coast with sailing/ocean with optics.

 

[Nilrim]

Now that you can "see" the city working a tile it seems almost weird that you can benefit from a cow pasture or gold mine without seeing something happening there.

...

Humm I must be missing something, how can you see if a tile is being worked except from within the city screen? Is that one of the option settings?

 

[acidd_uk]

A little hut thing goes on the tile...

 

[Nilrim]

A little hut thing goes on the tile...

Oh mannn is that what that is Thanks a bunch that helps a LOT, saves me time from opening the city screen.

 

[Padmewan]

or you'll see the smoke coming out the chimneys, cars coming out of the mine, etc. It makes sense, but it doesn't... Basically, WHO is working that iron mine to give you swordsmen? But I digress. Thanks for the answers! (The river connection thing was a surprise to me when I first got the message, it reminds me of being able to move quickly up/down rivers in SMAC)

 

[mrjepson]

The real question is why aren't you using that iron mine? Those things produce an anvil!