(I know Civ V is out, but I enjoy IV so much more 🙂 )
I'm figuring out my strategies for Monarch difficulty, trying to get my economy streamlined, and trade routes have popped up their head as a somewhat significant number.
My old strategy was to build roads generally on critical resources only, that provided gold, happiness, copper, whatever, and leave the non-critical developments like cottages, mines, and farms without roads on them.
Is there something to gain from building roads on every worked tile in the city cross?
Best Answer
There's no real major benefit to having roads on all tiles, although there's no real downside either, besides the opportunity cost of the worker's time.
One benefit is that if you are fighting a war, being able to move into and out of your cities to defend key tiles can be useful. Having your Cavalry stuck in a bad position after preemptively striking an enemy unit can be detrimental.
However, railroads can further improve the production of certain tile improvements - mines and lumber mills come to mind.
(Do note that this changed in Civ5, where every tile with a road on it cost you gold per turn.)