The big fat cross (commonly abbreviated by players as BFC) is the workable area of a city in the first four Civilization games. The BFC is the 5×5 square area centered on the city-center tile, minus the four corner tiles. When looking at a city on the city screen, these tiles will be shown normally, with tiles outside the BFC somewhat darkened.
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BFC on city screen in Sid Meier's Civilization
BFC on city screen in Civilization III

