Sid Meier's Colonization (Classic) Reviews

KEEPS YOUR MIND THINKING (and young).

Begin in 1492 with a shipload of pioneers and set up a colony in the Americas. Grow crops, mine ore and trap furs, shipping unrefined goods back to Europe for profit. Found new colonies and strive for self-sufficiency, building factories where you can produce more profitable goods such as cloth and coats. At the same time, maintain a strong standing army to fend off resentful natives and aggressors from other European nations. Set up schools and colleges for vocational training, build printing presses and newspapers to raise political awareness of the new nation you are creating. Eventually you'll want to issue an ultimatum to the King to cast off an ever-increasing tax burden. This results in an invasion by the King's armies and a long, hard-fought war of independence. I've enjoyed this turn-based game for 30 years. It has great depth, and while it always follows the same general course, getting from A to B can vary greatly according to decisions made by the player. The graphics are full of vibrant colour.

old school turn based game, like something from the 80's. solid game.

Literally the best game i have ever played. Its mechanics are the simple enough to learn but complex enough to be very rewarding even when you've been playing for years. It should get more attention

Not much to add that hasn't been said already, but with all its shortcomings it's still a highly addictive game even after some 30+ years.

remember this from the 90s and still good fun today, has that "just one more turn" feeling.

Colonization was released before Civilization II. The gameplay is a nice amalgamation of both, except you are trying to build trade and military might while dealing with both hostile natives and other colonial powers. Some specialists can only be trained in native settlements (or, if random numbers favor you, a colonist working in the fields may develop the master planter skill you need). Killing native villages severely impacts your score, but it can be hard to watch goods stolen, settlements burned, and units killed without retaliation. One of the worst aspects of the game is that the other colonial powers will surround your settlements, making it nearly impossible to develop the land around them. You can fight them or buy them off, but they will return unless you surround your settlements with units of some sort. They do not have to be military. Note that assimilated natives disappear after a few turns if not put to use in your colonies. The endgame is when you fight your War of Independence. It is time-consuming and boring (not much improved in the Civ 4: Colonization version). If you have piles of cash, you can keep buying mercenaries. The other colonial powers will not fight you during your struggle, but most of the natives will. The Custom House improvement will help cash flow during the end, but taxes will be insane—unless you follow the Spanish strategy I outline below. I will often play up to the time of revolution and then start over without actually fighting the war—just a game of developing resources, building efficient cities, and avoiding conflict as much as possible. Whatever you do, don’t have colonies strung out across different continents or far from each other. Moving units over water is tricky and slow. When cavalry are defeated, they become infantry. Keep a large store of horses (in ships, as wagons are limited to one per settlement—seven settlements = seven wagons, but they can be in any settlement) to keep troops armed. For better scores, as you fight your last battles of independence, move your soldiers back into towns and make them productive citizens again—settlement size factors into the final score, and soldiers that are just sitting around don’t help much. Can every game be won? Probably, but if you start too close to another colonial power, prepare for your king to involve you in pointless wars and collect taxes like mad. If you do feel like looting and pillaging, find the Aztec and Incan civilizations and plunder them—after making Cortez part of your founding fathers and playing only as Spain (they get a bonus against natives). I guess if you want to really go for the gold, guns, and glory, send a lot of missionaries. It is despicable, but it is an easy strategy. If you go this route, you’ll turn down every tax your king offers you—0% taxes is what you want.