Sid Meier's Colonization

About Sid Meier's Colonization

Sid Meier's Colonization (1994) is Brian Reynolds and Sid Meier's turn-based strategy game of European colonisation of the New World from 1492, in which the goal is to build self-sufficient colonies and win independence from the crown.

Sid Meier's Colonization in Depth

The player leads the colonial efforts of England, France, the Netherlands or Spain, each with its own bonuses, on a historical map of America or a random New World. Eight Indigenous nations appear, from semi-nomadic Apache, Sioux and Tupi through agrarian Arawaks, Cherokee and Iroquois to the Aztecs and Incas. Starting with a ship and two units in 1492, players explore, meet Native peoples, found colonies and work the surrounding land, turning raw materials such as cotton and tobacco into cloth and cigars to sell in Europe at prices that rise and fall with supply and demand, while the king raises taxes. Colonists range from free citizens to indentured servants and petty criminals, and can be educated in schools, colleges and universities or trained by living in Native settlements. Missionaries can convert settlements, scouts may find the Fountain of Youth, horses breed in well-fed colonies, and pioneers build roads and clear land.

Unlike Civilization, the player builds out an established nation's colonies, whose relationship with the mother country turns from helpful to harmful. "Liberty Bells" add Founding Fathers, such as Pocahontas and Francisco Coronado, to the Continental Congress, and once enough colonists are Sons of Liberty, the player can declare independence and must defeat the king's stronger Royal Expeditionary Force, which fights poorly in rough terrain, sometimes with help from a rival power.

Making Sid Meier's Colonization

Reynolds and Meier designed Colonization, developed at MicroProse's Chapel Hill studio and published for MS-DOS in 1994, followed by Windows 3.1, Amiga and Mac versions in 1995. It had more developed visuals and handling than Civilization but markedly different gameplay. On DOS its music was synthesised in real time by the sound card, and the later Windows CD release used pre-synthesised music. It sold over 350,000 copies by September 1997. Next Generation said that "MPS Labs borrowed heavily from classic hits of the past to create a surprisingly addictive title with a flavor all its own", and PC Gamer UK ranked it the 52nd best game of all time in 1997. GOG.com released an emulated version in 2012, and Tommo bought the rights in 2015. The open-source fan remake FreeCol has been in development since 2003, and Firaxis remade it as Civilization IV: Colonization in 2008 with 3D graphics, new AI and multiplayer.