COLONIZATION

Genre	Turn based strategy
System	386
Year	1994
Developer

Following on from the phenomenal success of Civilization, Sid Meier and chums at Microprose produced Colonization, a Civ-type management/strategy game dealing with the settling of the Americas. I loved it, finding it instantly accessible and surprisingly deep.

THE GAME

Using a very similar interface to that found in Civ, you start with a ship and two colonists just off the coast of the new world, which can either be randomly generated each game, or else model the real American continents. You can then either land one or both of your explorers, to scout or build a colony, or else stay onboard while your ship uncovers more of the coastline. Unlike in Civ, it pays to hold fire on founding your first settlement, both because of the more varied terrain and because you can easily find yourself settling a small island rather than the main landmass if you don’t check along the coast first.

On making landfall, you will often be met by one of the native tribes. Being the PC ‘90s, you are not required, nor even encouraged to wipe the poor buggers out, instead you have much to gain from establishing and maintaining cordial relations. However, time marches on and you have to set about building your first colony, which is accomplished just as in Civ, except now any colonist can do so, rather than having a specialist unit.

When you go to the colony screen for the first time, one of the fundamental differences from Civ becomes apparent. You now have to deal with both the land outside the colony proper and what goes on within it. On your land, you can harvest food (also from the sea, once you have built docks), furs, sugar, cotton, tobacco, silver, timber and ore. These last two are the most important early on, as they can be turned into hammers and tools respectively, with which you can build new structures for the colony. Silver can be sold directly to your homeland for cash, as can the remainder (except food). However, converting your cash crops into finished goods is far more profitable. Furs can be turned into coats, sugar into rum, cotton into cloth and tobacco into cigars. The price you get when you transport these back to Europe is around five to six times greater than the raw materials would get, though as you sell more and more of your goodies, so the price will come down. Plus, a grateful King will always be looking to up the tax rate, thereby reducing your profits.

Colonists come in many guises. The plain free colonist is a jack of all trades, equally at home in the fields as in the tobacconist’s or distiller’s houses. Indentured servants and petty criminals are better employed in the fields and woods, while specialists can double production, both within and without the colony. For instance, if your colony is built on good sugar producing land, then a specialist sugar planter, an expert distiller and an advanced distillery will produce large quantities of rum. Likewise a fur trapper, fur trader and large trading post. Your aim in the long run is to set up each colony to produce one or more finished products and sell them, back home, to the Indians and even to your fellow European settlers, should you so desire. This takes some work and a lot of time, but by the late stages of the game, you should have automated trade routes generating substantial income.

Two other important concepts are Liberty and Religious freedom. The latter (denoted by the production of crosses in your colonies), encourages colonists to appear at the docks of your homeland, from where you can transport them to the New World. You can increase the rate at which this happens by building churches and recruiting expert Preachers. Liberty, (the production of Liberty Bells) increases the membership of the Sons of Liberty as opposed to those still loyal to the old King. Elder Statesmen in your town halls help, as do the building of printing presses and newspapers.

RIVALS

The Indians (there are about 12 tribes in all) aren’t exactly rivals, though if you choose to plunder their villages for loot and generally lay waste to them, you can. Provided you treat them well, they will remain supportive. Give food when asked, trade regularly and offer good prices, don’t arm too many men and avoid trespassing on sacred land, and you may even get Indian converts joining your colonies. You can even establish Missions in their villages, though it’s not uncommon for your missionaries to end up scalpless. However, if the Indians do get annoyed by your presence and especially by what they perceive as over use of the land, then they may attack, so you have to pay attention to what they think about you.

The other Europeans are another matter. You can choose to play as the British, French, Spanish or Dutch, each of which has particular strengths, influencing the way you approach the business of colonization. Your relationships with these other settlers is, in part, influenced by what happens in Europe and is thus out of your control. However, you can deal with them directly, parcelling up the land, securing withdrawal of troops and so on. Should you come to blows, you can capture (and lose) colonies, colonists, wagon trains and ships, though it is a lot more resource intensive than in Civ, reflecting the rather basic economies of the early American colonies.

Another way of annoying the opposition is to build privateers, which can plunder merchant ships under the Jolly Roger, rather than your own flag. In this way, you can lay hands on much needed trade goods, as well as guns and horses, the staples of your army. Employ this tactic too much, however and your neighbours may decide that you have to go and it’s off to war, which is something you really would rather avoid.

REVOLUTION

So, what is the point of all this? Well, your aim is to declare independence from the motherland and to do this you will need to have the majority of your citizens and colonies in the Sons of Liberty, as opposed to the Tories. Once you have achieved that, you can opt to secede from the Crown, whereupon an enraged King will despatch a large army to put you in your place. Therefore the second thing you need is a large army with which to respond, always bearing in mind that while the King has access to professional soldiers, all you can muster are colonial troops and militia. Having said that, you can offset this disadvantage to some extent thanks to your greater familiarity with the local terrain, especially if you manage to hold the King’s armies on or near the coast, or even interdict them at sea. You still need to keep an eye on your colonies however, as those whose membership of the Sons of Liberty is less than 100% may rebel against your rebellion, resulting in troops loyal to the King appearing in your midst. To achieve final victory, you must destroy the majority of the opposing forces and hold all your colonies, which is no mean feat, I can assure you.

SUMMARY

I still play this game today. I enjoy the greater emphasis on colony control than you get in Civ and trying to maintain a balance between keeping the Indians on your side and defending yourself from the other European powers. The graphics are rather dated now, but it doesn’t matter a bit as far as the gameplay is concerned. Even now it is by no means certain that I will be able to declare independence before one or other of my rivals can, so victory, when it comes, is all the sweeter. It’s a shame that Meier left Microprose before he could do an update, as he did with Civ, but the game stands on its own merits.