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Game included in the

PC Game Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Colonization - Category Strategy

Hard drive space

Full download: 1.01 GB
Initial download: 1.01 GB

Download time

Kb/s	20 MB	8 MB	512 KB
Time	7mn	17mn	4h 36mn

System requirements

Operating System : 2000/XP,Vista
DirectX version : 9.0c
Processor : 1200 MHz
RAM : 512 MB
Video RAM : 64 MB

Additional info

Category : Strategy
Difficulty : Average
Multiplayer :
Language : us

Official Site
Publisher : Take-Two Interactive

Alcohol Reference

Use of Tobacco

Mild Violence

Copyright

Getting Started

When you begin a new game of Colonization, your first choice will be to pick a country and leader. Each leader has bonuses based on the history of that nation. For example, Spain's leaders get bonuses to native conquest, while the Dutch have superior trading and economic skills. Once your leader is set, your ship will appear at the eastern edge of the world map. To find land, just sail west by selecting your ship and right-clicking where you wish to go. When you find a promising piece of ground to settle on, you can disembark your colonists by right-clicking on the shore.

Settlements

To found a new settlement, simply send a colonist to an empty plot of land and hit B. Unlike in other Civilization games, your settlement will start with many buildings already available to you. Once the settlement is founded, you will need to choose what you want your colonists to do. Your colonists can be placed to work outside the town, where they will produce raw materials such as food, wood, sugar, and so on, or inside the town, where they can create manufactured products or abstract goods such as hammers, crosses or liberty bells. To add new buildings to your settlement, you can choose them from the upper right of your settlement screen. Buildings will always require a certain number of hammers to complete, plus possibly secondary items such as tools.

Colonists

Besides your standard free colonists, you can have a variety of professional craftsmen who will perform certain jobs with more efficiency. A Master Distiller, for example, can create twice as much rum per turn, but would be no better at being a blacksmith than anyone else. Certain other colonists, such as the petty criminal and indentured servant, have less efficiency than free colonists. There are several ways to get new colonists. First, colonists will become available in Europe for immigration based on the number of crosses you are producing. You can also simply buy new colonists in Europe. This is handy if you need a certain type of craftsman, but it can get expensive. Next, a free colonist will be created in any colony that has 200 food stored. Lastly, if you have a mission in a native village, you may gain a Convert who will join your colonies. Converts are better at creating raw materials, but less good with manufacturing.

Trading

Trading is your primary method of earning money, so it's worth your time to make sure that your colonies have goods worth trading. The most profitable goods are generally manufactured products such as rum, cigars, and cloth, though the raw sugar, tobacco, and cotton can be sold for decent amounts as well. Europe is your main trading partner, particularly early on when the tax rate is low. To trade with Europe, simply load your ship with the desired goods and sail to the east edge of the map. Once your ship reaches Europe, use the offload button to sell all your goods. This is also how you can pick up new colonists or buy needed products from the homeland. On occasion, the King will decide to raise taxes, and you will have two options. The first is to simply accept the tax increase. From then on, all your transactions with Europe will be taxed at the new rate. Your other option is to throw a "goods party". You will destroy all your shipments of a good that the game chooses, generally a good you trade with Europe frequently, and you will no longer be able to trade that good with Europe ever again. Once you have had a few goods parties or if the tax rate gets too high, you should consider trading with the natives or other colonies more frequently.

Diplomacy

Of course, that land you're colonizing isn't exactly empty. There are several native tribes already inhabiting the continent, and whether they view you as a friend or enemy is largely up to you. If you choose to go to war, attacking and destroying villages can clear useful land or provide large amounts of gold and treasure. If you stay friendly, you will be able to trade with them, send your colonists to their villages for specialized training, and even create defensive pacts and alliances. Besides the natives, you will also run across the other European powers, and you can trade or make alliances in much the same way.

Founding Fathers

As you play the game and perform actions, you will gain points in one of five categories: exploration, trade, religion, military, and politics. Earning lots of gold will gain you trade points, having a large army will earn military points, and so on. If you earn enough points, a Founding Father will offer to join your colonies. If you accept their offer, you will lose the points that Founding Father costs, and you will gain the bonus that the Founding Father brings to the table. Be aware that you cannot have a Founding Father that another colony already has, so choose carefully before declining any offers. To see all the Founding Fathers, their point costs, and your current points, click the Founding Fathers screen button at the top right.

Rebellion

The ultimate goal of your colonies is to break away from the King and become an independent nation. To accomplish this, you will first need to stir up rebellious feelings in your colonists by choosing someone to work in your town hall to produce liberty bells. This production can be increased by using an Elder Statesman, or by building a Newspaper or a Printing Press. Once you are producing bells, your population's rebel sentiment will go up, and this will be shown on a per town basis. Once you have at least 50% rebel sentiment across all your colonies, you can formally declare independence, and the revolution will begin. First, you will need to write your Constitution, which will provide various benefits that you can choose among. The King will then send his Expeditionary Forces to quash your nascent rebellion, and you will need to defeat his forces to win the war and the game. Be aware that if you haven't won this war by 1792, the game will end and you will lose automatically. You will also lose if any of the other European colonies win their independence first.

Tip: Production Line

While ore and wood may not be as glamorous as cotton or tobacco, the hammers and tools they lead to are critical to your settlement's growth. Make sure that you are producing hammers in every settlement as soon as possible, and produce enough tools in at least one town to supply the rest of your colonies.

Tip: Pioneers

Pioneers are a very important unit, as they can improve the land around your settlements to improve production and travel speed. Farms, mines, and roads are all common improvements that you may want to use early on. You can buy or trade Hardy Pioneers that will work faster than usual, but any colonist can be used as a pioneer if you have 50 tools.

Tip: Civilopedia

As with all Civilization games, Colonization has an in-game Civilopedia with details on every unit, building, leader, and so on. If you are confused or need more information, the Civilopedia is the first place to look.