Sid Meier's Colonization

Colonization is a video game designed by Sid Meier and published by MicroProse in 1994. It is a turn-based strategy game set in the time of the European colonization of the New World.. It starts in 1492 and lasts until 1850. It was originally released for DOS, and later ported to Microsoft Windows and Amiga (1995).

The Game

The player can choose one of four European powers, each having certain advantages that reflect the historical trends of each nation: the French are good at cooperating with the natives, while the Spanish are better at conquering them; the English ships that visit London find more voluntary emigrants due to the religious restlessness of the time; while the Dutch are better merchants. Much has been made of the inclusion of the Dutch to the detriment of the Portuguese, who undoubtedly played a more important role in the colonization of the American continent.

The game mechanics are unique to the turn-based strategy genre, although Civilization players will be familiar with many aspects of this game. It should be noted that it is a much more micromanagement-oriented game than its predecessor.

Mechanics

The game starts, first choose which terrain we are going to generate. If we choose to start in New World, a completely random map will be generated. On the other hand, if we opt for the America option, the preset map will have the topology of America. In custom it allows you to choose the terrain factors for the game.

Then you choose the power with which you want to play:

• English: they earn 2/3 of the "cruces" necessary to have more colonists available at the dock (represents the country's own religious uneasiness at the time)
• Franceses: only half increase the Indian alert bar, which when visiting your village give better objects.
• Spanish: they gain 50% strength by attacking Indian villages, and have 2 veteran soldiers available in the Conqueror difficulty.
• Neerlandeses: the Amsterdam Market (their capital) fluctuates very little and start with a merchant ship instead of a carabela.