85/100
Players51 ratings

Where to get it

1994 · MicroProse Software, Inc. · Adventure · Historical

Sid Meier's Colonization

The New World lies before you with all its peril, promise and infinite possibility. Your colonists anxiously follow you to shore. The treasures of an entire continent await you.

Released: 14 May 1994
Platforms: Linux Windows iOS macOS MS-DOS Amiga
Genres: Adventure Historical Simulation Strategy Turn-based strategy
Developers: MicroProse Software, Inc.
Publishers: Nightdive Studios Retroism MicroProse Software, Inc.
Modes: Single-player
Perspective: Bird view / Isometric
Themes: Fantasy Historical 4X (explore, expand, exploit, and exterminate)

About

Sid Meier's Colonization is a turn-based strategy video game by Brian Reynolds and Sid Meier. It was developed at MicroProse's Chapel Hill studio for MS-DOS and published in 1994. The game is themed around European colonization of the New World from 1492–1850. Ports were released in 1995 for Windows 3.1, Amiga, and Mac. American video game publisher Tommo purchased the rights to Colonization in 2015 and digitally published it through their Retroism brand.

Colonization has more developed visual design and handling than Sid Meier's previous game Civilization (1991), but the two are markedly different in terms of gameplay. Instead of building up a nation from scratch, the player manages the cross-Atlantic expansion of an established country. As the colonies become more self-sufficient, their relationship with the colonial power declines from being beneficial to harmful, and to win the player must ultimately declare independence and defeat the Royal Expeditionary Force in battle.

Keywords

world domination
construction
managerial
turn-based
military
steam
economy
city builder
native american
randomly generated maps
developer cameo
christianity

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

The player controls the colonial forces of either England, France, the Netherlands or Spain; the other powers are played by the computer. Each nation has distinct abilities or bonuses that favor certain strategies. There is a choice between a historical map (America) or a randomly generated map (the New World), and players may also create their own map with the included scenario editor.

Aside from European colonial powers, the game simulates eight NPC powers of Indigenous peoples of the Americas, which the game calls "Indians", grouped into four categories of development. The semi-nomadic (Apache, Sioux, Tupi) and agrarian (Arawaks, Cherokee, Iroquois) tribes live in smaller settlements of camps and villages while the advanced Aztecs and civilized Incas live in larger, richer cities.

Development

Computer Gaming World's "The Rumor Bag" column reported in April 1994 that "MicroProse is working on a game like Sid Meier's Civilization that covers the Age of Colonization".

GOG.com released an emulated version for Microsoft Windows, Linux and Mac OS X in 2012.

Reception

Sales of Sid Meier's Colonization surpassed 350,000 copies by September 1997.

In 1996, Colonization was ranked the fourth best game of all time by Amiga Power, and the 52nd of all time by PC Gamer UK in 1997.

Releases by platformdates and regions as published

Platform	Released	Regions
MS-DOS	14 May 1994	North America · Europe 31 December 1994
Windows	24 May 1995	North America · Worldwide 9 October 2014
macOS	31 May 1995	North America · Worldwide 9 October 2014
Amiga	31 May 1995	North America · Europe 31 December 1995
Linux	9 October 2014	Worldwide
iOS	21 August 2015	Worldwide