*******************************************************************************
SID MEIER'S COLONIZATION for PC
*******************************************************************************
FAQ/STRATEGY GUIDE (v1.0)
*******************************************************************************
By DENOUEMENT (cgparham757@aol.com)
*******************************************************************************
DISCLAIMER:
This file is copyright by Denouement (Chris Parham). You may NOT reproduce or
distribute this guide in any manner, electronically or otherwise, without the
express written permission of the author. You may not display this guide on any
page in which there are advertisment banners. Below can be found the list of
sites that are permitted to host this guide. This list can be changed at any
time.
List of acceptable sites:
GameFAQs (www.gamefaqs.com).
List of sites which do NOT have permission:
www.cheats.de
Remember, plagiarism is a crime and is punishable under the law.
Note: You can always find the latest version at GameFAQs, at www.gamefaqs.com
Thanks CJayC!
*******************************************************************************
E-MAIL POLICY:
I welcome e-mails at cgparham757@aol.com but here are the Do's and the Dont's:
DO send questions not in the FAQ.
DO send questions in text or HTML format.
DO send e-mails with "GameFAQs" in the subject line.
DO send suggestions and corrections, this is not a final guide.
DO tell me if you find this guide on a site where it is not permitted (see
above).
DON'T send executables.
DON'T send vulgar or inappropriate mail.
DON'T send mail over and over again, I only check it once every day, at most.
I will try to get back to you as soon as possible...unless you did one of the
"DONTS", in which case your mail will be summarily ignored and ruthlessly
deleted.
2. Strategy Guide
-- Opening Strategy
-- Choosing a Mother Country
-- Founding Your First Colony
-- Early Trips to Europe
-- Early Founding Fathers
-- Development
-- Expansion Plans
-- Middle Game Founding Fathers
-- Declaration of Independence
-- When to Declare?
-- Defeating the Royal Expeditionary Force
-- Late Game Founding Fathers
-- Score Boostage
3. Statistics
-- Units
-- Terrain
-- Buildings
-- Professions
-- Founding Fathers
-- Colony Name Lists
4. Closing Material
-- Closing Statement
-- Acknowledgements
-- Endnotes
*******************************************************************************
INTRODUCTION
Colonization is a strategy game created by one of the elite names in this
genre, Sid Meier, who is best known for his creation of the Civilization
series. It is pretty much alike to his other games and has most of the same
basic qualities, except that economics takes a little more precedence over
military issues in this game, and there is no emphasis on science and
technological development. The only drawback is that there are a few annoying
bugs, but most can be cured by simply returning to the previous save.
Otherwise, enjoy this game, and I hope my guide for it helps you out in some
way!!!
Requirements: IBM/Compatible PC
386/486/Pentium
1 MB RAM
CD-ROM Drive
MSDOS 5.0 or higher
VGA graphics
Mouse (recommended)
Supported Sound Cards: AdLib
SoundBlaster
Roland
Pro Audio Spectrum
*******************************************************************************
*******************************************************************************
*******************************************************************************
O P E N I N G S T R A T E G Y
*******************************************************************************
*******************************************************************************
In the early game, your goal will be to expand your empire and acquire a
solid foothold in the New World. Other nations will generally be friendly to
you, or at least indifferent, so take advantage of this to expand fast and
push yourself to a position of strength, priming your empire for the middle
game's focus on growth and wealth development.
CHOOSING A MOTHER COUNTRY
When the game begins, you must choose a mother European nation to represent,
and until you try to declare independence you will be that nation's colony in
the New World. Each nation has different characteristics which make it better
or worse than the other nations. Let me summarize the characteristics of each
European power.
ENGLAND's colonies receive bonus immigrants from Europe, to represent
that fact that England's New World colonies were more settlement-intensive
than the trading outposts of other powers. Immigrants are generated in two-
thirds the time.
FRANCE's colonies have very good relations with native tribes (just as
the real French did). A French player will get better cooperation from the
Indians, and generates hostility with them less quickly.
SPANISH colonies were acquired by military force and conquest, and this
is reflected by the fact that Spanish forces gain a 50% attack bonus when
attacking Indian settlements.
A player representing THE NETHERLANDS beings with a Merchantman unit
instead of a Caravel. Also, to represent this nation's stable trading base,
the market prices in Amsterdam fluctuate less than those in other European
capital cities.
Personally my favorite nation to play is the Netherlands, because I like
playing an economic game. The French aren't bad either, and are especially
good for beginning players since friendly Indians let you get off to a good
start in the game. England is decent but nothing special, and finally Spain
is only good if you really like fighting battles.
FOUNDING YOUR FIRST COLONY
Civilization players may be somewhat unused to this since in Civ founding
that first city, well it doesn't really matter where you do it since you can
always expand. In Colonization expansion is more difficult for a number of
reasons, so your first city needs to be correctly placed. I will address a
few important factors to consider before you set up your first colony. You
might want to sail up the coast for awhile and scout out the terrain before
choosing a place. First, you want to make sure you're on a decent size land
mass; anything that seems big enough to support eight or so colonies is fine.
Second, look for two traits in the specific spot you choose. One, having some
special resource squares nearby will be a big boost to your colony. A silver
mine is an especially good one, if it is available. Second, try not to found
a city right next to a native city. While you will probably encounter some
natives soon after landing, staying away from their cities will help you
avoid undesirable conflicts. Stay on the coast of course (you are doomed
otherwise), and watch out for helpful fish squares, which can really boost
your food production. Finally, as a general rule you will want to use your
two different units to establish two different colonies on this land mass.
Make sure both are sea-accessible, and get them started on producing some
valuable exports. As far as developing initial colonies, two important
structures to acquire early on are the dock and the warehouse. Fishing is by
far the easiest way to get large amounts of food and securing a dock will
really allow a colony to flourish. Also, without a warehouse, a productive
colony serves no purpose, since your fabulous produce will all spoil and be
worthless. Other structures to consider building are those that will develop
that colony's unique resource squares.
EARLY TRIPS TO EUROPE
When you send your first ships back to Europe, there are a number of things
you need to concentrate on. First, of course, you should be taking back the
products of your colonies to Europe at each opportunity, especially since you
don't have a warehouse yet and can't store large amounts of goods. Head over
to Europe and get your cash from the production of your colonies, but even
more important is bringing over new colonists from the mainland. The quality
of colonists you pick up here will have a big impact on your success. Ideal
choices to recruit in the early game are Seasoned Scouts, Hardy Pioneers,
Farmers, Fishermen, and Lumberjacks and Carpenters. Use these new colonists
to found new villages around your initial ones and begin the first level of
your empire's expansion.
EARLY FOUNDING FATHERS
Good founding fathers to pick up during the early phase of the game include
Thomas Jefferson, who increases your rebel sentiment and gets you production
bonuses, and Peter Minuit, who will eliminate the problems of overlap with
native villages and increase your potential expansion area. Other decent
choices are Franklin, Penn, and de la Salle. Of course, the ultimate deciding
factor will be which of these are available.
*******************************************************************************
*******************************************************************************
D E V E L O P M E N T
*******************************************************************************
*******************************************************************************
Your focus here will be to grow and expand your colonies (more so than your
empire as a whole). The reason for this is that you are seeking to bring
about the necessary conditions of wealth and population that you need for a
successful bid at independence.
EXPANSION PLANS
Now your goal is to expand your colonies to the area around you. Try to
occupy as much of your landmass as possible, and occupy as many resource
squares as possible. Especially if there are no Indians in the vicinity,
inland colonies are very rarely a liability no matter how weak, so feel free
to build a size one or two colony just to exploit an inland silver deposit.
However, you will also need eight to twelve (minimum) major coastal colonies
to form the backbone of your empire. In addition to building new colonies,
you also need to develop your existing ones. That means building the
appropriate structures to benefit local production, building fortresses, and
so on. It's a good goal to get around six cities of population above ten or
twelve; often at this point you will be ready to start preparing for your War
of Independence.
MANAGING TRADE
Having a variety of goods available for trade is essentail for success at this
point in the game. The way trade works is, when you sell some of your goods
in Europe, the price they will pay for more of these goods goes down, since
there is less demand. When you buy something, the price they will pay, and the
price at which you are able to purchase more, goes up since the demand is
greater than the supply. This means that if you want to make the most profit
off trade: (1) diversify your exports among all available possibilities, to
keep the demand for each product at a good level, and (2) always sell and buy
in as large a bulk as possible, so that change in prices don't take effect
until after the transaction. Also, you may be able to obtain positive results
by buying a small amount to raise the price, then selling a large volume at
the higher new price, this will have to be further looked into.
MIDDLE GAME FOUNDING FATHERS
Francis Drake and Adam Smith are the best at this time. Factories provide a
serious boost to your production that is just what you need at this time,
your financial situation will be much more secure with these at your
disposal. Privateers are very powerful, both for protecting your shipping
lanes, and for disrupting the shipping of other Europeans, thus driving
prices in Europe even higher. Pocahontas is pretty decent if the Indians are
threatening war; of course if you like the military action, go ahead and kick
some native ass. Cortes might be an appropriate choice if that's the game
plan you've selected.
*******************************************************************************
*******************************************************************************
D E C L A R A T I O N O F I N D E P E N D E N C E
*******************************************************************************
*******************************************************************************
Now is the time to fight your mother country...if you have the preconditions
you will need to win, declare a secession and try to defeat the Royal
Expeditionary Force sent over to destroy you and end your revolutionary bid
for freedom.
WHEN TO DECLARE?
Once you have a steady base of colonies, it's time to start moving some
resources toward military development. That will mean hiring gunsmiths and
blacksmiths, etc., to produce weapons. You also need to set up schools and
teach some veteran soldiers, then equip them with horses and muskets. That's
your Dragoon requirement taken care of. Further, you need some Artillery,
which you will need to get started on well ahead of time since the demands,
especially the cost in hammers, is fairly prodigious. Generally, before
declaring independence every one of your coastal cities should have three
Cannons inside it, and three Dragoons close by it, to be safe. Soldiers can
remain in the town for defensive purposes. Note that in some cases it may be
to your advantage not to defend a colony. For instance, if you have a small
colony on an island, and leave it undefended, the REF will go after that
first. While you will need to go back and retake it, you gain a little time
to develop forces. As to naval forces you will need, I often declare
independence with very few naval units at my disposal. If you know you have
the capacity to crank out Frigates in a hurry, it's often okay just to wait
until they are needed, as dealing with the opposing Men O' War will be a
problem, but not an urgent one.
DEFEATING THE ROYAL EXPEDITIONARY FORCE
Up to this point in the game its entirely possible that you haven't really
fought a significant war--probably you've had a couple conflicts with the
natives, but Colonization doesn't really concentrate on military matters, so
it's easy to get out of fighting wars. Now, however, you must defeat the
Royal Expeditionary Force or all your efforts to achieve nationhood will be
for naught. The REF will always appear next to one of your coastal
settlements (of course, most of your settlements will probably be coastal).
Another advantage to you is that the REF will not leave the city they land
next to, until they have captured/destroyed it. So if you can hold on at the
point of insertion, you will be able to defeat the REF. You will be using two
main units to do this: Artillery and Dragoons. Every coastal town should have
a fortress and be occupied by at least two to three cannon. The cannon should
remain in the city and pound on approaching troops. Do NOT use your artillery
to lay the final smackdown on the enemy; your cannons should never leave the
safety of the fortress. Instead, in the area around each settlement should be
two or three Dragoon units, which are able to use ambush bonuses to destroy
artillery-weakened enemy units. Let me give you a few other notes--first,
Sons of Liberty percentage affects the success of your troops in battle
(higher is better, of course).
Since I haven't addressed combat before here are some more tips. Note
that since you can breed your own horses in this game, at some point you
should have brought over a few horses from Europe, they're not that
expensive. You should equip all of your troops with horses since they become
much more effective; any real-life benefits infantry possesses is not
reflected in this game. Basically Dragoons should be your only forces, except
for the Artillery you are using to protect your cities. Artillery might also
be needed if you plan to capture strongly-defended enemy cities; if you use
them in this role, be sure to protect Artillery units with other units at all
times. This might be a good role for any Infantry troops you happen to
develop since their lack of speed will not be a factor.
LATE GAME FOUNDING FATHERS
George Washington is the first guy that comes to mind. The benefits he brings
to your troops in terms of gaining experience will definitely help you in a
drawn out battle with the REF. It helps even more if you're at war prior to
declaring independence; in these situations it's vital that you get
Washington. Thomas Paine is another good one, he will keep your liberty bell
level in the clouds throughout the end of the game. Simon Bolivar is good for
the same reason. Also look through the Early and Middle game recommendations
if you need to fill an extra spot, as these guys will still be good even in
this phase of the game.
SCORE BOOSTAGE
Hmm, is boostage a word? I think perhaps not. Nevertheless, if you want to
maximize your score at the end of the game, here is a few simple things you
can do, most of them in the very last stages when you are close to winning.
First, if you have Cortes, wipe out the richer Indian cultures (Incas and
Aztecs). The money you get will be a big boost, as you get one point for
every thousand gold you possess at the game's end. Second, make sure all of
your colonists are trained as specialists of some sort, even if they're not
using their training at their job...you get extra points for specialist
colonists.
*******************************************************************************
*******************************************************************************
S T A T I S T I C S
*******************************************************************************
*******************************************************************************
*******************************************************************************
UNITS
*******************************************************************************
COLONISTS: Your basic people, with many different functions.
SOLDIERS: Regular colonists equipped with Muskets, who are able to function as
combat troops, can gain Veteran status.
PIONEERS: Regular colonists equipped with Tools, can set up new colonies and
make terrain alterations.
MISSIONARIES: Impoartant units used to deal with Indians, created by giving
special training to colonists, or bought in Europe.
DRAGOONS: Soldiers you have equipped with horses, more mobile than your normal
troops.
SCOUTS: Regular colonists equipped with horses, but not guns. Able to function
as scouts, and enter enemy cities to conduct negotiations.
CONTINENTAL CAVALRY: A more powerful version of Dragoons, even above veteran
Dragoons.
CONTINENTAL ARMY: A more powerful version of Veteran soldiers.
TREASURE TRAIN: A train of wagon carrying treasure from a captured settlement
or a Lost City.
ARTILLERY: Heavy weapons used to attack or defend fortified positions.
WAGON TRAIN: A train for carrying cargo and goods over land.
CARAVEL: The most basic sea vessel.
MERCHANTMEN: A slightly larger cargo ship.
GALLEON: Your biggest cargo ship.
PRIVATEER: Used to attack enemy shipping with virtual impunity, or defend your
own shipping.
FRIGATE: Gunships used to attack and sink enemy warships.
REGULARS: Royal Expeditionary Force's infantry units.
CAVALRY: Royal Expeditionary Force's mounted units.
MAN-O-WAR: Big warships owned by European powers.
BRAVES: Indian fighters without guns or horses, not too strong.
ARMED BRAVES: Indian fighters with guns, better than your soldiers in the
wilderness conditions.
MOUNTED BRAVES: Indian fighters with horses. They are very mobile and have more
combat power than regular Braves.
MOUNTED WARRIORS: Indians with horses and guns equivalent to Dragoons, and
better than your Dragoons in wilderness.
*******************************************************************************
TERRAIN
*******************************************************************************
NAME = Name of terrain type
M = Movement rate (# is turns required to pass)
D = Defensive bonus to units
I = Improvement types
V = Value
The final nine columns indicate the resulting number of products produced when
that type of land is worked by members of given occupations. From left to right
the occupations in question are:
#1 -- Farmer
#2 -- Planter (Sugar)
#3 -- Planter (Tobacco)
#4 -- Planter (Cotton)
#5 -- Trapper
#6 -- Lumberjack
#7 -- Ore Miner
#8 -- Silver Miner
#9 -- Fisherman
*******************************************************************************
BUILDINGS
*******************************************************************************
NAME = Name of structure
COST = Cost to build
TOOLS = Tools to build
SIZE = Size
MIN = Minimum size of colony needed
UPK = Upkeep (cost to maintain)
*******************************************************************************
PROFESSIONS
*******************************************************************************
NAME = Name of occupation
F. NAME = Full Name
S.L. = Student Level
CIE = Cost in Europe
*******************************************************************************
FOUNDING FATHERS
*******************************************************************************
+-------------------------------------+---------------------------------------+
| ECONOMIC | EXPLORATION |
+-------------------------------------+---------------------------------------+
| Adam Smith | Ferdinand Magellan |
| Jakob Fugger | Francisco de Coronado |
| Peter Minuit | Hernando de Soto |
| Peter Stuyvesant | Henry Hudson |
| Jan De Witt | La Salle |
+-------------------------------------+---------------------------------------+
| MILITARY | POLITICAL |
+-------------------------------------+---------------------------------------+
| Hernan Cortes | Thomas Jefferson |
| Geroge Washington | Pocahontas |
| Paul Revere | Thomas Paine |
| Francis Drake | Simon Bolivar |
| John Paul Jones | Benjamin Franklin |
+-------------------------------------+---------------------------------------+
| RELIGIOUS |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| William Brewster William Penn |
| Jean de Brebeuf Juan de Sepulveda |
| Bartolome de las Casas |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
ADAM SMITH: Adam Smith allows factory level buildings to be built in your
colonies. Factories allow the production of 1.5 units of manufactured goods
for each unit of raw materials processed.
JAKOB FUGGER: All boycotts currently in effect are forgiven, without back
taxes. Trade in these goods may be resumed at no cost.
PETER MINUIT: The Indians no longer demand payment for their land.
PETER STUYVESANT: Allows construction of the Custom House in your colonies.
JAN DE WITT: Trade with foreign coloniesis allowed. In addition, your Foreign
Affairs report becomes more revealing.
FERDINAND MAGELLAN: Movement of all naval vessels goes up by one, and time to
travel to Europe decreases.
FRANCISCO DE CORONADO: All existing colonies and the areas around them become
visible on your map.
HERNANDO DE SOTO: Results of exploring Lost City Rumors are always positive,
and all units have an extended sighting radius.
HENRY HUDSON: Fur Trapper output is increased by 100%.
LA SALLE: La Salle gives all existing and future colonies a stockade when the
population of the colony reaches 3.
HERNAN CORTES: Conquered native settlements give up more treasure, and it is
shipped for free by the king's galleons.
GEORGE WASHINGTON: Every non-veteran soldier or dragoon who wins a combat is
automatically upgraded.
PAUL REVERE: When a colony with no standing soldiers is attacked, a colonist
automatically takes up any stockpiled muskets in defense of the colony.
FRANCIS DRAKE: The combat strengths of all privateer units are increased by
50% permanently.
JOHN PAUL JONES: A Frigate is added to your navy at no cost.
THOMAS JEFFERSON: Increases the Liberty Bell production by 50%.
POCAHONTAS: Indian tension levels are immediately reduced to the Content level,
and all furthur alarm accumulates half as fast.
THOMAS PAINE: Liberty Bell production in all colonies is increased by the same
margin as the tax rate.
SIMON BOLIVAR: Sons of Liberty membership in all colonies is increased by 20%.
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN: European wars no longer have any effect on the relationships
between powers in New World, and European powers in the New World always
offer you peace in negotiations.
WILLIAM BREWSTER: No more criminals or servants appear on the docks, and you
select which immigrant in the Recruitment Pool will move to the docks.
WILLIAM PENN: Cross-production in all colonies is increased by 50%.
JEAN DE BREBEUF: All missionaries function as if they were experts.
JUAN DE SEPULVEDA: Increases the chance that subjugated Indians will convert
to your cause and join a colony.
BARTOLOME DE LAS CASAS: All extant Indian converts are immediately assimilated
as new free colonists.
*******************************************************************************
COLONY NAME LISTS
*******************************************************************************
These are all the names the computer will give your colonies. They will appear
in the order as follows: across each row left to right, then down to the next
row of names.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| ENGLAND |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Jamestown Plymouth Roanoke Barbados |
| Penobscot Boston Baltimore Providence |
| Hartford New Haven New York Albany |
| New Jersey Charleston Philadelphia Newport |
| Yorktown Annapolis Halifax Lexington |
| Savannah Williamsburg St. John's Norfolk |
| Concord Wilmington Richmond Portsmouth |
| Camden Springfield Newport News Antigua |
| Rupert House Kingston Reading Ottawa |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| FRANCE |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Quebec Montreal Guadeloupe |
| Cayenne St. Louis Martinique |
| Port Royal Port au Prince Trois Rivieres |
| New Orleans Fort Caroline Fort Detroit |
| Fort Frontenac Fort Pontchartain Fort Tadoussac |
| Fort Canada Fort Niagara Fort Crevecoeur |
| Fort Roquelai Fort Laguille Fort Brest |
| Fort Richelieu Fort Louis Fort Prudhome |
| Fort Sandouski Fort du Quesne Fort Erie |
| Fort Maurepas Fort Francois Xavier Fort St. Michel |
| Fort Chicago Fort-de-France Fort Frances |
| Fort St. Joseph Fort Miannis Fort Orleans |
| Fort St. Ignace Fort Le Rocher Fort Miyamis |
| Fort Rosalie Fort Balise Fort Conde |
| Fort Pensacola Fort Toulouse Fort St. John |
| Fort Kappa Fort Biloxi Fort Mobile |
| Sault Ste. Marie Baton Rouge Denonville |
| Gananoque St. Croix Port Cartier |
| Terre Haute Trois Pistoles Sept-Iles |
| Louisville St. Barthelemy St. Pierre |
| Miquelon Des Moines Havre St. Pierre |
| Port Menier Portage la Prairie St. Boniface |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| SPAIN |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Isabella Santo Domingo San Salvador Veracruz |
| Havana Trinidad San Juan Panama |
| Cartajena St. Augustine Lima Buenos Aires |
| Guatemala Honduras Potosi Santiago |
| Guadalajara Asuncion Managua Costa Rica |
| Santa Fe Los Angeles Bogota Corpus Christi |
| Acapulco Santa Marta San Agostin Caracas |
| Tobago San Francisco Santiago San Diego |
| San Angelo El Paso Cancun Valparaiso |
| Concepcion La Plata Port of Spain |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| NETHERLANDS |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| New Amsterdam Fort Orange Fort Nassau New Holland |
| Vlissingen Curacao Recife Bahia |
| Paramaribo Pernambuco St. Martin St. Eustatius |
| Essequibo Berbice Surinam Paraiba |
| Bonaire Willemstad Aruba Santa Catharina |
| Saba Utrecht Haarlem Tappans |
| Hoboken Rensselaerswyck Nederhorst Fort Cristina |
| Gottenburgh Fort Kasimiris Fort Elsenburgh Naiack |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
*******************************************************************************
CLOSING STATEMENT
Thanks for reading the guide (or at least part of it)! I hope you enjoyed my
work and found it useful.
*******************************************************************************
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
Much of the material in the statistics section was taken from the game itself
and the text files which govern these statistics.
Thanks to the creators of Colonization!
Thanks to Sid Meier for a great game!
Thanks to Dell for a great computer to play it on!
Thanks to GameFAQs, and especially to CJayC for doing such a great job there.
Most of all thanks to me, for the time it took to gather this information.
