Colonization

Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Colonization, released Sep 23, 2008, is a standalone remake of Sid Meier's 1994 Colonization built on the Civilization 4 engine; it does not need Civ 4. You lead England, France, Spain or the Netherlands in the New World, trade with Europe, deal with native nations, win Founding Fathers and finally declare independence and defeat the King's Royal Expeditionary Force.

Colonization (Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Colonization) is a standalone remake of Sid Meier's 1994 Colonization built on the Civilization 4 engine, released on Sep 23, 2008 at $29.99, and it does not need Civ 4 to run (GameSpot). You lead the colonies of England, France, Spain or the Netherlands in the Americas from the 15th to the late 18th century: you ship colonists from Europe, put them to work as farmers, lumberjacks or statesmen, trade goods with the homeland while the King raises your taxes, and deal with the native nations. The game ends with a War of Independence: once enough colonists back the rebel cause, you declare independence and must defeat the King's Royal Expeditionary Force. Steam calls it "a total conversion of the Civilization IV engine" (Steam), made by the team behind Beyond the Sword.

3D view of a crowded colonial town with gray roofs, a steepled church, docks and a sailing ship, inside a red border; palm jungle surrounds it and tepees with a feathered warrior stand at lower left. — Gameplay from the Colonization Steam page: a colonial port town of wooden houses and a church by the water, with a native village of tepees and a warrior in the jungle at bottom left. Firaxis Games and 2K

Quick facts

Get it	Steam, $19.99; in the Complete Edition
Released	Sep 23, 2008 (Metacritic lists Sep 22)
Announced	Jun 9, 2008
Launch price	$29.99
Requires Civ 4	No, it is standalone
Developer and publisher	Firaxis Games, 2K Games
Remake of	Sid Meier's Colonization (1994)
Playable powers	England, France, Spain, the Netherlands
Victory	Declare independence and destroy the Royal Expeditionary Force's land army
Game length	At most 300 turns at Standard speed, ending in 1792
Multiplayer	Internet, LAN, Play by E-mail, Hot Seat
Mac	Aspyr, $40, Dec 2009
Metacritic	83
Steam reviews	"Very Positive", 87% of 1,292 (Oct 21, 2026)

A standalone game, not an expansion

Colonization uses Civ 4's engine, interface and look but none of its civilizations, technologies or victory types. 2K announced it on Jun 9, 2008 as a game that "does not require the original game", made by "the team behind Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword", for Microsoft's Games for Windows program (Game Developer). It covers European colonization of the Americas from the 15th to the late 18th century, and its manual sums up the pressure: the King taxes your trade ever more heavily (Colonization manual). On Steam it is its own app, and it is part of the Complete Edition.

The four European powers

Each of the four powers has two leaders and a national edge, per GameSpot's first look:

Power	Leaders	Edge
England	George Washington, John Adams	More immigration
France	Samuel de Champlain, Louis de Buade de Frontenac	Better relations with the natives
Spain	Simon Bolivar, Jose de San Martin	Conquest bonus against the natives
Netherlands	Peter Stuyvesant, Adriaen van der Donck	Steadier prices and stronger trade

Source: GameSpot, Civilization IV: Colonization First Look, Jul 11, 2008.

Colonists and professions

Your people are units, not population points. A colonist can work a tile outside a settlement or a job inside it, and experts do their own job far better: a colonist who lives among a native village returns as an expert, and Europe sells experts for gold (GameSpot review). The same colonist can be armed as a soldier, given tools as a Pioneer, or sent out as a Scout. Wagon trains move goods between settlements on automatic routes.

Goods and trade with Europe

The economy is a chain of goods. GameSpot sorts them into growth goods (food, lumber, ore, tools and guns), raw trade goods (furs, tobacco, sugar and cotton) and refined goods (coats, cigars, rum and cloth), which sell for more (review). Ships carry cargo to Europe, a voyage of two turns each way at Standard speed, and bring back colonists, tools, guns and horses. Prices change over the game, and the King keeps raising his tax on every sale, with no limit on how high it can go, per the manual.

The native nations

Native nations live across the map, and GameSpot's first look names the Iroquois, Aztecs, Sioux, Cherokee, Inca, Tupi and Apache (GameSpot). You can trade with them, learn skills in their villages, establish a mission with a Missionary, or go to war. France gets along with them best and Spain fights them best.

3D map with an orange border. A white covered wagon and a man in a blue coat stand on a path between fields and trees; a town label reads New Amsterdam, Warehouse, and orange banners with a lion fly beside it. — Gameplay from the Colonization Steam page: a covered wagon and a colonist with a hammer near the town of New Amsterdam, inside an orange border, with tepees at right. Firaxis Games and 2K

Founding Fathers

Founding Fathers take the place of Civ 4's Great People and wonders. They come in five kinds, Political, Religious, Exploration, Trade and Military; each needs Liberty Bells and most also need points of its own kind. A Father joins only the first colony to accept him, and one you refuse never returns. Steam names John Smith, Patrick Henry and Samuel Adams among them (Steam); the full list with effects is in the game's Founding Fathers screen and Civilopedia, not the manual. Liberty Bells also spread a settlement's cultural border.

Rebel Sentiment and independence

Independence is the goal of every game. Rebel Sentiment grows from Statesmen working in the Town Hall (Elder Statesmen are best), Printing Presses, Newspapers and some Founding Fathers, and it boosts a settlement's output. Once overall Rebel Sentiment reaches 50% or more, you may declare independence. You then write a Constitution, choosing rules such as Slavery or the separation of church and state, each with effects in the game.

The War of Independence and victory

The war decides the game. The King sends the Royal Expeditionary Force, whose size the Revolution Advisor (F3) shows in advance, and you win by destroying every one of its ground units; its ships do not need to be sunk (Colonization manual). During the war your units gain combat strength equal to Rebel Sentiment minus 50, so 100% sentiment gives +50%. You lose if every settlement falls or time runs out: at Standard speed a game lasts at most 300 turns, ending in 1792.

Maps, difficulty and multiplayer

Two map types are offered, "A New World", one continent from pole to pole, and "Caribbean", a sea of islands, in sizes from Tiny to Huge; difficulty runs from Pilgrim, the easiest, to Revolutionary, the hardest, per the manual. Multiplayer covers Internet, LAN, Play by E-mail and Hot Seat games, and Colonization moved to Steamworks with Civ 4 when GameSpy closed in 2014. Like Civ 4, it ships with XML and Python modding tools (Steam).

Versions and the Mac

Colonization's last listed patch is 1.01, offered on 2K's Colonization site; its release day is not known. Aspyr released a Mac version for $40 on Dec 28, 2009, needing an Intel Core 2 Duo and Mac OS X 10.5.8 or 10.6.1. Aspyr stopped selling it with its other 32-bit Mac games on Jun 17, 2019, though Steam still lists a Mac version. Every Civ 4 release is on Release History.

Reception

Critics liked Colonization, players less so. It holds a Metascore of 83 from 32 critics but a user score of 7.4. GameSpot's Chris Watters gave it 8 and noted its "bargain price ($29.99!)", IGN's Steve Butts gave it 8.7, and Metacritic lists PC Gamer US at 84 and Eurogamer and GameSpy at 80 (critic reviews). On Steam it is "Very Positive", 87% of 1,292 English reviews, with 355 players at 17:45 UTC on Oct 21, 2026.

Where to get it

Colonization costs $19.99 on Steam on its own (Oct 21, 2026) and is part of the Civ 4 Complete Edition, $29.99 on Steam and DRM-free on GOG. See Complete Edition and Where to Buy.

Frequently asked questions

Is Civ 4 Colonization standalone? Yes: Civilization 4: Colonization is a standalone game that "does not require the original game", per GameSpot; it uses the Civ 4 engine but none of its content.

When did Civilization 4: Colonization come out? Civilization 4: Colonization came out on Sep 23, 2008, with a Mac version from Aspyr in December 2009.

How do you win Colonization? In Civilization 4: Colonization you win by raising Rebel Sentiment to 50% or more, declaring independence and destroying every ground unit of the King's Royal Expeditionary Force.

What are Founding Fathers in Colonization? Founding Fathers in Civilization 4: Colonization are historical figures in five kinds (Political, Religious, Exploration, Trade and Military) who join your colony for Liberty Bells and give lasting bonuses; a refused Father never returns.

Which nations can you play in Colonization? Civilization 4: Colonization lets you play England, France, Spain or the Netherlands, each with two leaders and its own edge.

Is Civ 4 Colonization a remake? Yes: Civilization 4: Colonization remakes Sid Meier's Colonization of 1994 as "a total conversion of the Civilization IV engine", in Steam's words.