Has anyone played this game? Should I bother to shell out the $4 it would take for me to buy it from Amazon.com? Is it similar to Colonization?

I have the Deluxe version, can't really say. Its kind of like Civ2, mind, I was only 5 years old when I played it. :D

It's interesting but definitely dated. Make sure you get the CNW Deluxe, it had some important improvements.

I actually started up a couple games about a year ago - not too bad for a few hours, but then when I got into the dominant position where it's time to mop up, the game makes it pretty painful to build up, maneuver and maintain those big armies. If it were my first time through, I might have pressed on, but (after getting the hang of the game again) I knew from experience it was just a matter of time.

So if you can get Deluxe for anywhere near $4, I'd say that's quite a bit of play time for the money - give it a shot, you might like it.