How many do you like to build? Some games I find myself with 18-25, others I stay to under 10. If I want a short game I'll build in Argentina or east coast of North america and not expand too much. For a longer game I'll build heckler colonies near rivals and other outposts for trade and resources.

Around the 4-8 category.

In most games, I have around 10 cities, but I have been known to build 20 cities from time to time. I think it really depends on what I feel like at the time.

The more cities, the slower the Independance. Since growing a town is slow, but defending is even more time costly. One would be foolish to declare independance, before having built a fortress in each colonies...

Now I usually have 5 to 8 towns only. All exclusive coastal colonies of course.

Originally posted by GenghisK
The more cities, the slower the Independance. Since growing a town is slow, but defending is even more time costly. One would be foolish to declare independance, before having built a fortress in each colonies...

Now I usually have 5 to 8 towns only. All exclusive coastal colonies of course.

Ach, why make things hard on yourself?

One (count 'em) one coastal colony, your first one. Ideally with two forest squares being the squares in the colony radius that are also coastal. (For example, in S America, right off the southernmost coastal lake.)

That way, the expeditionary force always - and I mean always - lands itself in your woods. And of course you have 30 continental army cavalries waiting outside, and 20 artillery waiting inside, your coastal town. So each turn the king lands his army, you eliminate his army with your cavalry (+50% attack bonus, +50% terrain bonus = you almost always win at 10:6 or 10:5), and your fortress usually sinks his man-o-war.

(Do be sure to have a couple artillery and a couple dragoons in each other town, as sometimes the king will have the "tories" have an uprising. Very annoying when you're at 100% rebels - WHAT tories?)

Col is a great game but unfortunately it's a little too easy to "wargame" the Revolutionary War - the outcome is never in doubt if you play correctly.

here is my general town strategy.
2-4 coastal education/population centers that build an occasional ship or artillary.

2-3 gun manufacturers. strictly guns.(in ore rich areas) with a few outposts to feed them ore.

4 major manufacturing towns specializing in rum, cigars, coats, or cloth. with feeder outposts that provide the raw materials.

a heckler community/s on rival continents that also facilitate trade and looting.(also supported by a major gun manufacturer) I usually put it at the mouth of the mississippi or amozon rivers.

an Island fortress or two in the carribean to controll/influence in this area.

several small outposts to trade with natives/mine silver. I often disband these before independance.

'Course this makes for a long game, but also a high score.

I recently decided to change my strategy and build less towns. It seems like 5-8 towns is about the right amount. As GenghisK mentioned, more towns means slower independence.

Also, a lower number of coastal towns is preferable, so that you can concentrate your military around that one town, as the Kings troops must land near that town.

The other inland towns can keep producing guns, artillery and horses as backup, and as a way of training new soldiers for the war of independence.

I have had great games with 8 towns, and I have tried the one coastal fort approach with inland towns. It can be fun. I do like to micromanage a large empire though; but sometimes I get a bit tired of it.

I'm with the mininalists. I prefer 4 colonies , say two coastal and two interior to optimize defence without sacrificing the important naval transportation. I find the late game micromanagement tedious and this minimises it. Of course I'm quite a devotee of the OCC (one colony challenge) as well

I also prefer under 10 colonies. Any more and I need more ships and dragoons, etc.

The more, the merrier, I love a long bloody battle for independence... Plus, it boosts my score (the bigger empire that is)

Rarely more than 8-10 colonies.

About 4, maximally 8, all situated on one or two islands.

But there is something about large empire of both coastal and inland colonies, with heavy micro- and macromanagement.

I go with the One City challenge every time I play. Less hassle, less micromanagement, and fewer places to defend. However, it gets awefully hard at Vicoroy, but it can be done.

I have tried OCC for the first time last night. That worked surprisingly well. I just should have built more artillery and less frigates. Empty english ships are not much of a problem, after all...

I didn't hardly attack at all. At least two thirds of their attacks on my fortress were suicides. And how does the advantage work that your continental army gets?

I should not forget to mention that it was the second easiest level, though.

MY OCC General Strategy...

You'll need at least 20 cannon in your fortress. You should have enough Dragoons in your town that it makes a solid bar (you'll know when you see it).

Take them all out of the colony and fortify several units around your colony EXCEPT where you want the REF to land. When it does, take all of the 'goons and attack from either a forest, hill, or mountain square. Your ambush bonus will at least be 50% (them in forest 25%, you not on deforested land 25-100% bonus). Happy snacking.

Your colony should be it's very own "cottage industry" meaning you should be able to harvest food, cut timber, gather ore, and grow at least two cash crops outside the colony. Inside the city have politicans, cash crop converters, gunsmiths, a carpenter/blacksmith, and preachers. Any new immigrants you get that you don't need you strip them and turn them into soldiers. Everyone should be a specialist who works in your colony.

These are tips from me ande if anyone every decides to play a OCC, ask me whatever you want. I have this down to a fine art...

I agree with covok48, i love doing the OCC and that is usually how i play but occasionally i build a sprawling empire but that takes alot of micromanagement.

I've tried large empires before, but generally they can't take the punishment that the REF dishes out, so I have consolidated since then.

Consolidate is an excellent word to describe it.

i always build only one colony and make it an invincible Fortress of Doom :mwaha: :evil: I always pick a spot with Conifer (I think?) with that lumber upgrade thing. with a hill and good fishing/Farming. Then I just build alot of Cannons and soldiers. I just get Stuff from eUROPE. tHEY ARE STUPID THEY PROVIDE ME WITH STUFF

I build one mega-uber-super-fortress town and then maybe a few other random ones. So more or less it's a OCC for me too.

Usually I do 5-6, but I have been trying a game where I expand past 10. The micromanagement(i'm not used to large empires) is getting annoying

at one game I built my new country in an island and build only 4 cities on that island and fill all coasts with soldiers and easily won the game very early like 1670s. king cannot make landfall on my island :king:

at one game I built my new country in an island and build only 4 cities on that island and fill all coasts with soldiers and easily won the game very early like 1670s. king cannot make landfall on my island

That don't work. The King will land irregardless of the presence of your troops or not. If there is not an open tile, he will land ON your troops and you will lose them.

In the last three games I've won, I had 5, 4, and 4 colonies - all on the coast. It was quite a challenge swatting down the REF, but I eventually did it (though in the last game I ran out of horses and then guns...)

One of these days I'll try having one main colony with some satellites (all 2 or less population) before moving on to the one colony challenge.

I go with the One City challenge every time I play. Less hassle, less micromanagement, and fewer places to defend. However, it gets awefully hard at Vicoroy, but it can be done.In the last three games I've won, I had 5, 4, and 4 colonies - all on the coast. It was quite a challenge swatting down the REF, but I eventually did it (though in the last game I ran out of horses and then guns...)

One of these days I'll try having one main colony with some satellites (all 2 or less population) before moving on to the one colony challenge.


I nod to your bravery. I did something like this at one point, where I had one city plus some satellite, single-citizen resource outposts feeding it. Viceroy defeated me, but maybe it was pure ignorance... I should have been attacking the King's forces from the countryside. If I could have beaten down all of the regulars each turn, the stranded artillery units at the bottom of the stack would've been munchable freebies. Instead, they tore down my fortress.

If I retried that single-city game, I feel like I'd win this time, thanks to this forum.

Usually I do 5-6, but I have been trying a game where I expand past 10. The micromanagement(i'm not used to large empires) is getting annoying

It's just a different game... certainly not a hack-and-slash military slog.

I always have to memorize long-term goals for each city and the empire as a whole, and let them guide my decisions to increase the speed. Otherwise, I just sit staring at the screen grumbling to myself. But I've had really fun big games. My most recent adventure was probably my best "accomplishment" ever in this game, probably not to be repeated by me either: 14 fortress cities, with 240 colonists and 160 soldiers, all at 100% rebel, with all founding fathers and 690,000 gold in the bank by *1613.* I was amazed at how much faster I could grab all the power in this game by microing really hard!

Going up past ten cities eventually subjects us to the hated unit limit. I don't know what that limit is; I would hazard the guess that it's some crappy hexadecimal cutoff point like 512. In my awesome game I had 400 units on the board, and I suppose the remaining ~100 units were mainly Native. I'm sure the king's men don't count towards this tally until they are spawned on the board. I wonder if you can, err, cancel them out of existence by abusing the unit limit :lol: