[Col] Ancient Secrets of Colonization: Revealed II

[korossyl]

Hunting through the inventory at a very used bookstore, what should I have happened across but Prima's officially licensed strategy guide for Sid Meier's Colonization, written by none other than Bruce C. Shelley! After checking it's going price on Amazon (~$140), I immediately ripped off its original shrink wrap and creased its spine. Why? So you don't have to! In this and another post, I'll be sharing some of the deeper insights and stranger factoids I gleaned about this marvelous game!

Founding Fathers: The "Official" Ranking

Bruce Shelley included a table of the relative usefulness or uselessness of each member of the Continental Congress. He arranges them in three tiers: A, B, and C, with some given + and - modifiers in addition within these tiers. "Those listed as most valuable are considered essential to winning at the Viceroy or Governor level." Without further ado:

The "A" Tier: Most Valuable
Simon Bolivar
Thomas Jefferson
Peter Minuit
Thomas Paine
George Washington
John Paul Jones (-)

The "B" Tier: Somewhat Valuable
Pocahontas (+)
Jean de Brebeuf (+)
Sir Francis Drake
Adam Smith
Jan de Witt
William Brewster
Bartolome de las Casas
Sieur de La Salle
Hernan Cortes (-)
Paul Revere (-)
Jakob Fugger (-)

The "C" Tier: Least Valuable
Hernando de Soto (+)
Ferdinand Magellan (+)
Peter Stuyvesant (+)
Francisco de Coronado
Benjamin Franklin
Henry Hudson
William Penn
Juan de Sepulveda

Discuss!

 

[Tristan_C]

Alright, I'll comment. It's always neat to compare the metagame then and now. These are the main ones I think may have changed favor over the years.

Thomas Paine is situational and definitely not A-Tier. Since tax hikes are regular, they can be fought cheaply, and I think most people now prefer taking the zero-tax-rate route and preserving their market power, rather than maximizing liberty bells with Paine. This wisdom clearly didn't exist back in the day of the strategy guide; otherwise, Stuyvesant would be top-tier and Paine ranked very low.

Adam Smith is not crucial to winning the war for independence, but his impact on your score is absolutely phenomenal. Since most players play for score now, he is pretty much the best of the best. Properly leveraging Smith defines a skilled, patient manager in Colonization.

The Indian guys are all dependent on your nationality. Judging by his selections, Bruce Shelley appears to play France exclusively. Spain should take Cortes as the first (and only) Indian guy and have done with it. For UK and NLD, you need some help from the map in deciding whether to be friendly or hostile.​