[Col] Computer Game Review's Guide To Sid Meier's Colonization

Miniskirt

Chieftain
Joined
Mar 24, 2024
Messages
87
Inspired by AyCe's thread, [Col] Sid Meier's Colonization Official Strategy Guide, I scanned my copy of another guide put out about the same time, from Computer Game Review in 1994. CGR was a fairly good magazine, bought out a couple of years later by the owners of Computer Gaming World after a 6 year run. The CGR guide was baggied with that month's magazine as a separate 32 page entity, of which 3 pages are ads, and was bought by me at the main Penn Station NYC magazine shop where I would peruse all computer gaming magazines. They had all of them, at least a dozen. I had this guide folded in half and kept in the Colonization retail box, but it scanned "okay" even so. The scan is not perfect, I am sorry about that, but it is serviceable. Since Archive.org is not currently taking new users, I hosted this as a PDF on DropBox, feel free to move this file elsewhere if that link becomes unusable.

Find it here: Computer Game Review's Guide To Sid Meier's Colonization is a great resource and a good read. It is a bit like a condensed version of the retail strategy guide book but not quite the same. Below is a summary.

Cover.png
Sid.png
GoldenTriad.png
Trepidation.png


It opens with an editorial by the pleasantly surprised Steve Honeywell who says his fears over Colonization were unfounded.

Then there is the main 5 page review in which Colonization scored 93% and thereby won the magazine's Golden Triad award, which if I recall correctly went to any PC game earning a rating of 90+ percent by their 3 reviewers. Chock full of eye candy graphics and well written.

Following this is a 5 page interview with Sid Meier, What Becomes A Legend Most, discussing the game, it's inspirations, and the computer gaming business in general.

There are excellent 1 page articles for each of the 4 colonial powers and how to play them.

3 pages of everything to know about building and managing Colonies, including those small outpost feeder colonies.

ColonySample.png
Natives.png


Next is a nice1-pager on the Congress (early, mid, and late game), and a comprehensive 2-pager on everything Native (cohabitation, exploiting, and genocide). Then a page each on War in general (building armies, terrain bonuses, fighting) and declaring Revolution (preparing for and waging of).

The guide ends with a great 4 page walk through of playing the French from their beginnings. The retail book has a similar walk through which instead features the English, so it is nice to see this from a different nation's perspective. The CGR walk through handles relations with the other 3 powers, including the Dutch who exit early. There is some smattering of dealing with the Cherokee, who are pitted against the Spanish and later against the final Tory landing parties during the War For Independence. Independence is achieved in 1675, ironically with a Spanish assist, ending with a score of 170%.

Victory.png


A great find by me back in the day, and a great read now particularly for new players and those like me who could use a refresher course.
 

Attachments

  • Page 01 Cover.jpg
    Page 01 Cover.jpg
    3.1 MB · Views: 4
  • Sid.png
    Sid.png
    1.2 MB · Views: 2
  • ColonySample.png
    ColonySample.png
    1.5 MB · Views: 2
  • Victory.png
    Victory.png
    1.3 MB · Views: 2
  • Trepidation.png
    Trepidation.png
    158.9 KB · Views: 2
Top Bottom