The Colonists

2016

The Colonists is a complex, engaging board game where players act as mayors, developing their village, managing resources, creating jobs, and educating citizens for prosperity.

360
minutes

1 - 4
player(s)

12+

Heavy

About the game

Welcome to the intriguing world of The Colonists, a game that takes you on a journey through centuries of civilization. This strategic and complex board game is designed by Tim Puls and invites players to become stewards of a small colony, guiding its growth and prosperity over time.

The game’s theme and setting are deeply rooted in the concepts of colonization and civilization-building. Your colony starts as a tiny settlement in the middle of a resource-rich wilderness. As the game progresses, you’ll oversee its transformation into a bustling metropolis, witnessing the evolution of technology, infrastructure, and society along the way.

Game components Unboxing the fun!

The Colonists is an intricate, strategy-based board game with a wide variety of components. These components work together to create a complex and engaging gaming experience. Here’s a list and description of each component, and how it interacts with the game:

1. Game Boards:

These are modular tiles that make up the landscape of the game. There are four different eras, each with its own unique set of game boards. The boards are shuffled and laid out at the start of each era. Players move their steward pieces around the boards to execute various actions.

2. Steward Pawns:

Each player has a pawn known as a steward. This piece is moved around the game boards to take actions such as gathering resources, building structures, or activating special abilities. The position of a player’s steward can greatly affect their strategy and options on each turn.

3. Resource Tokens:

There are various types of resources in the game, represented by different tokens. These include wood, clay, food, tools, and bricks. Players gather these resources by executing actions on the game boards. Resources are used to build structures and advance in the game.

4. Structures:

There are several different types of structures that players can build in their colony, each with its own cost and benefit. These include houses, storage buildings, production buildings, and more. Building structures can grant players new abilities, increase their resource production, or score them victory points.

5. Development Cards:

These cards represent technological advancements that players can invest in. Developing technologies can grant players special abilities, make their actions more efficient, or score them victory points. The cost and benefit of each technology is listed on its corresponding card.

6. Market Cards:

Market cards are laid out next to the game boards and offer additional actions that players can take. These actions often involve trading resources, hiring workers, or gaining bonuses in exchange for certain conditions. The market cards change each era, adding variability and strategic depth to the game.

7. Diplomacy Cards:

Diplomacy cards are a type of development card that allows players to interact with each other in more direct ways. This can include trading resources, influencing each other’s colonies, or competing for control of certain areas on the game boards.

8. Era Cards:

At the start of each era, an era card is revealed. This card introduces new rules, actions, or events for that era, adding a layer of unpredictability and challenge to the game.

9. Player Boards:

Each player has a personal board where they manage their colony. This includes their resources, structures, technologies, and workers. The player board provides an overview of a player’s progress and current capabilities in the game.

10. Workers:

Workers are a resource that players can hire through certain actions. Workers can be assigned to different tasks in a player’s colony, such as producing resources or building structures. Managing workers efficiently is a crucial aspect of the game.

Game setup Lay it out, line it up, let’s go

The Colonists is a strategy board game designed for 1-4 players. The game requires careful planning, resource management, and strategic thinking. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to set up the game.

Step 1: Player Roles

Each player in ‘The Colonists’ takes on the role of a colonial governor. As a governor, your job is to manage your colony’s resources, workforce, and infrastructure to ensure its growth and prosperity.

Step 2: Setting Up the Game Board

Place the Main Board in the center of the play area.
Shuffle the Era I Hex Tiles and place them face-down in a pile.
Draw and place 16 Era I Hex Tiles face-up in a circle around the Main Board. This forms the first Era.
Repeat the process with the Era II, III, and IV Hex Tiles, placing them in concentric circles around the first Era.
Place the Market and the Embassy Tiles on their respective spaces on the Main Board.
Place the Development Board near the Main Board and place the corresponding Development Cards on their respective spaces.

Step 3: Setting Up Player Components

Each player chooses a color and takes the corresponding player pieces.
Each player places one of their Storage Houses on the ‘5’ space of the Storage House track on the Main Board.
Each player places one of their Stewards on the ‘0’ space of the Steward track on the Main Board.
Each player places their Diplomat on the Diplomat track on the Main Board.
Each player places their remaining pieces (Citizens, Storage Houses, and Stewards) in their personal play area.

Step 4: Initial Resources

Each player starts the game with the following resources:

3 food
2 tools
1 wood
1 clay
1 iron
1 gold

These resources should be placed in the player’s respective Storage Houses.

Step 5: Random Elements

The Colonists includes several random elements to ensure each game is unique:

The placement of the Era Hex Tiles is randomized each game, creating a unique game board each time.
Development Cards are shuffled and drawn at random, adding unpredictability to the game’s progression.

Now that the game is set up, players can begin taking turns to grow and manage their colonies. Good luck!

Game flow Round and round we go

‘The Colonists’ is a complex and engaging strategy board game where players take on the roles of colony leaders in an effort to build the most prosperous settlement. The game spans over several eras with each era bringing its own unique challenges and opportunities.

Game Structure:

The game is divided into various eras, each consisting of multiple years. Each year is further divided into half-years, making up the individual turns of the players. The structure of the game is as follows:

Setup: The game board is prepared with the central market in place, surrounded by a random assortment of building tiles. Players choose their starting colonist and prepare their individual player boards.
Eras: The game is played over four eras. Each era represents a different period of the colony’s development and introduces new buildings, tools and resources. Players are required to adapt their strategy with each new era.
Years: Each era is divided into a number of years. The number of years in an era varies based on the number of players and the chosen game length. Each year is further divided into half-years.
Half-Years: These represent the individual turns of the players. In each half-year, a player can move their colonist pawn, perform actions such as building, cultivating, or trading, and then draw new building tiles for the upcoming era.

Actions:

During their turn, players can perform a variety of actions. The available actions are:

Moving: A player can move their colonist pawn up to two spaces in any direction on the game board. This allows them to visit different buildings and interact with them.
Building: If a player’s pawn is on a building tile, they can choose to build that building on their player board. This requires the necessary resources and provides various benefits.
Cultivating: Players can cultivate the land around their buildings to produce resources. The type of resource produced depends on the type of land and the building.
Trading: Players can trade resources at the central market for other resources or tools. The market’s rates change throughout the game, so timing is crucial.
Planning: Players can plan for the future by drawing new building tiles for the upcoming era. This allows them to prepare their strategy for the next round.

A player’s turn ends when they have completed their actions. The game continues until all eras have been played through. The player with the most prosperous colony, as determined by the points earned through buildings, resources, and achievements, wins the game.

Players'turn One turn to rule them all

In The Colonists, a turn-based strategy board game, each player’s turn is divided into several key steps that allow for a variety of actions and strategic choices. These will influence the overall gameplay and players’ strategies.

1. Starting Phase:

At the beginning of each turn, the player should ensure they have the correct amount of resources according to their current storage capability. This includes food, tools, clay, wood, bricks, planks, and gold.

2. Movement Phase:

Players move their steward pawn along the hexagonal tiles on the game board. They can move up to two spaces in any direction, allowing access to different buildings and resources. The direction of the move may open up different strategies and opportunities.

3. Action Phase:

After moving, a player can perform one of five possible actions:

Production: The player can produce resources based on the tile where their steward pawn is located. For example, a forest tile will yield wood, and a mountain tile will yield stone.
Building: The player can build a structure on an empty tile. The type of building determines the resources required and the benefits received.
Upgrading: The player can upgrade a structure they own, enhancing its benefits. Upgrades require specific resources and may require tools.
Trading: The player can trade resources with the market or other players. The exchange rates depend on the current market conditions and the resources involved.
Recruiting: The player can recruit new colonists to their colony. More colonists mean more actions can be performed each turn, but they also require additional food.

4. End Phase:

The player’s turn ends after they have performed their action. They should check their resources, adjust their strategy based on their current position, and prepare for their next turn. Any excess resources not stored are discarded.

Each turn in The Colonists presents a myriad of strategic choices and resource management challenges. The player must balance immediate needs with long-term goals, optimize their movement and actions, and react to the changing game board and opponent strategies.

End of the game All good games must come to an end

The game of ‘The Colonists’ is an epic strategy game that spans multiple eras where players manage their small colony of settlers. The game ends after a specific number of eras (as chosen at the start of the game) have been completed. Each era consists of several rounds, and each round is made up of multiple turns. When the final era is over, the game ends, and final scoring takes place.

Victory Conditions:

The player with the most victory points at the end of the game is declared the winner. There are several ways to accumulate victory points throughout the game:

Building Structures: Players earn victory points for building various structures within their colony. The number of points varies depending on the structure.
Upgrading Colony: Players can also earn victory points by upgrading their colony. This includes upgrading buildings and investing in better infrastructure.
Completing Development Cards: Certain development cards grant victory points when completed.
Special Bonus Points: Some eras offer bonus victory points for achieving certain goals.

Final Scoring:

Once the last era ends, players proceed to the final scoring phase. This involves several steps:

Count Building Points: Players add up all the victory points from the structures they have built within their colony.
Count Upgrade Points: Players add up all the victory points they have earned from upgrading their colony.
Count Development Card Points: Players count the victory points earned from completed development cards.
Add Bonus Points: Players add any bonus points they may have earned from special objectives or achievements.
Total Scores: Players total all their points to determine their final score.

After all players have calculated their final scores, the player with the highest total is the winner. In case of a tie, the player with the most surplus resources is the winner.

Scoring Did you outsmart your rivals?

The Colonists is a strategy board game that requires players to build and develop their own colony. The player who has accumulated the most victory points at the end of the game is declared the winner. The scoring system in ‘The Colonists’ is broken down into several categories, each offering different amounts of victory points.

Building Structures:

Each building constructed in your colony awards a certain amount of victory points, as indicated on the building tile.
Public buildings usually award more points than private ones.

Advancements:

Technological advancements also award players with victory points. The more advanced the technology, the more points it’s worth.
Players can also earn points by advancing in the four different development paths (Culture, Economy, Science, and Government).

Resources:

At the end of the game, any remaining resources (wood, clay, brick, food, etc.) in a player’s storage can be converted into victory points. The conversion rate is usually 1 victory point for every 3 resources.

Era Points:

At the end of each era, players can earn additional victory points based on the era scoring card.

Tie-Breaking Rules:

In case of a tie, the game has a specific set of tie-breaking rules to determine the winner:

The player with the most remaining resources in their storage wins.
If there’s still a tie, the player with the most advanced technologies wins.
If there’s still a tie, the player who reached the end of the last era first is the winner.

It’s important to note that strategies in ‘The Colonists’ should be flexible, as the availability of resources, building tiles, and advancement cards can vary from game to game.

Particular Cases and Exceptions Wait… is that legal?

The Colonists is a complex strategy game. Here are some of the more rare or special rules, exceptions, and rule clarifications that might be important when playing this game:

1. The Envoy Rule:

In The Colonists, an envoy is a special piece that can be used once per era. It has the ability to move to any space on the board, regardless of distance. However, it’s important to note that the envoy cannot be used to build on a space unless that space is adjacent to a player’s existing structures.

2. The Storage Rule:

When players acquire goods, they must immediately place them in their storage. If a player’s storage is full, they must either remove and return some goods to the supply or decline the new goods. One cannot temporarily exceed their storage capacity.

3. The Market Rule:

Players can only sell goods to the market during their own turn, and only once per turn. They cannot sell goods during another player’s turn or in response to another player’s actions.

4. The Building Limit:

Players are limited to building one building per turn, unless they use a tool that allows them to build more. This rule is often misunderstood and players sometimes build multiple buildings in a single turn without using a tool.

5. The Tool Shed Rule:

Tool sheds can only be used once per turn. This means that if a player has multiple tool sheds, they can use each one once per turn, but they cannot use the same tool shed multiple times in a single turn.

6. The Diplomacy Rule:

Players can only use the Diplomacy action if they have at least one diplomat in their supply. If a player has no diplomats, they cannot perform the Diplomacy action, even if they have the necessary resources.

7. The Storage Shed Exception:

Unlike other buildings, storage sheds do not need to be adjacent to a player’s existing structures to be built. They can be built on any unoccupied space on the board.

Tips and tricks Play smarter, not harder!

In The Colonists, players aim to develop their own personal colony by managing resources and expanding their settlement. Following are some tips and strategies to optimize gameplay, as well as common mistakes to avoid:

Advanced Strategies:

Focus on long-term strategies rather than short-term gains. For instance, investing in buildings that provide continuous resources might be more beneficial in the long run as compared to one-time resource gains.
Pay attention to your storage capabilities. You cannot hold more goods than your storage allows, so plan accordingly to avoid wasting resources.
Try to minimize the number of moves between different locations. The more efficiently you manage your movement, the more actions you can perform in a turn.

Beginner Tips:

Understand the value of each resource. Some resources are more valuable and versatile than others, so prioritize them when planning your strategy.
Don’t overlook the importance of upgrading your storage and buildings. These upgrades can significantly boost your resource generation and storage capacity.
Experiment with different strategies and learn from your mistakes. The Colonists is a complex game with numerous possible approaches, so don’t be afraid to try new tactics.

Common Mistakes to Avoid:

Ignoring the need to upgrade: Many beginners focus on expanding their colony without upgrading their existing buildings. Upgrades can make your operations more efficient and should not be overlooked.
Not diversifying your resources: Relying too heavily on one type of resource can leave you vulnerable if that resource becomes scarce. Diversify your resource collection to protect yourself from shortages.
Spreading too thin: While it might be tempting to expand rapidly, doing so can stretch your resources thin and make it harder to defend your colony. Focus on developing a strong base before expanding.

Ways to Optimize Gameplay:

Plan your moves ahead: Try to anticipate future needs and plan your moves accordingly. This will help you make the most effective use of your actions and resources.
Balance resource generation and storage: Too much of either can be wasteful. Aim for a balance that allows you to generate and store resources efficiently.
Learn from others: Playing against more experienced players can provide valuable insights into effective strategies and tactics.