The first published design by Tim Puls, The Colonists is a heavy-weight “gamers’ game” about building colonies during the Colonial Era. Each player is the governor of a small village, who must expand their holdings and find employment for all of their citizens. Over the course of the game, new Eras bring new professions that require more educated workers, adding another layer of strategic decision-making. The game system combines elements of worker placement games, resource management, and city-building themes.
The Colonists comes with 389 tiles, 120 meeples, 539 tokens, 180 cards, 4 Community boards, 9 colony overviews, 2 rulebooks, and an appendix. The game features artwork by Klemens Franz (Agricola, Le Havre). MSRP is $90.00.
The game is partially scenario driven, with players choosing between four different Eras to play, or playing a longer game that evolves from one Era to the next. Depending on which style of game is chosen, The Colonists can be played by 1 to 4 players, and games last from 30 minutes to four hours. The rules even have a section for “saving the game,” for players who cannot commit to a full campaign in a single sitting.
Earlier this year, Mayfair and its partner Lookout Games was awarded the Kennerspiel des Jahres award for another heavyweight game design, Isle of Skye (see “‘Spiel des Jahres’ 2016 Winner Announced”).
