FreeCol

FreeCol is a TBS clone of Sid Meier's Colonization. It is written in the Java programming language and licensed under the GPL.

In February 2007, it received the Sourceforge.net Project of the Month award.

Developers
The development team consists of numerous developers, along with contributors which are too many to name here.

Gameplay
Similar to the original game, FreeCol involves building up a strong economy while defending it with a decent military.

To win FreeCol, the player must either defeat all the other players or start a revolution and defend his/her colony against his/her former country.

Terrain types determine what kind of resources your colony can produce. The tile that the colony is located on will produce resources automatically with no colonists. For example, a forest will produce woods and furs while grassland is suitable for farming. However, a forest is limited in capacity as far as food production is concerned. The player can also improve the terrain by plowing or building roads. Plowing improves the productive capacity of farming while roads improve the productivity of mining.

The player will also need to balance food production, and produce liberty bells, among other factors. If, for example, the player does not have enough food, his/her colonists will starve. Not enough liberty bells will eventually lead to more "tories", which means the player will be further away from his/her goal of independence from their monarch.

Towns can be upgraded through time, with the necessary wood and tools. For example, they can eventually be upgraded to forts, shipyards, and other buildings.

Natives can be valuable trade partners, or hostile enemies.

History
See FreeCol release history.

The FreeCol project was launched on January 3, 2002.