The Colonists
- Players
- 1-4
- Best withThe player count this game plays best at.
- 2 players
- Play timeHow long a full game runs once everyone knows the rules.
- 360 min
- AgeThe minimum age printed by the publisher.
- 12+
- ComplexityHow demanding the rules are, from 1 (very light) to 5 (very heavy).
- 4.1 / 5
- Year
- 2016
About the game
The Colonists puts players in charge of a growing village, developing their environment to make room for new farmers, craftsmen, and citizens. The core goal is full employment: players create jobs, educate their people, and build houses to grow the population, all while managing limited resource storage and upgrading buildings over time. Players select actions by moving a mayor pawn on a central board, gradually building up an increasingly complex production economy. Designed with multiple levels and scenarios, including a tutorial-style introduction, playtime scales from around 30 minutes for beginners up to 180 minutes for experts. It's a deep, scenario-driven worker-placement civilization builder from designer Tim Puls.
Hobbli's Notes
The Colonists stands out for its thoughtful scenario progression, letting new players ease into a genuinely deep production-chain economy rather than being thrown in at the deep end. The solo mode is a nice bonus for players without a regular group. At its highest complexity level, sessions can stretch to a full evening, and the sheer number of interlocking systems demands patience. A rewarding long-term investment for fans of deep civilization and economy-building games.
What we like
- Scalable tutorial-to-expert scenario structure eases learning.
- Deep production-chain economy building with real depth.
- Strong solo mode for solitaire play.
- Satisfying long-term village-growth strategic arc.
Keep in mind
- Very long playtime at higher complexity levels.
- Dense rules and bookkeeping across many production chains.
- Large table footprint and significant component overhead.
Who it's for
Best for dedicated Euro-strategy gamers aged 12+ who enjoy deep economic worker placement, playable solo or in groups of up to four.
