# Sid Meier's Colonization

> Colonial era strategy game of exploration, settlement, trade, and independence. (iPhone/iPad app by Atari.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sid-meiers-colonization/id1022704417 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Atari](https://appshunter.io/developer/291286181)
- Category: Games, Adventure, Simulation
- Price: $2.99
- Rating: 2.30/5 from 209 App Store ratings · 262 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 8.0 · 17 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2015-08-21
- Data updated: 2026-09-11
- Monetization: paid
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sid-meiers-colonization/id1022704417/reviews.md

## What is Sid Meier's Colonization?

The Tradition of Civilization Continues 

The New World lies before you with all its peril, promise and infinite possibility. Your colonists anxiously follow you to shore. The treasures of an entire continent await you. 

Finally, the much-anticipated follow-up to Civilization is here! Sid Meier's Colonization takes you into the Colonial Era to discover, explore and colonize vast territories that promise both danger and reward. 

Play one of four colonial powers as you set sail to discover the New World. Explore new lands and strategically plant your first colony. Direct its growth, manage its resources and establish lucrative trade routes. Balance economics, political and military strategy to create your own powerful nation. 

But beware of your enemies! Angry natives and rival powers can encroach upon your territory. You'll have to overcome your foes with superior military strategy and wily diplomacy. Only then can you launch your revolution and declare your independence. 

Colonization, The newest strategy game from Sid Meier continues the great tradition of Civilization. 

—User Reviews— 
“The game is a rich and varied Gestalt of top colony activity. Strategies must be divined with care, and constantly modified to ride the chaotic rapids of the thousands of interactive elements in this opus of creative genius. Perhaps. Or it could just be a damn fine game.”

“Colonization offers hours and hours of entertainment. I played it for over a week to write this review and it commanded my total concentration all the time to play it once through. Because the game can be very different every time you play it, this means that Colonization is the sort of game you could play for ever.”

FEATURES
• Manage your growth, development and trade to create a powerful nation. 
• Pit your strategic skills against Colonization's advanced artificial intelligence. 
• Play either the French, English, Dutch or Spanish colonial powers each with distinct characteristics and political situations. 
• Customize your games and choose your own level of difficulty so you never play the same game twice. 
• Discover and explore the Americas or create your own scenario with a random map generator.
• Same design principles and interface as award-winning Civilization, making game play easy and fun.

## Key features

- Explore and colonize new lands
- Manage growth, development, and trade
- Engage in diplomacy and military strategy
- Play as four distinct colonial powers
- Customize game difficulty and maps
- Advanced artificial intelligence opponents

## What do users think of Sid Meier's Colonization?

Overall sentiment: negative

**Pros**

- 👍 Exactly like the original game
- 🚀 Classic gameplay
- 💡 Nostalgia factor
- 🚀 Engaging and addictive

**Cons**

- 🐛 Unresponsive and clunky controls
- 🐛 Keyboard overlay covers too much of the screen
- 🐛 Difficulty loading/unloading cargo
- 🐛 Unable to move diagonally
- 🐛 Compatibility issues with newer iOS versions

**Commonly reported bugs**

- Game crashes on launch
- Cursor/touch input issues
- Performance problems and slowdowns

**Most requested features**

- Add support for Bluetooth keyboard and mouse
- Optimize touch controls for mobile
- Implement drag-and-drop functionality
- Provide a tutorial or instructions on how to use the controls

## Recent user reviews (10 of 262)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sid-meiers-colonization/id1022704417/reviews.md

### 5/5 — Old and wonky but worth it

*2026-08-18, version 2.4*

If you want a great depth for low battery usage for hours of gameplay… look no further.

Gonna have to figure out the “Hot Keys” then youre good.

### 4/5 — One of the most nice strategy game ported on ios platform

*2026-07-03, version 2.4*

Thanks to offer us this old jewel. This 1995’s game just need some graphic polish with new technologies. But the core is the same and we love it.
When are you able to integrate local network game between 2 or 3 apple devices.
Maybe some mouse porting need some adjustments. When you need 3 fingers for example to choose quantities of goods you want to migrate…
Thanks it s like the original one the best!

### 1/5 — Won’t launch

*2026-06-12, version 2.4*

I love this game from my back in my childhood. Can’t believe I spent money on it now though as it won’t launch.

### 1/5 — Controls WAY too clunky - Don’t Buy

*2026-03-07, version 2.4*

I love this game, but this version is unplayable. You have to literally drag the cursor around the screen to play.

### 1/5 — Not worth the purchase on a Mac

*2026-03-03, version 2.4*

The keyboard takes over the screen, you have to keep hiding it to see what it says and the finger and mouse alignment is shocking. I loved this game and played for hours years ago. I was thrilled to see it on the App Store however, I cannot play this on the iPad. Gutted.

### 1/5 — Listen to the others' reviews

*2025-10-15, version 2.4*

Navigation and controls are unbearable. Starts with you having to touch/point the arrow. Then keypad to navigate. Then basically you're stuck trying to assign a colonist because it's unclear how to exit the screen. Played for about 5 mins and have requested a refund.

### 1/5 — Not good

*2025-09-03, version 2.4*

Just terrible , the game controls are unusable. Completely takes any fun out of the game

### 4/5 — Ignore negative reviews

*2025-07-22, version 2.4*

I’ve been looking for this game for so long, I can’t believe I just found it. The click and drag functions are easily replaced by alternating between the inbuilt keyboard mode and the manual moving of the cursor on screen. Same music, same graphics, exactly the same game. Been playing it and loving it all over again. SO glad I finally found it!

### 1/5 — Doesn’t work

*2025-06-15, version 2.4*

Crashes when open waste of money

### 1/5 — Do not recommend

*2025-06-03, version 2.4*

It’s honestly kind of amazing how poorly this port is done. I read the reviews and thought, “hmmm, I’m playing with a mouse and keyboard connected to my iPad - surely these complaints I’m reading won’t apply.” Wrong. Completely wrong. In order to use a keyboard, you need to use the built-in virtual keyboard. It does not recognize one connected to the iPad. And mouse? Nope, you have to use a bizarre touch interface to move the mouse. Is this playable? Probably. Would it be fun? No.

## Frequently asked questions about Sid Meier's Colonization

### What is Sid Meier's Colonization?

Sid Meier's Colonization is a turn-based strategy game set in the Colonial Era. Players take on the role of a colonial power, aiming to explore, settle, and develop new territories in the New World. The ultimate goal is to build a powerful nation and declare independence from your home country.

### What are the key features of the game?

Key features include exploring and colonizing vast territories, managing your colony's growth, development, and trade, engaging in strategic diplomacy and warfare against native populations and rival powers, and playing as one of four distinct colonial powers. The game also offers customizable difficulty and map generation for replayability.

### How much does Sid Meier's Colonization cost?

Based on the provided information, this application is a paid game. There are no mentions of free-to-play elements, subscriptions, or in-app purchases, indicating a one-time purchase model.

### What kind of strategic decisions do players make?

Players must balance economic, political, and military strategies. This involves directing colony growth, managing resources, establishing lucrative trade routes, and making decisions regarding diplomacy and military engagement with both indigenous peoples and competing colonial powers to achieve independence.

### Is this game similar to Civilization?

Yes, the game is described as the much-anticipated follow-up to Civilization and continues its great tradition. It shares the same design principles and interface as the award-winning Civilization, making gameplay easy and fun for fans of that series.

## Version history (last 3 releases)

### 2.4 — 2016-05-10

This update from Apple will improve the functionality of this app. No new features are included.

Minor bug fixes

### 2.2 — 2015-10-21

iOS 9 support

### 1.6.0 — 2015-08-21

No release notes.

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All apps by Atari: https://appshunter.io/developer/291286181

## Related topics

[colonization](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/colonization) · [sid meier](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/sid-meier) · [colonization games](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/colonization-games)

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-09-11.*