Founders’ Fortune is a Colony Sim game that just came out of early access.  You start with two colonists on an island and start building a new little town.  If you’ve played Colony Sim games before this all sounds pretty standard.  And it is.  And that’s part of it’s magic.  Without sitting through any boring tutorials or Googling a bunch of guides I was able to jump right into the fun.  It’s pretty easy to figure out what to do and how to do it.  Lay some floor, surround it with four walls.  Your people start building it right away.  Need wood?  Click a person, right click a tree and tell them to harvest it.  As someone who hates the “learning how to play” part of any new game this was refreshing.

Simple Doesn't Mean Easy

Just because it’s simple doesn’t mean it’s easy though.  In the winter of my second year I ran out of food.  I set my colonists to Low Rations, which put everyone in a bad mood.  And finally slaughtered all the nearby wild pigs to survive until spring.  I’m sure everyone enjoyed chowing down on bacon all winter, but that short term decision meant there were no more pigs anymore.  Could I have tamed them and bred them in a way that would ensure future pork products?  Probably, but not anymore.  They’re extinct now.

Teach Them Well

Colonists will die of old age.  That’s inevitable.  But your colonists can fall in love and make new colonists (children).  Having your Scholar teach the children, almost like some kind of school, will ensure the future generation of your colony knows how to cook.  This game mechanic keeps things interesting, as you can’t just rely on one max level colonist forever.  Growing new colonists and training them is a fun part of the game.

People Have Thoughts and Feelings

There’s a real Sims quality to your colonists.  They have “wishes” that make them happy if fulfilled, like wanting a flower pot in their home or a place to sleep.  They have relationship meters with the other colonists.  With enough positive interactions they can become friends, or even lovers.  They also have traits, like being allergic to certain foods or loving animals.  One newcomer to my colony had trouble because she was allergic to potatoes, and guess what was the only crop I had planted?  And when your people are starving during a harsh winter don’t send the guy with the Animal Lover trait to kill all the pigs, he’ll be super sad.  Then he’ll have a mental breakdown.  Seriously, if people get upset enough they freak out and refuse to work anymore.   

Bottom Line

If you like Colony Simulation games then you should get Founders’ Fortune.  It’s just delightful.