# FreeCol > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/FreeCol > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/FreeCol.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FreeCol > Source revision: 1351431416 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) 2003 open source simulation game FreeCol Challenge the New World... Screenshot from FreeCol 0.5.2 Original author The Freecol Team Developer SourceForge project FreeCol Release January 2, 2003; 23 years ago (2003-01-02) Stable release 1.2.0 / July 4, 2024; 23 months ago (2024-07-04) Written in Java Platform Java platform 11 or later, display 1024×768 or more Available in 54 languages (translatewiki.net) List of languages af ang ar arz be bg br bs ca cs-CZ da de el en-GB eo es et eu fa fi fr gl grc he hsb hu ia id it-IT ja km ko lt mk ms nb nds nl nl-BE nn oc pl-PL pms pt-BR pt-PT qqq ru sq sv ta tl tr uk zh-CN Type Turn-based strategy video game License GPL-2.0-or-later Website www.freecol.org Repository github.com/FreeCol/freecol ***FreeCol*** is a [4X video game](/source/4X_video_game), a [clone](/source/Video_game_clone) of *[Sid Meier's Colonization](/source/Sid_Meier's_Colonization)*.[1] *FreeCol* is [free and open source software](/source/Free_and_open_source_software) released under the [GNU GPL-2.0-or-later](/source/GNU_General_Public_License). In 2023, the *FreeCol* project reached its 1.0 release, after twenty years of development.[2] *FreeCol* is mostly programmed in [Java](/source/Java_(programming_language)) and should thus be [platform-independent](/source/Cross-platform). In practice, it is known to run on [Linux](/source/Linux) and [Windows](/source/Microsoft_Windows), as well as [Mac OS X](/source/Mac_OS_X) (with some limitations). While remaining faithful to the original in terms of mechanics and gameplay, *FreeCol* features redesigned graphics. Moreover, in addition to the classical *Colonization* rules, it features an additional ruleset that incorporates ideas that didn't make it to the final version of Meier's game, requests by fans and original concepts like new European players with new national bonuses. ## Gameplay Screenshot of the unit selection screen In *FreeCol* the player leads the colony of a European power from the arrival on the shore of the [New World](/source/New_World) into the future, achieving victory by one of two possible victory conditions: either gaining independence by declaring [independence](/source/Independence) and subsequently defeating the dispatched royal expeditionary force or by defeating the colonies of all the competing European powers by the year 1600. To be allowed to declare independence, at least 50% of the player's colonists must support independence. This is achieved by producing liberty bells; 200 liberty bells turn one colonist from being a royalist into being a rebel. To be able to defeat the royal expeditionary force the player must train and build a strong enough army of their own. Another important factor are the numerous settlements of different [Native American](/source/Indigenous_peoples_of_the_Americas) nations. Native settlements can be traded with to gain gold or they can be conquered for treasure. Native settlements can also teach the player's colonists and turn them into specialist. Specialists are considerably more productive when assigned in their trade. Most specialists can be trained for gold in Europe or come as settlers for free, but certain specialists can only be trained at certain native settlements, you can also train new specialists if you already have a specialist. *FreeCol* starts in 1492 with two [colonists](/source/Settler) on a caravel on the ocean at the player's disposal. The player is the king's proxy and is supposed to lead the caravel to the shore and found a colony in the [New World](/source/New_World) consisting of multiple settlements. The player gets additional colonists by producing food (200 food units in a settlement generates a new unit), by immigration from Europe, by converting the natives or by capturing unarmed units of competing European colonies. The player may trade with Europe using various natural resources which are produced in [settlements](/source/Human_settlement) or acquired from trade with [natives](/source/Indigenous_peoples). In each settlement the player can also build up industrial buildings to convert raw materials into processed goods, which sell for more in Europe, providing a significant economic advance. ## Reception In February 2007 FreeCol was [SourceForge](/source/SourceForge)'s Project of the Month.[3] In 2008 [Rock, Paper, Shotgun](/source/Rock%2C_Paper%2C_Shotgun)'s game journalist Alec Meer had mixed feelings about FreeCol but still called it: "it's an (sic) remarkable accomplishment, and I'm very glad it's out there." and "FreeCol, though, is here right now, it's free, it's stable, it's pretty much feature-complete and unlike its parent it has multiplayer".[4] In 2010 Alec Meer named FreeCol in [Rock, Paper, Shotgun](/source/Rock%2C_Paper%2C_Shotgun) as a better alternative when he was confronted with the later commercial remake *[Civilization IV: Colonization](/source/Civilization_IV%3A_Colonization)*.[5] As of April 2026, FreeCol has been downloaded over 2,200,000 times on [SourceForge](/source/SourceForge).[6] ## See also - [Free and open-source software portal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Free_and_open-source_software) - [Video games portal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Video_games) - [List of open source games](/source/List_of_open_source_games) ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Mielewczik, Michael (2007). "Rückkehr der Klassiker. Remakes von Colonization und SimCity". *PC Magazin LINUX* (in German). 3/2007: 75–76. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Dawe, Liam (2023-01-10). ["20 years later the open source Colonization game FreeCol hits 1.0"](https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2023/01/20-years-later-the-open-source-colonization-game-freecol-hits-10/). [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20241227234806/https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2023/01/20-years-later-the-open-source-colonization-game-freecol-hits-10/) from the original on 2024-12-27. Retrieved 2023-07-05. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["Project of the Month, February 2007"](https://sourceforge.net/blog/potm-2007-02/). 2007-01-31. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20160604030344/https://sourceforge.net/blog/potm-2007-02/) from the original on 2016-06-04. Retrieved 2024-09-22. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Alec Meer (2008-06-12). ["Get Ur FreeCol"](https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/get-ur-freecol). *[Rock, Paper, Shotgun](/source/Rock%2C_Paper%2C_Shotgun)*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20240921152852/https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/get-ur-freecol) from the original on 2024-09-21. Retrieved 2024-09-22. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Alex Meer (2010-03-01). ["A Brief History Of Modern Retro"](https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/a-brief-history-of-modern-retro). *[Rock, Paper, Shotgun](/source/Rock%2C_Paper%2C_Shotgun)*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20240921152853/https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/a-brief-history-of-modern-retro) from the original on 2024-09-21. Retrieved 2024-09-22. You may be better off with the open source fan remake, FreeCol. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** ["Download Statistics"](https://sourceforge.net/projects/freecol/files/stats/timeline?dates=2002-01-02%20to%202026-04-01). *[SourceForge.net](/source/SourceForge.net)*. 2026-04-01. Retrieved 2026-04-27. ## External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to [FreeCol](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:FreeCol). - [Official website](http://www.freecol.org/) - [FreeCol](https://translatewiki.net/wiki/FreeCol) on [translatewiki.net](/source/Translatewiki.net) - [FreeCol](https://community.fandom.com/wiki/w:c:civilization:FreeCol) on the [Civilization](https://community.fandom.com/wiki/w:c:civilization) [Wikia](/source/Wikia) - [FreeCol](https://openhub.net/p/freecol/) at [Open Hub](/source/Open_Hub) v t e Civilization List of media Main games Civilization Civilization II Conflicts in Civilization Test of Time Civilization III Play the World Conquests Civilization IV Warlords Beyond the Sword Colonization Civilization V Gods & Kings Brave New World Civilization VI Rise and Fall Gathering Storm Civilization VII Spin-offs Video games Revolution World Revolution 2 Beyond Earth Rising Tide Tabletop games Civilization (2002) The Card Game Civilization (2010) Civilization: A New Dawn Related Games Civilization (1980) Sid Meier's Colonization Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri Call to Power Call to Power II CivCity: Rome Sid Meier's Starships Freeciv C-evo FreeCol Rhye's and Fall of Civilization Other Sid Meier MicroProse Firaxis Music "Baba Yetu" Nuclear Gandhi Category --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [FreeCol](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FreeCol) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FreeCol?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.