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Colonization port v1.0.0
Sid Meier's Colonization for Windows (1995), ported to modern systems from its byte-matched
reconstruction. No game files are included: you need your own copy of the game -- either
Colonization for Windows (1995, patched or not), or Steam's or GOG's Colonization, whose
disc image (COLONIZE.ISO, COLONIZE.GOG) carries the Windows edition.
What's new in v1.0.0
- The first full release: earlier versions were all marked pre-releases. The game is the same
as v0.1.14, so see that entry below for the latest fixes. Coming from an older kit, unzip this
one over it and yourgamefolder and saves stay.
| Download | Platform | Start |
|---|---|---|
colonization-port-windows-x86.zip |
Windows (32-bit program; runs on 32- and 64-bit Windows) | Colonization.exe |
colonization-port-linux-i386.zip |
Linux (a Winelib program: needs Wine with its 32-bit part) | ./colonization |
colonization-port-macos.zip |
macOS (the 32-bit Windows program under Wine: needs Gcenx's Wine, not Apple's Game Porting Toolkit) | ./colonization |
How to run
- Unzip the kit into the folder of your game:
- Colonization for Windows: the folder with
COLONIZE.EXE(for exampleC:\MPS\COLONIZE); - Steam's Colonization: its install folder, the one with
COLONIZE.ISO
(Steam: right-click the game > Manage > Browse local files); - GOG's Colonization: its install folder, the one with
COLONIZE.GOG.
- Colonization for Windows: the folder with
- Start the launcher from the kit's folder:
Colonization.exeon Windows,./colonizationin a
terminal on macOS and Linux (install Wine first: on macOSbrew install --cask wine@devel; on
Debian/Ubuntusudo dpkg --add-architecture i386 && sudo apt install wine wine32).
The launcher finds the game in the folder it was unzipped into (or one it is given: Colonization.exe "D:\Games\Colonization", ./colonization /path/to/game), checks COLONIZE.EXE's SHA-256, and
remembers the folder. It looks in the current folder, its own folder and the one above it, and
the folder used last time; failing those it asks, with a folder dialog, until one holds the game.
- Colonization for Windows: the game runs in its own folder, reads its pictures, sounds and
data there and saves there, as the original did. - Steam or GOG: the launcher unpacks the Windows edition from
COLONIZE.ISOorCOLONIZE.GOG
once (a few seconds) into agamefolder inside the kit's folder, and the game runs and saves
there. Nothing goes into your user profile. To update, unzip the new kit over the old one: the
gamefolder and your saves stay.
If it does not start or stops: colonization-port.log beside the launcher says why, and a crash
leaves colonization-port.dmp there too; please send both.
How it was tested (status/*.json at this release)
- Windows x86 program: 757 of 757 checkpoints in lockstep with the original game over 7 scenarios
- Linux program: 757 of 757 checkpoints in lockstep with the original game over 7 scenarios
- The rules: the port plays the same saved games turn for turn with the original, compared
at every step of every turn; the screens: 9 scripted UI sessions. - On a real Windows machine: Windows 6.1 build 7601 SP1, 64-bit, v0.1.1 windows-x86 (2026-10-11).
Known limits
- A Steam or GOG copy (the original 1995 release) lacks the patch's
COLDATA9.DLL: the Jukebox's
Control Panel and the Cheat menu's dialogs crash. Everything else plays. - The Windows game plays its music from the CD's audio tracks; a disc image has none.
- The macOS and Linux kits run through Wine; they are not native programs.
Version v1.0.0. Checksums: SHA256SUMS.txt.
Colonization port v0.1.14
Sid Meier's Colonization for Windows (1995), ported to modern systems from its byte-matched
reconstruction. No game files are included: you need your own copy of the game -- either
Colonization for Windows (1995, patched or not), or Steam's or GOG's Colonization, whose
disc image (COLONIZE.ISO, COLONIZE.GOG) carries the Windows edition.
What's new in v0.1.14
- Check boxes keep what you set (#9): unticking a box in the Custom House, or Fast Piece
Slide in the options, looked fine until the window closed, and then nothing had changed. The
port read every box after the first one from the wrong place in memory. It now reads each box
from its own. Thanks to Ross Drew. - Units slide at a speed you can watch (#6): the 1995 game moved a unit across a square as
fast as the computer could draw it. That was slow enough to follow on a 1995 PC but looks like
teleporting today. Each step of the slide now waits 12 ms, so a normal move takes about a fifth
of a second, and Fast Piece Slide is still twice as fast. SetPORT_SLIDE_MSto change the
wait, or to 0 to turn it off. Thanks to Ross Drew. - No more free horses and muskets (#10): the colonist profession menu could hand out horses,
muskets and other goods the colony didn't have. Part of the list of goods a job needs wasn't
cleared first, and leftover values were added to the colony's stock. It's now cleared in full,
as in the original. Thanks to Ross Drew.
| Download | Platform | Start |
|---|---|---|
colonization-port-windows-x86.zip |
Windows (32-bit program; runs on 32- and 64-bit Windows) | Colonization.exe |
colonization-port-linux-i386.zip |
Linux (a Winelib program: needs Wine with its 32-bit part) | ./colonization |
colonization-port-macos.zip |
macOS (the 32-bit Windows program under Wine: needs Gcenx's Wine, not Apple's Game Porting Toolkit) | ./colonization |
How to run
- Unzip the kit into the folder of your game:
- Colonization for Windows: the folder with
COLONIZE.EXE(for exampleC:\MPS\COLONIZE); - Steam's Colonization: its install folder, the one with
COLONIZE.ISO
(Steam: right-click the game > Manage > Browse local files); - GOG's Colonization: its install folder, the one with
COLONIZE.GOG.
- Colonization for Windows: the folder with
- Start the launcher from the kit's folder:
Colonization.exeon Windows,./colonizationin a
terminal on macOS and Linux (install Wine first: on macOSbrew install --cask wine@devel; on
Debian/Ubuntusudo dpkg --add-architecture i386 && sudo apt install wine wine32).
The launcher finds the game in the folder it was unzipped into (or one it is given: Colonization.exe "D:\Games\Colonization", ./colonization /path/to/game), checks COLONIZE.EXE's SHA-256, and
remembers the folder. It looks in the current folder, its own folder and the one above it, and
the folder used last time; failing those it asks, with a folder dialog, until one holds the game.
- Colonization for Windows: the game runs in its own folder, reads its pictures, sounds and
data there and saves there, as the original did. - Steam or GOG: the launcher unpacks the Windows edition from
COLONIZE.ISOorCOLONIZE.GOG
once (a few seconds) into agamefolder inside the kit's folder, and the game runs and saves
there. Nothing goes into your user profile. To update, unzip the new kit over the old one: the
gamefolder and your saves stay.
If it does not start or stops: colonization-port.log beside the launcher says why, and a crash
leaves colonization-port.dmp there too; please send both.
How it was tested (status/*.json at this release)
- Windows x86 program: 757 of 757 checkpoints in lockstep with the original game over 7 scenarios
- Linux program: 757 of 757 checkpoints in lockstep with the original game over 7 scenarios
- The rules: the port plays the same saved games turn for turn with the original, compared
at every step of every turn; the screens: 9 scripted UI sessions. - On a real Windows machine: Windows 6.1 build 7601 SP1, 64-bit, v0.1.1 windows-x86 (2026-10-11).
Known limits
- A Steam or GOG copy (the original 1995 release) lacks the patch's
COLDATA9.DLL: the Jukebox's
Control Panel and the Cheat menu's dialogs crash. Everything else plays. - The Windows game plays its music from the CD's audio tracks; a disc image has none.
- The macOS and Linux kits run through Wine; they are not native programs.
Version v0.1.14. Checksums: SHA256SUMS.txt.
Colonization port v0.1.13
Sid Meier's Colonization for Windows (1995), ported to modern systems from its byte-matched
reconstruction. No game files are included: you need your own copy of the game -- either
Colonization for Windows (1995, patched or not), or Steam's or GOG's Colonization, whose
disc image (COLONIZE.ISO, COLONIZE.GOG) carries the Windows edition.
What's new in v0.1.13
- New World maps (#5): a generated map put mountains on nearly every square next to the
sea. One step of the generator reads the memory just past the four world options. The
original always finds 0 there, so the step runs 800 times. The port read a different value
from that spot and ran the step millions of times. It now runs 800 times, like the original,
and the land is mostly flat again. America's map was never affected. - When the game stops responding, the log now says where it stopped. Windows marks a window
"Not Responding" after five seconds without a message, and closing it then ended the game with
0xCFFFFFFF and nothing in the log, which the launcher called "a crash". Now the stalled code's
stack goes into the log ashanglines, acolonize-port-hang.dmpis saved next to it, and
the launcher calls that exit a hang. The log's header also lists the CD drives: the music is
CD audio, and the game waits on the drive.
| Download | Platform | Start |
|---|---|---|
colonization-port-windows-x86.zip |
Windows (32-bit program; runs on 32- and 64-bit Windows) | Colonization.exe |
colonization-port-linux-i386.zip |
Linux (a Winelib program: needs Wine with its 32-bit part) | ./colonization |
colonization-port-macos.zip |
macOS (the 32-bit Windows program under Wine: needs Gcenx's Wine, not Apple's Game Porting Toolkit) | ./colonization |
How to run
- Unzip the kit into the folder of your game:
- Colonization for Windows: the folder with
COLONIZE.EXE(for exampleC:\MPS\COLONIZE); - Steam's Colonization: its install folder, the one with
COLONIZE.ISO
(Steam: right-click the game > Manage > Browse local files); - GOG's Colonization: its install folder, the one with
COLONIZE.GOG.
- Colonization for Windows: the folder with
- Start the launcher from the kit's folder:
Colonization.exeon Windows,./colonizationin a
terminal on macOS and Linux (install Wine first: on macOSbrew install --cask wine@devel; on
Debian/Ubuntusudo dpkg --add-architecture i386 && sudo apt install wine wine32).
The launcher finds the game in the folder it was unzipped into (or one it is given: Colonization.exe "D:\Games\Colonization", ./colonization /path/to/game), checks COLONIZE.EXE's SHA-256, and
remembers the folder. It looks in the current folder, its own folder and the one above it, and
the folder used last time; failing those it asks, with a folder dialog, until one holds the game.
- Colonization for Windows: the game runs in its own folder, reads its pictures, sounds and
data there and saves there, as the original did. - Steam or GOG: the launcher unpacks the Windows edition from
COLONIZE.ISOorCOLONIZE.GOG
once (a few seconds) into agamefolder inside the kit's folder, and the game runs and saves
there. Nothing goes into your user profile. To update, unzip the new kit over the old one: the
gamefolder and your saves stay.
If it does not start or stops: colonization-port.log beside the launcher says why, and a crash
leaves colonization-port.dmp there too; please send both.
How it was tested (status/*.json at this release)
- Windows x86 program: 757 of 757 checkpoints in lockstep with the original game over 7 scenarios
- Linux program: 757 of 757 checkpoints in lockstep with the original game over 7 scenarios
- The rules: the port plays the same saved games turn for turn with the original, compared
at every step of every turn; the screens: 9 scripted UI sessions. - On a real Windows machine: Windows 6.1 build 7601 SP1, 64-bit, v0.1.1 windows-x86 (2026-10-11).
Known limits
- A Steam or GOG copy (the original 1995 release) lacks the patch's
COLDATA9.DLL: the Jukebox's
Control Panel and the Cheat menu's dialogs crash. Everything else plays. - The Windows game plays its music from the CD's audio tracks; a disc image has none.
- The macOS and Linux kits run through Wine; they are not native programs.
Version v0.1.13. Checksums: SHA256SUMS.txt.
Colonization port v0.1.12
Sid Meier's Colonization for Windows (1995), ported to modern systems from its byte-matched
reconstruction. No game files are included: you need your own copy of the game -- either
Colonization for Windows (1995, patched or not), or Steam's or GOG's Colonization, whose
disc image (COLONIZE.ISO, COLONIZE.GOG) carries the Windows edition.
What's new in v0.1.12
- The port now keeps everything in its own folder. A Steam or GOG game it unpacks goes into a
gamefolder next toColonization.exe(or thecolonizationscript), together with your
saves, the folder it remembers and the log. Nothing is written to your user profile any more
(%LOCALAPPDATA%,%APPDATA%,~/Library/Application Support,~/.local/share,
~/.config), so the whole thing can live on a USB stick. To update, unzip the new kit over
the old one and yourgamefolder and saves stay. - Coming from an older kit: the first start unpacks the game again into the new place and copies
your saves over from the old one. - Saving and loading work in deep folders too. Windows' old file functions refuse a path of 128
characters or more, and a game inside Steam's own folder gets close to that.
| Download | Platform | Start |
|---|---|---|
colonization-port-windows-x86.zip |
Windows (32-bit program; runs on 32- and 64-bit Windows) | Colonization.exe |
colonization-port-linux-i386.zip |
Linux (a Winelib program: needs Wine with its 32-bit part) | ./colonization |
colonization-port-macos.zip |
macOS (the 32-bit Windows program under Wine: needs Gcenx's Wine, not Apple's Game Porting Toolkit) | ./colonization |
How to run
- Unzip the kit into the folder of your game:
- Colonization for Windows: the folder with
COLONIZE.EXE(for exampleC:\MPS\COLONIZE); - Steam's Colonization: its install folder, the one with
COLONIZE.ISO
(Steam: right-click the game > Manage > Browse local files); - GOG's Colonization: its install folder, the one with
COLONIZE.GOG.
- Colonization for Windows: the folder with
- Start the launcher from the kit's folder:
Colonization.exeon Windows,./colonizationin a
terminal on macOS and Linux (install Wine first: on macOSbrew install --cask wine@devel; on
Debian/Ubuntusudo dpkg --add-architecture i386 && sudo apt install wine wine32).
The launcher finds the game in the folder it was unzipped into (or one it is given: Colonization.exe "D:\Games\Colonization", ./colonization /path/to/game), checks COLONIZE.EXE's SHA-256, and
remembers the folder. It looks in the current folder, its own folder and the one above it, and
the folder used last time; failing those it asks, with a folder dialog, until one holds the game.
- Colonization for Windows: the game runs in its own folder, reads its pictures, sounds and
data there and saves there, as the original did. - Steam or GOG: the launcher unpacks the Windows edition from
COLONIZE.ISOorCOLONIZE.GOG
once (a few seconds) into agamefolder inside the kit's folder, and the game runs and saves
there. Nothing goes into your user profile. To update, unzip the new kit over the old one: the
gamefolder and your saves stay.
If it does not start or stops: colonization-port.log beside the launcher says why, and a crash
leaves colonization-port.dmp there too; please send both.
How it was tested (status/*.json at this release)
- Windows x86 program: 757 of 757 checkpoints in lockstep with the original game over 7 scenarios
- Linux program: 757 of 757 checkpoints in lockstep with the original game over 7 scenarios
- The rules: the port plays the same saved games turn for turn with the original, compared
at every step of every turn; the screens: 9 scripted UI sessions. - On a real Windows machine: Windows 6.1 build 7601 SP1, 64-bit, v0.1.1 windows-x86 (2026-10-11).
Known limits
- A Steam or GOG copy (the original 1995 release) lacks the patch's
COLDATA9.DLL: the Jukebox's
Control Panel and the Cheat menu's dialogs crash. Everything else plays. - The Windows game plays its music from the CD's audio tracks; a disc image has none.
- The macOS and Linux kits run through Wine; they are not native programs.
Version v0.1.12. Checksums: SHA256SUMS.txt.
Colonization port v0.1.11
Sid Meier's Colonization for Windows (1995), ported to modern systems from its byte-matched
reconstruction. No game files are included: you need your own copy of the game -- either
Colonization for Windows (1995, patched or not), or Steam's or GOG's Colonization, whose
disc image (COLONIZE.ISO, COLONIZE.GOG) carries the Windows edition.
What's new in v0.1.11
- Wide screens and zooming out (#7): a map window larger than the map -- a 2560- or
3440-pixel-wide screen, or zoomed out on a smaller one -- showed a black band on the left and
drew discovered land as ocean next to its units. The map now starts at the window's left and
top edge, with black beyond its east and south edges, and every square is drawn where it is.
The 1995 game had the same flaw, but no screen of its day was large enough to show it.
| Download | Platform | Start |
|---|---|---|
colonization-port-windows-x86.zip |
Windows (32-bit program; runs on 32- and 64-bit Windows) | Colonization.exe |
colonization-port-macos.zip |
macOS (the 32-bit Windows program under Wine: needs Gcenx's Wine, not Apple's Game Porting Toolkit) | ./colonization |
This release was built by hand, without CI, and has no Linux kit: on Linux, keep using
v0.1.10's until the next release.
How to run
- Unzip the kit into the folder of your game:
- Colonization for Windows: the folder with
COLONIZE.EXE(for exampleC:\MPS\COLONIZE); - Steam's Colonization: its install folder, the one with
COLONIZE.ISO
(Steam: right-click the game > Manage > Browse local files); - GOG's Colonization: its install folder, the one with
COLONIZE.GOG.
- Colonization for Windows: the folder with
- Start the launcher from the kit's folder:
Colonization.exeon Windows,./colonizationin a
terminal on macOS and Linux (install Wine first: on macOSbrew install --cask wine@devel; on
Debian/Ubuntusudo dpkg --add-architecture i386 && sudo apt install wine wine32).
The launcher finds the game in the folder it was unzipped into (or one it is given: Colonization.exe "D:\Games\Colonization", ./colonization /path/to/game), checks COLONIZE.EXE's SHA-256, and
remembers the folder. It looks in the current folder, its own folder and the one above it, and
the folder used last time; failing those it asks, with a folder dialog, until one holds the game.
- Colonization for Windows: the game runs in its own folder, reads its pictures, sounds and
data there and saves there, as the original did. - Steam or GOG: the launcher unpacks the Windows edition from
COLONIZE.ISOorCOLONIZE.GOG
once (a few seconds) into
a folder of its own --%LOCALAPPDATA%\colonization-port\gameon Windows,
~/Library/Application Support/colonization-port/gameon macOS,
~/.local/share/colonization-port/gameon Linux -- and the game runs and saves there.
If it does not start or stops: colonization-port.log beside the launcher says why, and a crash
leaves colonization-port.dmp there too; please send both.
How it was tested (status/*.json at this release)
- Windows x86 program: 757 of 757 checkpoints in lockstep with the original game over 7 scenarios
- Linux program: 757 of 757 checkpoints in lockstep with the original game over 7 scenarios
- The rules: the port plays the same saved games turn for turn with the original, compared
at every step of every turn; the screens: 9 scripted UI sessions. - On a real Windows machine: Windows 6.1 build 7601 SP1, 64-bit, v0.1.1 windows-x86 (2026-10-11).
Known limits
- A Steam or GOG copy (the original 1995 release) lacks the patch's
COLDATA9.DLL: the Jukebox's
Control Panel and the Cheat menu's dialogs crash. Everything else plays. - The Windows game plays its music from the CD's audio tracks; a disc image has none.
- The macOS and Linux kits run through Wine; they are not native programs.
Version v0.1.11. Checksums: SHA256SUMS.txt.
Colonization port v0.1.10
Sid Meier's Colonization for Windows (1995), ported to modern systems from its byte-matched
reconstruction. No game files are included: you need your own copy of the game -- either
Colonization for Windows (1995, patched or not), or Steam's or GOG's Colonization, whose
disc image (COLONIZE.ISO, COLONIZE.GOG) carries the Windows edition.
What's new in v0.1.10
- Saving works on Windows 7 (testers: the 32-bit Save button did nothing there, while the
64-bit program, and the 32-bit one on Windows 10 and 11, saved). Three changes:- Windows 7 and 8 get the open/save dialog of Windows XP instead of Vista's shell dialog,
the one that failed (PORT_XP_DIALOG=1or0in the environment overrides the choice). - The game's 64 MB stack is now its own thread's, not every thread's. Windows gives each new
thread the program's stack size, and a 32-bit program has room for only about 29 threads of
64 MB: too few for the shell dialog's own. - As in 1995 on Windows 3.1, the dialog suggests the save's name (
eng1492.sav) in its name
box and lists the*.savfiles, and the name keeps the game's folder.
- Windows 7 and 8 get the open/save dialog of Windows XP instead of Vista's shell dialog,
colonize-port.logsays more about each dialog: which kind it was, the room the program had
(address space, threads), and what it returned.
| Download | Platform | Start |
|---|---|---|
colonization-port-windows-x86.zip |
Windows (32-bit program; runs on 32- and 64-bit Windows) | Colonization.exe |
colonization-port-linux-i386.zip |
Linux (a Winelib program: needs Wine with its 32-bit part) | ./colonization |
colonization-port-macos.zip |
macOS (the 32-bit Windows program under Wine: needs Gcenx's Wine, not Apple's Game Porting Toolkit) | ./colonization |
How to run
- Unzip the kit into the folder of your game:
- Colonization for Windows: the folder with
COLONIZE.EXE(for exampleC:\MPS\COLONIZE); - Steam's Colonization: its install folder, the one with
COLONIZE.ISO
(Steam: right-click the game > Manage > Browse local files); - GOG's Colonization: its install folder, the one with
COLONIZE.GOG.
- Colonization for Windows: the folder with
- Start the launcher from the kit's folder:
Colonization.exeon Windows,./colonizationin a
terminal on macOS and Linux (install Wine first: on macOSbrew install --cask wine@devel; on
Debian/Ubuntusudo dpkg --add-architecture i386 && sudo apt install wine wine32).
The launcher finds the game in the folder it was unzipped into (or one it is given: Colonization.exe "D:\Games\Colonization", ./colonization /path/to/game), checks COLONIZE.EXE's SHA-256, and
remembers the folder. It looks in the current folder, its own folder and the one above it, and
the folder used last time; failing those it asks, with a folder dialog, until one holds the game.
- Colonization for Windows: the game runs in its own folder, reads its pictures, sounds and
data there and saves there, as the original did. - Steam or GOG: the launcher unpacks the Windows edition from
COLONIZE.ISOorCOLONIZE.GOG
once (a few seconds) into
a folder of its own --%LOCALAPPDATA%\colonization-port\gameon Windows,
~/Library/Application Support/colonization-port/gameon macOS,
~/.local/share/colonization-port/gameon Linux -- and the game runs and saves there.
If it does not start or stops: colonization-port.log beside the launcher says why, and a crash
leaves colonization-port.dmp there too; please send both.
How it was tested (status/*.json at this release)
- Windows x86 program: 757 of 757 checkpoints in lockstep with the original game over 7 scenarios
- Linux program: 757 of 757 checkpoints in lockstep with the original game over 7 scenarios
- The rules: the port plays the same saved games turn for turn with the original, compared
at every step of every turn; the screens: 9 scripted UI sessions. - On a real Windows machine: Windows 6.1 build 7601 SP1, 64-bit, v0.1.1 windows-x86 (2026-10-11).
Known limits
- A Steam or GOG copy (the original 1995 release) lacks the patch's
COLDATA9.DLL: the Jukebox's
Control Panel and the Cheat menu's dialogs crash. Everything else plays. - The Windows game plays its music from the CD's audio tracks; a disc image has none.
- The macOS and Linux kits run through Wine; they are not native programs.
Version v0.1.10. Checksums: SHA256SUMS.txt.
Colonization port v0.1.9
Sid Meier's Colonization for Windows (1995), ported to modern systems from its byte-matched
reconstruction. No game files are included: you need your own copy of the game -- either
Colonization for Windows (1995, patched or not), or Steam's or GOG's Colonization, whose
disc image (COLONIZE.ISO, COLONIZE.GOG) carries the Windows edition.
What's new in v0.1.9
- One Windows kit:
colonization-port-windows-x86. The 64-bit Windows kit is no longer
released. The 32-bit program runs on both 32- and 64-bit Windows, and is the one testers found
working; players of the x64 kit should switch to it -- saved games carry over unchanged.
| Download | Platform | Start |
|---|---|---|
colonization-port-windows-x86.zip |
Windows (32-bit program; runs on 32- and 64-bit Windows) | Colonization.exe |
colonization-port-linux-i386.zip |
Linux (a Winelib program: needs Wine with its 32-bit part) | ./colonization |
colonization-port-macos.zip |
macOS (the 32-bit Windows program under Wine: needs Gcenx's Wine, not Apple's Game Porting Toolkit) | ./colonization |
How to run
- Unzip the kit into the folder of your game:
- Colonization for Windows: the folder with
COLONIZE.EXE(for exampleC:\MPS\COLONIZE); - Steam's Colonization: its install folder, the one with
COLONIZE.ISO
(Steam: right-click the game > Manage > Browse local files); - GOG's Colonization: its install folder, the one with
COLONIZE.GOG.
- Colonization for Windows: the folder with
- Start the launcher from the kit's folder:
Colonization.exeon Windows,./colonizationin a
terminal on macOS and Linux (install Wine first: on macOSbrew install --cask wine@devel; on
Debian/Ubuntusudo dpkg --add-architecture i386 && sudo apt install wine wine32).
The launcher finds the game in the folder it was unzipped into (or one it is given: Colonization.exe "D:\Games\Colonization", ./colonization /path/to/game), checks COLONIZE.EXE's SHA-256, and
remembers the folder. It looks in the current folder, its own folder and the one above it, and
the folder used last time; failing those it asks, with a folder dialog, until one holds the game.
- Colonization for Windows: the game runs in its own folder, reads its pictures, sounds and
data there and saves there, as the original did. - Steam or GOG: the launcher unpacks the Windows edition from
COLONIZE.ISOorCOLONIZE.GOG
once (a few seconds) into
a folder of its own --%LOCALAPPDATA%\colonization-port\gameon Windows,
~/Library/Application Support/colonization-port/gameon macOS,
~/.local/share/colonization-port/gameon Linux -- and the game runs and saves there.
If it does not start or stops: colonization-port.log beside the launcher says why, and a crash
leaves colonization-port.dmp there too; please send both.
How it was tested (status/*.json at this release)
- Windows x86 program: 757 of 757 checkpoints in lockstep with the original game over 7 scenarios
- Linux program: 757 of 757 checkpoints in lockstep with the original game over 7 scenarios
- The rules: the port plays the same saved games turn for turn with the original, compared
at every step of every turn; the screens: 9 scripted UI sessions. - On a real Windows machine: Windows 6.1 build 7601 SP1, 64-bit, v0.1.1 windows-x86 (2026-10-11).
Known limits
- A Steam or GOG copy (the original 1995 release) lacks the patch's
COLDATA9.DLL: the Jukebox's
Control Panel and the Cheat menu's dialogs crash. Everything else plays. - The Windows game plays its music from the CD's audio tracks; a disc image has none.
- The macOS and Linux kits run through Wine; they are not native programs.
Version v0.1.9. Checksums: SHA256SUMS.txt.
Colonization port v0.1.8
Sid Meier's Colonization for Windows (1995), ported to modern systems from its byte-matched
reconstruction. No game files are included: you need your own copy of the game -- either
Colonization for Windows (1995, patched or not), or Steam's or GOG's Colonization, whose
disc image (COLONIZE.ISO, COLONIZE.GOG) carries the Windows edition.
What's new in v0.1.8
- The Save Game dialog opens in the game's folder (where Win16's did, and where the game
keeps its saves), and each open or save dialog writes a line tocolonize-port.log: its
folder, the name chosen or that it was closed, and any error. A tester's 32-bit Save button
did nothing on Windows while the 64-bit one worked; should the program's thread be in a
multithreaded COM apartment, which the shell's dialog does not support, the dialog now runs on
a thread of its own. Not reproduced here (Wine's dialog is not Windows'): the log line says
which case a player hit.
| Download | Platform | Start |
|---|---|---|
colonization-port-windows-x86.zip |
Windows (32-bit program; runs on 32- and 64-bit Windows) | Colonization.exe |
colonization-port-windows-x64.zip |
Windows (64-bit program) | Colonization.exe |
colonization-port-linux-i386.zip |
Linux (a Winelib program: needs Wine with its 32-bit part) | ./colonization |
colonization-port-macos.zip |
macOS (the 32-bit Windows program under Wine: needs Gcenx's Wine, not Apple's Game Porting Toolkit) | ./colonization |
How to run
- Unzip the kit into the folder of your game:
- Colonization for Windows: the folder with
COLONIZE.EXE(for exampleC:\MPS\COLONIZE); - Steam's Colonization: its install folder, the one with
COLONIZE.ISO
(Steam: right-click the game > Manage > Browse local files); - GOG's Colonization: its install folder, the one with
COLONIZE.GOG.
- Colonization for Windows: the folder with
- Start the launcher from the kit's folder:
Colonization.exeon Windows,./colonizationin a
terminal on macOS and Linux (install Wine first: on macOSbrew install --cask wine@devel; on
Debian/Ubuntusudo dpkg --add-architecture i386 && sudo apt install wine wine32).
The launcher finds the game in the folder it was unzipped into (or one it is given: Colonization.exe "D:\Games\Colonization", ./colonization /path/to/game), checks COLONIZE.EXE's SHA-256, and
remembers the folder. It looks in the current folder, its own folder and the one above it, and
the folder used last time; failing those it asks, with a folder dialog, until one holds the game.
- Colonization for Windows: the game runs in its own folder, reads its pictures, sounds and
data there and saves there, as the original did. - Steam or GOG: the launcher unpacks the Windows edition from
COLONIZE.ISOorCOLONIZE.GOG
once (a few seconds) into
a folder of its own --%LOCALAPPDATA%\colonization-port\gameon Windows,
~/Library/Application Support/colonization-port/gameon macOS,
~/.local/share/colonization-port/gameon Linux -- and the game runs and saves there.
If it does not start or stops: colonization-port.log beside the launcher says why, and a crash
leaves colonization-port.dmp there too; please send both.
How it was tested (status/*.json at this release)
- Windows x86 program: 757 of 757 checkpoints in lockstep with the original game over 7 scenarios
- Windows x64 program: 757 of 757 checkpoints in lockstep with the original game over 7 scenarios
- Linux program: 757 of 757 checkpoints in lockstep with the original game over 7 scenarios
- Linux x86_64: 757 of 757 checkpoints in lockstep with the original game over 7 scenarios
- The rules: the port plays the same saved games turn for turn with the original, compared
at every step of every turn; the screens: 9 scripted UI sessions. - On a real Windows machine: Windows 6.1 build 7601 SP1, 64-bit, v0.1.1 windows-x86 (2026-10-11).
Known limits
- A Steam or GOG copy (the original 1995 release) lacks the patch's
COLDATA9.DLL: the Jukebox's
Control Panel and the Cheat menu's dialogs crash. Everything else plays. - The Windows game plays its music from the CD's audio tracks; a disc image has none.
- The macOS and Linux kits run through Wine; they are not native programs.
Version v0.1.8. Checksums: SHA256SUMS.txt.
Colonization port v0.1.7
Sid Meier's Colonization for Windows (1995), ported to modern systems from its byte-matched
reconstruction. No game files are included: you need your own copy of the game -- either
Colonization for Windows (1995, patched or not), or Steam's or GOG's Colonization, whose
disc image (COLONIZE.ISO, COLONIZE.GOG) carries the Windows edition.
What's new in v0.1.7
- GOG's Colonization works too. GOG's DOS release keeps the same disc as Steam's, as
COLONIZE.GOG(a raw CD image): the launcher unpacks its Windows edition once, as it does
Steam'sCOLONIZE.ISO. Both give the same game folder, byte for byte. - The launcher looks in a new order: the current folder, then the launcher's own folder and
the one above it, then the folder used last time -- in each, an installed Colonization for
Windows first, thenCOLONIZE.ISO, thenCOLONIZE.GOG. Failing those it asks with a folder
dialog (also on macOS and Linux now), and asks again until the chosen folder holds the game.
An installed copy now needs its data files besideCOLONIZE.EXE, not the program alone.
| Download | Platform | Start |
|---|---|---|
colonization-port-windows-x86.zip |
Windows (32-bit program; runs on 32- and 64-bit Windows) | Colonization.exe |
colonization-port-windows-x64.zip |
Windows (64-bit program) | Colonization.exe |
colonization-port-linux-i386.zip |
Linux (a Winelib program: needs Wine with its 32-bit part) | ./colonization |
colonization-port-macos.zip |
macOS (the 32-bit Windows program under Wine: needs Gcenx's Wine, not Apple's Game Porting Toolkit) | ./colonization |
How to run
- Unzip the kit into the folder of your game:
- Colonization for Windows: the folder with
COLONIZE.EXE(for exampleC:\MPS\COLONIZE); - Steam's Colonization: its install folder, the one with
COLONIZE.ISO
(Steam: right-click the game > Manage > Browse local files); - GOG's Colonization: its install folder, the one with
COLONIZE.GOG.
- Colonization for Windows: the folder with
- Start the launcher from the kit's folder:
Colonization.exeon Windows,./colonizationin a
terminal on macOS and Linux (install Wine first: on macOSbrew install --cask wine@devel; on
Debian/Ubuntusudo dpkg --add-architecture i386 && sudo apt install wine wine32).
The launcher finds the game in the folder it was unzipped into (or one it is given: Colonization.exe "D:\Games\Colonization", ./colonization /path/to/game), checks COLONIZE.EXE's SHA-256, and
remembers the folder. It looks in the current folder, its own folder and the one above it, and
the folder used last time; failing those it asks, with a folder dialog, until one holds the game.
- Colonization for Windows: the game runs in its own folder, reads its pictures, sounds and
data there and saves there, as the original did. - Steam or GOG: the launcher unpacks the Windows edition from
COLONIZE.ISOorCOLONIZE.GOG
once (a few seconds) into
a folder of its own --%LOCALAPPDATA%\colonization-port\gameon Windows,
~/Library/Application Support/colonization-port/gameon macOS,
~/.local/share/colonization-port/gameon Linux -- and the game runs and saves there.
If it does not start or stops: colonization-port.log beside the launcher says why, and a crash
leaves colonization-port.dmp there too; please send both.
How it was tested (status/*.json at this release)
- Windows x86 program: 757 of 757 checkpoints in lockstep with the original game over 7 scenarios
- Windows x64 program: 757 of 757 checkpoints in lockstep with the original game over 7 scenarios
- Linux program: 757 of 757 checkpoints in lockstep with the original game over 7 scenarios
- Linux x86_64: 757 of 757 checkpoints in lockstep with the original game over 7 scenarios
- The rules: the port plays the same saved games turn for turn with the original, compared
at every step of every turn; the screens: 9 scripted UI sessions. - On a real Windows machine: Windows 6.1 build 7601 SP1, 64-bit, v0.1.1 windows-x86 (2026-10-11).
Known limits
- A Steam or GOG copy (the original 1995 release) lacks the patch's
COLDATA9.DLL: the Jukebox's
Control Panel and the Cheat menu's dialogs crash. Everything else plays. - The Windows game plays its music from the CD's audio tracks; a disc image has none.
- The macOS and Linux kits run through Wine; they are not native programs.
Version v0.1.7. Checksums: SHA256SUMS.txt.
Colonization port v0.1.6
Sid Meier's Colonization for Windows (1995), ported to modern systems from its byte-matched
reconstruction. No game files are included: you need your own copy of the game -- either
Colonization for Windows (1995, patched or not), or Steam's Colonization, whose disc
image COLONIZE.ISO carries the Windows edition.
What's new in v0.1.6
- Water colour cycling. River currents and beach surf shimmer while the map waits for your
orders, as in the DOS version. The 1995 Windows game reserved the colours for it and kept the
Game Options item "Water Color Cycling", but never animated them; this is win-patches'
water-cycling, brought to the port. On by default; Game Options > Water Color Cycling turns
it off (the setting is saved with the game). The game's rules are unchanged. - For developers:
tools/coverage.py(which game functions the tests run), a colony screen
session, every UI session's screens checked against a baseline pixel for pixel, and
tools/gate.py, one command for all of it;tools/run_port.py --playno longer stops on
Python 3.14.
| Download | Platform | Start |
|---|---|---|
colonization-port-windows-x86.zip |
Windows (32-bit program; runs on 32- and 64-bit Windows) | Colonization.exe |
colonization-port-windows-x64.zip |
Windows (64-bit program) | Colonization.exe |
colonization-port-linux-i386.zip |
Linux (a Winelib program: needs Wine with its 32-bit part) | ./colonization |
colonization-port-macos.zip |
macOS (the 32-bit Windows program under Wine: needs Gcenx's Wine, not Apple's Game Porting Toolkit) | ./colonization |
How to run
- Unzip the kit into the folder of your game:
- Colonization for Windows: the folder with
COLONIZE.EXE(for exampleC:\MPS\COLONIZE); - Steam's Colonization: its install folder, the one with
COLONIZE.ISO
(Steam: right-click the game > Manage > Browse local files).
- Colonization for Windows: the folder with
- Start the launcher from the kit's folder:
Colonization.exeon Windows,./colonizationin a
terminal on macOS and Linux (install Wine first: on macOSbrew install --cask wine@devel; on
Debian/Ubuntusudo dpkg --add-architecture i386 && sudo apt install wine wine32).
The launcher finds the game in the folder it was unzipped into (or one it is given: Colonization.exe "D:\Games\Colonization", ./colonization /path/to/game), checks COLONIZE.EXE's SHA-256, and
remembers the folder. Unzipped elsewhere, it looks in the usual places and then asks once.
- Colonization for Windows: the game runs in its own folder, reads its pictures, sounds and
data there and saves there, as the original did. - Steam: the launcher unpacks the Windows edition from
COLONIZE.ISOonce (a few seconds) into
a folder of its own --%LOCALAPPDATA%\colonization-port\gameon Windows,
~/Library/Application Support/colonization-port/gameon macOS,
~/.local/share/colonization-port/gameon Linux -- and the game runs and saves there.
If it does not start or stops: colonization-port.log beside the launcher says why, and a crash
leaves colonization-port.dmp there too; please send both.
How it was tested (status/*.json at this release)
- Windows x86 program: 757 of 757 checkpoints in lockstep with the original game over 7 scenarios
- Windows x64 program: 757 of 757 checkpoints in lockstep with the original game over 7 scenarios
- Linux program: 757 of 757 checkpoints in lockstep with the original game over 7 scenarios
- Linux x86_64: 757 of 757 checkpoints in lockstep with the original game over 7 scenarios
- The rules: the port plays the same saved games turn for turn with the original, compared
at every step of every turn; the screens: 9 scripted UI sessions. - On a real Windows machine: Windows 6.1 build 7601 SP1, 64-bit, v0.1.1 windows-x86 (2026-10-11).
Known limits
- A Steam copy (the original 1995 release) lacks the patch's
COLDATA9.DLL: the Jukebox's
Control Panel and the Cheat menu's dialogs crash. Everything else plays. - The Windows game plays its music from the CD's audio tracks; a disc image has none.
- The macOS and Linux kits run through Wine; they are not native programs.
Version v0.1.6. Checksums: SHA256SUMS.txt.