For fans of construction and management sims

Founder's Fortune isn't a particularly complex simulation, but it's designed to be engaging enough to be captivating. It's not particularly challenging, but it keeps players focused and actively managing all aspects of their little settlers and their developing colony. This is not to say, however, that the game is lacking in automation. Indeed, Founder's Fortune's AI is top notch, allowing you to set jobs for your settlers as well as telling each of them how to prioritize them, and they'll do an efficient job of completing tasks as necessary.

You will have to balance resource gathering, construction, and researching new advancements, all while ensuring your colonists are fed and their personal needs are met. There are some aspects borrowed from The Sims, such as the need to eat and sleep, social interactions to build relationships, and wishes and expectations to fill. All of this will influence your colonist's mood. If their mood plummets, they'll quit working for a while.

You also have to contend with your colony's neighbors. Various native tribes, hostile pirates, and friendly traders all demand tribute from your colony and you can hurt or improve your reputation with them to your benefit or hindrance.

The neat part of the construction aspect is that you don't construct whole buildings to act as homes and workshops for your colony. You build floorplans and walls and get to place furniture within as you see fit. This offers up a fair degree of flexibility and creativity, although I wish there were more visual customization options than there are on offer.

Each game goes through a progression of stages. At first it is all about survival and construction. Then it quickly turns into gathering the resources you need to progress along the research tree. Around this time, the native tribes start demanding tribute, and you have to decide whether or not to engage in friendly trade with them (and make sure you can spare the goods they require) or focus on getting militant with them. This is also around the time the trader starts to become more important, as you now have more goods you can sell (especially for valuable scrolls you need for research). Then the pirates start to become a problem. At some point your villagers start having kids, and you have to contend with expanding your colony to accommodate them. And child development is an entirely unique aspect of play. The better you raise your kids, the more productive villagers they will grow into.

All of this keeps gameplay varied and engaging. Every minute there is a new goal or objective to strive for, and you have to maintain the balance of productivity throughout your colony to keep up. 24 hours into my first playthrough and I'm still encountering new developments and having to approach unique challenges in new ways. And it never starts to feel tedious or mundane.

The interface isn't pretty but it's laid out in a clear and concise manner. Sound design basically exists. There are simple audio cues for "dialog" when you select your settlers but no voice over. Music is pleasant but it doesn't stand out. The graphics are... certainly unique. They're getting points for style but they're not winning any awards any time soon. That's not to say that the game is ugly. Water looks nice and animated grass blows in the breeze, but the graphics clearly aren't looking to impress. The characters are all rendered in this blocky, cartoony style that isn't particularly hard to look at. Graphics wise, it still beats Minecraft.

Founders' Fortune is a fun and engaging little sim. Play it and enjoy!

For fans of construction and management sims Founder's Fortune isn't a particularly complex simulation, but it's designed to be engaging enough to be captivating. It's not particularly challenging, but it keeps players focused and actively managing all aspects of their little settlers and their developing colony. This is not to say, however, that the game is lacking in automation. Indeed, Founder's Fortune's AI is top notch, allowing you to set jobs for your settlers as well as telling each of them how to prioritize them, and they'll do an efficient job of completing tasks as necessary. You will have to balance resource gathering, construction, and researching new advancements, all while ensuring your colonists are fed and their personal needs are met. There are some aspects borrowed from The Sims, such as the need to eat and sleep, social interactions to build relationships, and wishes and expectations to fill. All of this will influence your colonist's mood. If their mood plummets, they'll quit working for a while. You also have to contend with your colony's neighbors. Various native tribes, hostile pirates, and friendly traders all demand tribute from your colony and you can hurt or improve your reputation with them to your benefit or hindrance. The neat part of the construction aspect is that you don't construct whole buildings to act as homes and workshops for your colony. You build floorplans and walls and get to place furniture within as you see fit. This offers up a fair degree of flexibility and creativity, although I wish there were more visual customization options than there are on offer. Each game goes through a progression of stages. At first it is all about survival and construction. Then it quickly turns into gathering the resources you need to progress along the research tree. Around this time, the native tribes start demanding tribute, and you have to decide whether or not to engage in friendly trade with them (and make sure you can spare the goods they require) or focus on getting militant with them. This is also around the time the trader starts to become more important, as you now have more goods you can sell (especially for valuable scrolls you need for research). Then the pirates start to become a problem. At some point your villagers start having kids, and you have to contend with expanding your colony to accommodate them. And child development is an entirely unique aspect of play. The better you raise your kids, the more productive villagers they will grow into. All of this keeps gameplay varied and engaging. Every minute there is a new goal or objective to strive for, and you have to maintain the balance of productivity throughout your colony to keep up. 24 hours into my first playthrough and I'm still encountering new developments and having to approach unique challenges in new ways. And it never starts to feel tedious or mundane. The interface isn't pretty but it's laid out in a clear and concise manner. Sound design basically exists. There are simple audio cues for "dialog" when you select your settlers but no voice over. Music is pleasant but it doesn't stand out. The graphics are... certainly unique. They're getting points for style but they're not winning any awards any time soon. That's not to say that the game is ugly. Water looks nice and animated grass blows in the breeze, but the graphics clearly aren't looking to impress. The characters are all rendered in this blocky, cartoony style that isn't particularly hard to look at. Graphics wise, it still beats Minecraft. Founders' Fortune is a fun and engaging little sim. Play it and enjoy!