Colony Building Game Online

Colony games online — what defines the genre

Colony building games have a clear core: you start with little, expand into new territories and use their resources to grow further. The principle of expansion — opening up new territories, managing and defending them — is one of the most satisfying feelings in the strategy genre.

Gameforge offers Ikariam as the most classic colony building game in its portfolio. Additionally, Metin2 as an action MMORPG offers a completely different perspective on expansion and territory — through three kingdoms in permanent competition for power.

Ikariam — the colony system in detail

First city, first colony

In Ikariam you start with a single city on a random island. Over time you unlock the ability to found colonies: you send ships to another island, found a new city there and exploit the local luxury resource. That is the classic colony loop — expansion through seafaring.

Resource strategy through colonies

Every island in Ikariam has a luxury resource: wine, marble, crystal glass or sulphur. You need all four for higher-level buildings and troops. Those without colonies must trade — expensively and dependently on neighbours. Those who colonise cleverly become self-sufficient. The colonisation strategy is one of the central decisions in the game.

Multi-city management

With multiple colonies you have several city developments to manage in parallel: different cities can be optimised for different roles — a trading city, a military base, a research metropolis. Multi-city management is the transition from beginner to advanced Ikariam player.

Metin2 — kingdom expansion instead of colonies

Metin2 has no city founding and no colonies in the classic sense. But it does have a form of territorial expansion: three kingdoms fight permanently for supremacy on the world map. Guilds control territories, farm resources and defend their spheres of influence against rival kingdoms.

That is colony gameplay on a different level — not as a single player founding a new city, but as part of an organised community holding and expanding territory.

Progression instead of colonisation

What colony expansion is in Ikariam, character progression is in Metin2. Every new dungeon mastered, every Biologist Quest level reached, every fully developed pet — that is Metin2's equivalent of a "new colony". The character grows continuously over months.

Which game suits which type of player?