<s>
FreeCol	B-Language
is	O
a	O
4X	B-Application
video	I-Application
game	I-Application
,	O
a	O
clone	O
of	O
Sid	B-Application
Meier	I-Application
's	I-Application
Colonization	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
FreeCol	B-Language
is	O
free	B-Application
and	I-Application
open	I-Application
source	I-Application
software	I-Application
released	O
under	O
the	O
GNU	B-License
GPL-2.0-or-later	I-License
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2023	O
,	O
the	O
FreeCol	B-Language
project	O
reached	O
its	O
1.0	O
release	O
,	O
after	O
twenty	O
years	O
of	O
development	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
FreeCol	B-Language
is	O
mostly	O
programmed	O
in	O
Java	B-Language
and	O
should	O
thus	O
be	O
platform-independent	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
practice	O
,	O
it	O
is	O
known	O
to	O
run	O
on	O
Linux	B-Application
and	O
Windows	B-Application
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
Mac	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
X	I-Operating_System
(	O
with	O
some	O
limitations	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
remaining	O
faithful	O
to	O
the	O
original	O
in	O
terms	O
of	O
mechanics	O
and	O
gameplay	O
,	O
FreeCol	B-Language
features	O
redesigned	O
graphics	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Moreover	O
,	O
in	O
addition	O
to	O
the	O
classical	O
Colonization	B-Application
rules	O
,	O
it	O
features	O
an	O
additional	O
ruleset	O
that	O
incorporates	O
ideas	O
that	O
did	O
n't	O
make	O
it	O
to	O
the	O
final	O
version	O
of	O
Meier	O
's	O
game	O
,	O
requests	O
by	O
fans	O
and	O
original	O
concepts	O
like	O
new	O
European	O
players	O
with	O
new	O
national	O
bonuses	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
FreeCol	B-Language
the	O
player	O
leads	O
the	O
colony	O
of	O
a	O
European	O
power	O
from	O
the	O
arrival	O
on	O
the	O
shore	O
of	O
the	O
New	B-Protocol
World	I-Protocol
into	O
the	O
future	O
,	O
achieving	O
victory	O
by	O
one	O
of	O
two	O
possible	O
victory	O
conditions	O
:	O
either	O
gaining	O
independence	O
by	O
declaring	O
independence	O
and	O
subsequently	O
defeating	O
the	O
dispatched	O
royal	O
expeditionary	O
force	O
or	O
by	O
defeating	O
the	O
colonies	O
of	O
all	O
the	O
competing	O
European	O
powers	O
by	O
the	O
year	O
1600	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
FreeCol	B-Language
starts	O
in	O
1492	O
with	O
two	O
colonists	O
on	O
a	O
caravel	O
on	O
the	O
ocean	O
at	O
the	O
player	O
's	O
disposal	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
player	O
is	O
the	O
king	O
's	O
proxy	O
and	O
is	O
supposed	O
to	O
lead	O
the	O
caravel	O
to	O
the	O
shore	O
and	O
found	O
a	O
colony	O
in	O
the	O
New	B-Protocol
World	I-Protocol
consisting	O
of	O
multiple	O
settlements	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
February	O
2007	O
FreeCol	B-Language
was	O
SourceForge	B-Application
's	O
Project	O
of	O
the	O
Month	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2008	O
Rock	O
,	O
Paper	O
,	O
Shotgun	O
's	O
game	O
journalist	O
Alec	O
Meer	O
had	O
mixed	O
feelings	O
about	O
FreeCol	B-Language
but	O
still	O
called	O
it	O
:	O
"	O
it	O
's	O
an	O
(	O
sic	O
)	O
remarkable	O
accomplishment	O
,	O
and	O
I	O
'm	O
very	O
glad	O
it	O
's	O
out	O
there.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
and	O
"	O
FreeCol	B-Language
,	O
though	O
,	O
is	O
here	O
right	O
now	O
,	O
it	O
's	O
free	O
,	O
it	O
's	O
stable	O
,	O
it	O
's	O
pretty	O
much	O
feature-complete	O
and	O
unlike	O
its	O
parent	O
it	O
has	O
multiplayer	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2010	O
Alec	O
Meer	O
named	O
FreeCol	B-Language
in	O
Rock	O
,	O
Paper	O
,	O
Shotgun	O
as	O
a	O
better	O
alternative	O
when	O
he	O
was	O
confronted	O
with	O
the	O
later	O
commercial	O
remake	O
Civilization	B-Application
IV	I-Application
:	I-Application
Colonization	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
FreeCol	B-Language
became	O
a	O
popular	O
freeware	B-License
title	O
,	O
which	O
was	O
for	O
instance	O
downloaded	O
over	O
1,900,000	O
times	O
on	O
SourceForge	B-Application
alone	O
,	O
between	O
January	O
2002	O
and	O
April	O
2017	O
.	O
</s>
