The Age of Discovery.

[Redpossum]

Not like Cataan or anything, but the age of the Conquistadores!

Cortés, Balboa, Pizarro, the bloody conquest of the Aztecs, the looting of the treasure, the search for El Dorado and the Seven Cities of Cibola, the long struggle to get around the Tierra del Fuego, all the drama, brutality, and excitement of the Age of Exploration.

Availability of colonists would be a major factor. Upheavals in european politics would siphon off resources from the exploration/exploitation of the New World, but would also produce more refugees willing to settle there.

This game could be playable solo as either the English, French, Spanish, or maybe even Portugese.

Alternately, it could be a multiplayer game involving some or all of these.

[IainMcNeil]

I remember a great boardgame about the Nile, where you went exploring, had Askaris and bearer and met all kinds of creatures

[kleinemann]

Just posted a game idea which seems to mirror this one rather well a few days ago... Just shows the age of discovery (at least the part about the discovery) is a rather hospitable setting for computer games doesn't it?