The Menubar

The menubar contains the Game, View, Orders, Report and Colopedia submenus at the left hand of the screen, as well as a status area at the right hand of the screen. The status area displays your score, the amount of gold you possess, your current tax rate and the current turn.

The Game Menu allows you to:

• start a new game
• open a savegame
• save the current game
• change your preferences
• reconnect to the server
• chat with another player
• declare independence
• end your turn
• return to the main menu
• view high scores
• retire from the game
• quit the game entirely

The View Menu allows you to:

• turn the map controls (minimap and info panel) on or off
• turn the map grid on or off
• switch between the unit view and the terrain view
• display tile names, owner, regions or none of the above
• change the zoom level of the main map
• switch to the Europe panel
• display trade routes

The Orders Menu enables you to give orders to the currently selected unit:

• switch to sentry mode
• fortify
• go to a destination you select
• go to a tile you select
• execute goto orders
• assign trade route
• build a colony
• plow the tile the unit is on (requires 20 tools)
• build a road on the tile the unit is on (requires 20 tools)
• load a carrier if possible
• unload all goods and units on board if possible
• wait until other units have moved
• skip this turn
• switch to a different unit on the same tile
• clear current orders
• change the unit's name
• disband the unit

Note that not all orders are available at all times. The build colony order is only available if the unit is able to build colonies and the tile it is on will support a colony, for example. The unload order is only available if the unit is carrying goods. You can unload the goods anywhere, but if you are not in Europe or in a colony, the goods will be lost. You can use this feature to dump unwanted cargo in order to avoid the cargo penalty.

The Reports Menu provides access to various reports on the current state of your colonies. In these reports, icons as well as text strings of a greyish-brown colour link to the places they refer to. If you click on the name of a colony, for example, the Colony Panel will be opened.

• The Religious Advisor tells you how many crosses your colonies produce, and how many crosses are required in order to recruit the next emigrant in Europe.
• The Labour Advisor tells you which types of colonists have emigrated to the New World or are waiting in Europe. If you can not remember where you sent your only Expert Ore Miner, for example, you can use this report to locate him.
• The Colony Advisor tells you which units are present in each of your colonies, what each colony is producing, which buildings have already been built, and which building is currently being built.
• The Foreign Affairs Advisor tells you about your relations with foreign powers, the number of colonies and units they possess, as well as their relative naval and military strength, and the amount of gold they possess. As soon as Jan de Witt has joined the Continental Congress, you are also informed about the number of Founding Fathers, the current tax and the current Sons of Liberty membership of your opponents.
• The Indian Advisor tells you about your relations with the various Indian nations, and the number of settlements they possess.
• The Continental Congress Advisor tells you which Founding Fathers are already present in the Continental Congress and which Founding Father is currently being elected. It also tells you how many Liberty Bells each of your colonies is producing, and whether they have already built the Printing Press and the Newspaper.
• The Military Advisor informs you of the deployment of your military units, as well as the strength of the Royal Expeditionary Force.
• The Naval Advisor informs you of the whereabouts of your naval units, as well as the strength of the Royal Expeditionary Force.
• The Trade Advisor details the current market prices of all goods, the profits before and after taxes you have made, as well as the amount of goods present in each of your colonies. Colonies that have already built the Custom House are highlighted, as are all goods that are currently being automatically exported from these colonies.
• The Turn Report presents a summary of various events that have occurred during the current turn. If no such events have occurred, the Turn Report will not open.
• The Requirements Report gives an account of how well certain requirements of your colonies are met. It tells you which colonies require expert units and where these units can be obtained or trained, for example. It also tells you which colonies require raw materials in order to increase their production of manufactured goods, and which colonies produce a surplus of these materials.
• The Exploration Report provides some information about the regions you have discovered and named. If you did not select the exploration option, then the report will only show you when you discovered the Pacific Ocean, provided you did discover it.
• The History Report contains a short overview of important events that took place during the game, such as the first meeting with native tribes, the foundation and abandonment of colonies, among other things.

The Colopedia Menu provides access to the online game help, which is divided into eight sections:

• The terrain section contains information on all the different types of terrain you may encounter in the New World.
• The unit section provides details on various types of units, your own as well native units and units of the Royal Expeditionary Force.
• The goods section gives on overview of all the types of goods in the game.
• The building section provides information on the various constructions you may build in your colonies.
• The Founding Father section can be used to look up information on the various Founding Fathers you may elect to the Continental Congress.
• The nations section tells you which nations are available in the game, which national advantage they currently have, and which one they have by default.
• The national advantages section tells you which national advantages are available. Some advantages only apply to European players, others only to native players.