Owing to their historically aggressive presence in the New World, it's also been reported that the Spanish will begin with extra military units. We suspect Ensemble will continue tweaking this bonus so that it's significant but not too powerful. Or, it can help a leading Spanish player to overwhelm everyone else on the map: the importance of home shipments can't be overstated. This can help a lagging Spanish player to catch up. The Spanish: The biggest advantage of playing as the Spanish is that Home City shipments will be available more often. But trade with the Natives and the unique army units they offer have a big impact on the game, so this advantage may be significant.

It's likely to change by the time the game ships.

We're uncertain how this mechanic will work (is it cheaper to build trading posts? Faster? Are Native American Units cheaper to build?). It's also easier for the French to ally with Native Americans. Losing a handful of colonists to a rogue wolf or pair of alligators early in the game can knock you right out of the running, but the French Coureurs can simply put the smack down on rogue animals and then continue working. The real benefit is during the early phases of the game, when environmental hazards make the map so dangerous for villagers. The advantage here isn't that you can use your colonists as an army - they're still fairly weak, although it's nice that they can actually fight back if you're invaded. The French: We got to spend significant time playing as the French, whose villager unit, 'The Coureur,' is sturdier than the colonists of other nations. In later eras the British have the infamous Redcoats, expert riflemen who can decimate other standing armies if assembled in significant numbers. That's a big help for players who want to Boom, but a bit of a liability for players who'd rather spend their earlier resources building military buildings. The British: British players have a unique advantage early in the game because (in the version Ensemble is currently testing) they get a bonus settler every time they build a house.

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