Discovery: In the Steps of Columbus

Last updated: January 11, 2026

Overview

Discovery: In the Steps of Columbus is a real-time strategy game of conquest and exploration released in 1992, timed to coincide with the 500th anniversary of Christopher Columbus’s voyage to the Americas¹. Developed by Golden Sector and published by Impressions, the game places players in the role of a conquistador tasked with sending fleets of settlers to discover and colonize new worlds while competing against five other European nations². The game features a comprehensive mouse-driven interface and allows players to choose their starting fatherland before embarking on their colonial endeavors².

The gameplay draws comparisons to Sid Meier’s Civilization, requiring players to purchase ships, explore unknown territories shrouded in fog, and develop settlements through the construction of farms, warehouses, and defensive forts³. Players must balance exploration, economic development, and military defense against both competing colonial powers and native populations². The game received mixed reviews upon release, with critics praising its realistic simulation of colonial-era challenges while criticizing its slow pace and user-unfriendly interface⁴.

Game Info

Developer: Golden Sector² Designer: David Lester, Simon Bradbury Publisher: Impressions² Engine: Modified Merchant Colony engine⁵ Platforms: MS-DOS, Amiga, Atari ST⁶ Release Year: 1992 Series: N/A Protagonist: Player-controlled conquistador Sierra Lineage: Third-Party Historical

Story Summary

The game’s premise draws directly from the Age of Discovery, challenging players to venture “from beyond the horizon” and cross the Atlantic Ocean into the unknown⁷. Players must navigate treacherous waters where pirates threaten to sink ships in a cannon’s flash, while rival European powers race to claim the Americas for themselves⁷. The narrative context places players as representatives of their chosen fatherland, tasked with establishing a colonial empire through exploration, settlement, and trade.

The goal is economic colonization—players must harvest the land through their settlers, producing goods to trade between their fatherland and their growing new world empire⁷. The game presents a stark win-or-lose scenario: if the player goes bankrupt, it’s game over¹. This economic pressure drives all strategic decisions as players balance the costs of exploration against the potential rewards of discovering and exploiting new territories.

To maintain an element of mystery and discovery, the developers created five imaginary worlds in addition to the historical Americas, ensuring that players cannot simply rely on historical knowledge to navigate their expeditions⁸. This design choice preserves the sense of venturing into the unknown that characterized the original Age of Exploration.

Gameplay

Interface and Controls

Discovery features a comprehensive mouse-driven interface that allows players to manage all aspects of their colonial enterprise². The game runs on both OCS and ECS Amiga systems and is controlled entirely via mouse input⁹. Despite the intended ease of use, contemporary reviewers found the controls fiddly and buggy, with the cursor moving around jerkily and the menu system feeling disjointed and cumbersome⁹. One reviewer noted that the manual was “flash but useless for learning how to play the game,” suggesting players “try playing it before reading the manual” as it “seems to make considerably more sense that way”⁹.

Structure and Progression

The game unfolds as players work to discover and colonize territories across six available new worlds². The map begins as a wall of fog that is gradually revealed through exploration¹⁰. Gameplay follows a logical progression:

• Acquisition: Players first purchase ships from the bank to begin exploration³
• Discovery: Ships are sent into the unknown to encounter and map new land areas¹
• Settlement: Once land is discovered, players establish colonies by building farms, warehouses, and forts³
• Defense: Forts are necessary to protect settlements from both natives and rival colonial powers³
• Trade: Developed settlements produce goods for trade between the new world and the fatherland⁷
• Expansion: Success allows for further exploration and settlement of additional territories

Five extra scenarios are available beyond the main campaign, offering variety in starting conditions and challenges¹⁰.

Puzzles and Mechanics

The game operates as an economic and military simulation rather than a puzzle-focused title. Competition with five other AI-controlled nations drives much of the strategic challenge, requiring the game to feature a combat module for resolving conflicts². Players must manage resources carefully, as bankruptcy results in immediate game over¹. The trading system requires establishing profitable routes between colonies and the European homeland, while military units must be positioned to defend against hostile natives and rival colonial forces.

Right-clicking allows players to scroll around the discovered portions of the map, providing strategic oversight of their growing empire³. The aim is to settle all available areas while successfully fighting against enemy factions competing for the same territories³.

Reception

Contemporary Reviews

Discovery: In the Steps of Columbus received mixed to poor reviews from contemporary gaming publications. Computer Gaming World’s M. Evan Brooks gave the game just 2 out of 5 stars, calling it “slow, dull, user-unfriendly” and connecting its commercial failure to the broader cultural backlash against Columbus anniversary commemorations⁴. He noted that “the 500th Anniversary of Columbus was PIC (politically incorrect)” and that “the movies, television, books quickly became major ‘busts’” with the game being “no different”⁵.

Dragon magazine’s Patricia and Kirk Lesser were more generous, awarding 3 out of 5 stars in their March 1993 issue (#191)⁶. French publication Tilt gave the game 6.5 out of 10, with reviewer Laurent Defrance describing it as “a good strategy game that offers a realistic simulation of the problems that may have occurred during the great colonization campaigns of the New World”⁸.

Amiga magazine coverage was more extensive. Datormagazin gave the highest score at 82%¹¹, while ACAR and Amiga Mania both awarded 80%¹¹. Amiga Power gave 75%¹¹, Amiga Format 72%¹¹, CU Amiga 71%¹¹, Amiga Joker 66%¹², and Amiga Action the lowest at 65%¹³. German publication Power Play was harshly critical, scoring the game just 23% with graphics at 30% and sound at 19%¹².

Multiple reviewers unfavorably compared the game to Sid Meier’s Pirates!, with one stating it was “not a patch on Pirates for playability”⁹. Later retrospective commentary recommended players “go play Sid Meier’s Colonization for Windows instead if you’re a fan of the period”⁵.

Modern Assessment

Modern assessment of Discovery remains relatively sparse, reflecting its status as a largely forgotten title. The game holds a critics’ average of 51% based on 5 ratings on MobyGames². User ratings on preservation sites are somewhat more favorable—MyAbandonware shows a 4.33 out of 5 rating from 9 votes⁵, while Emuparadise users gave it 4.4 out of 5 from 5 votes¹⁴.

Aggregate Scores:

• MobyGames: 51% critics average (5 ratings)²
• Moby Score: 5.9²
• MyAbandonware: 4.33/5 (9 votes)⁵
• Emuparadise: 4.4/5 (5 votes)¹⁴

Development

Origins

Discovery: In the Steps of Columbus was developed by Golden Sector and published by Impressions (also known as Impressions Software or Impressions Games)². The game was conceived as a tie-in to the 500th anniversary of Columbus’s arrival in the Americas in 1492, joining numerous other media products attempting to capitalize on the quincentennial⁴. The original concept came from David Lester, who also served as co-designer alongside Simon Bradbury.

Production

The development team at Golden Sector built upon their previous work, with the game engine being described as only “marginally improved” from their earlier title Merchant Colony⁵. This reuse of existing technology may explain some of the technical criticisms the game received regarding its sluggish performance and dated feel.

Development Credits:²

• Original Concept: David Lester
• Game Design: Simon Bradbury, David Lester
• Programming: Simon Bradbury, Imre Kovats Jr.
• Graphics: Jon Baker, Erik Casey
• Music and Sound: Christopher J. Denman
• Research: Mark Saunders, Alison Barber
• Manual: James Hunter, Christopher Bamford, Katharine Potts

Technical Achievements

The game featured a top-down perspective with turn-based pacing, typical of strategy games of the era². It supported both 3.5” and 5.25” floppy disk formats for the DOS version², while the Amiga version shipped on two disks⁹. The game supported naval and watercraft-based gameplay appropriate to its Caribbean colonial setting².

Technical Specifications

Amiga Version:⁹

• Hardware: OCS, ECS compatible
• Memory: 512 KB minimum¹⁵
• Media: Two disks
• Controls: Mouse
• Hard Drive: Not supported
• Language: English
• Players: 1 only

DOS Version:¹⁶

• Media: 3.5” and 5.25” floppy disk
• Input Devices: Keyboard, Mouse
• File Size: Approximately 345 KB⁵

Atari ST Version:¹²

• Media: 1 diskette

Retail Pricing:

• Amiga UK: £29.99
• Germany: DM 79.00¹¹

Technical Issues

Contemporary reviewers documented numerous technical problems with the game. The controls were described as “fiddly and buggy” with a cursor that “moves around jerkily”⁹. The menu system felt “disjointed and cumbersome”⁹, and the German version suffered from poor translation of screen texts⁹.

Users on preservation sites have reported additional bugs including trader ships that “load forever but never actually load up and leave port to trade”⁵. The AI opponents were also criticized for failing too quickly, “making it a very short game and easy to win, even on harder levels”⁵. Some players noted that downloaded versions appear “more glitchy than the original”⁵.

Cut Content

No specific cut content has been documented in available sources.

Version History

Version	Date	Platform	Notes
1.0	1992	DOS, Amiga, Atari ST	Initial release6

WHDLoad Installation:¹⁵

Version	Date	Author	Notes
1.0	26.03.2009	Psygore	WHDLoad install for Amiga, requires 512 KB chip memory

Easter Eggs and Trivia

• The game was released during a period when Columbus commemorations were becoming politically controversial, which reviewers suggested contributed to its commercial failure⁴
• The game includes a physical map/chart in the box packaging⁹
• Despite the Columbus theme, the game includes five fictional worlds in addition to the Americas to preserve the sense of exploration and prevent players from using historical knowledge⁸
• One user comment on a German retro gaming site recalled their brother-in-law calling it the “größte Fehlkauf seines Lebens” (biggest mis-purchase of his life)¹²

Voice Cast

This game does not feature voice acting.

Legacy

Sales and Commercial Impact

Discovery: In the Steps of Columbus appears to have been a commercial disappointment, though specific sales figures are not available. The game’s release coincided with a cultural backlash against Columbus anniversary commemorations, which M. Evan Brooks suggested negatively impacted its reception⁴. The game’s ranking of #24,320 out of 27,500 games on MobyGames and collection by only 8 players indicates its minimal lasting impact².

Collections

No compilations or collections including this title have been documented.

Fan Projects

A WHDLoad installation package was created by Psygore in 2009 to allow the Amiga version to run on modern Amiga hardware and emulators¹⁵. This requires WHDLoad version 14 or higher, 512 KB of chip memory, and RawDIC for disk conversion¹⁵. An optional 1.0 MB of additional memory enables the preload feature for improved performance¹⁵.

Related Publications

• Game Manual: Included comprehensive gameplay instructions, described by reviewers as “flash but useless for learning how to play the game”⁹
• Physical Map/Chart: Included in box packaging⁹

Critical Perspective

Discovery: In the Steps of Columbus represents a fascinating footnote in gaming history—a title that attempted to capitalize on a major historical anniversary only to be undermined by both its own technical shortcomings and a shifting cultural attitude toward its subject matter. The game arrived at a moment when the Columbus quincentennial had become politically fraught, with increasing attention paid to the devastating consequences of European colonization for indigenous peoples⁴.

From a design perspective, the game occupied an awkward middle ground between the accessible action of Sid Meier’s Pirates! and the deeper strategic complexity that Meier would later achieve with Colonization (1994). Laurent Defrance’s assessment that it was “a good strategy game” hampered by controls that were “too heavy to manage” captures the consensus view⁸. The game’s reuse of the Merchant Colony engine with only marginal improvements suggests a rushed development cycle attempting to meet the anniversary window⁵.

The game has been largely forgotten in discussions of colonial-era strategy games, overshadowed entirely by Colonization, which addressed similar themes with far greater polish and depth. Its primary historical significance lies in demonstrating the risks of tying game development to external cultural events and the importance of robust playtesting and interface design.

Downloads

Purchase / Digital Stores:

• Not currently available for digital purchase

Download / Preservation

• Internet Archive – Playable DOS version via emulation¹⁶
• MyAbandonware – DOS and Amiga downloads⁵
• Classic Reload – Browser-based DOS emulation¹⁷

Technical Resources

• WHDLoad – Amiga hard drive installation¹⁵

Series Continuity

Discovery: In the Steps of Columbus is a standalone title and not part of an ongoing series. While Impressions would go on to develop numerous historical strategy games including the Caesar and Lords of the Realm series, Discovery did not receive any sequels or direct follow-ups.

References

Footnotes

1. Consolidated Research Data – Game description, thematic details, gameplay overview ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

2. MobyGames – Discovery: In the Steps of Columbus – Developer, publisher, platform information, critic ratings, full credits ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵ ↩¹⁶ ↩¹⁷

3. Lemon Amiga – User Review – Gameplay description comparing to Civilization ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶

4. Computer Gaming World (August 1993) – M. Evan Brooks review, 2/5 stars, “slow, dull, user-unfriendly” quote ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶

5. MyAbandonware – Discovery – User ratings, bug reports, engine derivation from Merchant Colony ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹²

6. Wikipedia – Discovery: In the Steps of Columbus – Platform information, Dragon magazine review citation ↩ ↩² ↩³

7. Metacritic – Discovery – Game summary description ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

8. Obligement – Tilt Review – French review, 6.5/10 score, fictional worlds trivia ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

9. Amiga Reviews – Multiple contemporary Amiga magazine reviews, technical issues, controls criticism ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹²

10. LaunchBox Games Database – Gameplay mechanics, fog of war, scenarios ↩ ↩²

11. Amiga Magazine Review Aggregation – Datormagazin, ACAR, Amiga Mania, Amiga Power, Amiga Format, CU Amiga scores ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶

12. Kultboy.com – German magazine reviews including Power Play 23%, Amiga Joker breakdown, user comments ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

13. Amiga Reviews – Amiga Action – Nick Merritt 65% review ↩

14. Emuparadise – User rating 4.4/5 ↩ ↩²

15. WHDLoad – Technical requirements for Amiga installation, version history ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶

16. Internet Archive – DOS version preservation, file specifications ↩ ↩²

17. Classic Reload – Platform confirmation, release year ↩