The discovery of America in the Middle Ages. Two continents are separated by an ocean: Europe at east, where all players start, and savage America at west, waiting to be colonized.
Both continents have large temperated areas and a snowy north, and America also has jungle and deserts. There may be a few islands and lakes.
When you choose map size, remember that all player starting positions are packed in less than half the map.
Two variants are included:
- In normal New World.rms, computer players can play normally in Europe, but they won't colonize America. They can attack human colonies, so single-player can still be challenging if you give them other advantages.
- In the single-player version, computer players (players 2 to 8) also get a second town center in America, so they can gather resources on both continents.
- Both variants are also available in The Forgotten version. It only adds a few details, mostly animals.