The gameplay really has three different parts to it: a hidden object part, a time management part, and a strategy part. I'll take you through each one.
The hidden object games are the main part of Settlement Colossus, as this is how you gather the resources needed to build your city, feed your people, and so forth. There are many different hidden object games throughout each level, such as in the forest, the lake, the caverns, farms, carpenters, tool makers, and more. These different areas all offer several hidden object game boards in them as well so you aren't always playing the same one over and over again. Each different area offers something different, for example food items, tools to gather the items, firewood, bricks, and clay. You have an interface at the top of your screen where you can keep an eye on the different resources needed.
This is where the time management part comes in. You have to keep an eye on your interface at all times as your people cannot work without food (and it takes a certain number of food daily), they cannot work without firewood, and they cannot work without tools. There are also other items that you'll have to keep in stock, such as clay for bricks, ore for metals, reed for papyrus and so on. There are little bubble icons on each different hidden object game location that will tell you what can be found there so you know where to go. You'll have to manage your time in each of the different hidden object games so you know that you're going to always have a steady flow of the items you need.
And, this is where the strategy part comes in. Settlement Colossus will offer you several different goals in each level, and it's your job to complete them all before you can move on. Strategy game lovers will enjoy this part of the game, as you have to build up resources through the hidden object games so that you can complete your goals. If you are good at playing the right strategy, then you can complete several goals at once, reducing the number of days that you take for each level.
There are also smaller mini-games throughout the levels that will have you help create machinery for your people to use, rid the farms of caterpillars, or help position mirrors in the mines for your people to see. These mini-games are challenging, and I have to admit that there are two that I've had to skip by both times I came up against them... I won't say which ones, but they are all really fun to try to solve.
Since the gameplay is complex and offers several different things beyond the normal hidden object games, I have to give it a solid 5 out of 5. There is so much here to do and play, and the replay value is amazing.
