Press Escape to pause the game.

  • Crop

    3 gold bars

    Feeds approx. 500 people. When rained upon, yields added revenue. Average life of is 3 rounds.

  • Factory

    40 gold bars

    Earns at least 4 gold bars per round. Pollution increases death rate.

  • Fishing Boat

    25 gold bars

    Feeds 500 people. Earns 1 gold bar per round. If over a school of fish, earns 1 extra gold bar.

  • Fort

    50 gold bars

    Guards surrounding land area against rebels. Guards nearby fishing boats against pirates.

  • Hospital

    75 gold bars

    Increases population and greatly increases factory productivity.

  • Housing

    60 gold bars

    Increases harmony on island by providing housing for 500 people.

  • Patrol boat

    40 gold bars

    Guards your fishing boat against pirates.

  • School

    35 gold bars

    Increases well-being of people and productivity of factories.

  • Close build menu

    Build nothing and return to island.


  • Freeplay

    Unlimited number of rounds

  • 15 Rounds

    Play 15 rounds. About 6 minutes play time.

  • NEW UTOPIA

    Your gold bars are meant to be spent.

    Click on a free field on your island to open the build menu.

    Keep your population happy.

  • 40 Rounds

    Play 40 rounds. About 16 minutes play time.

  • 80 Rounds

    Play 80 rounds. About 32 minutes play time.

  • Back to game.

    Press the Escape key at any time to return to this menu.


This is a remake of Utopia (1981). All graphics and code available on github under free licenses. Original design by Don Daglow.

NEW UTOPIA HELP

The screen

At the bottom right of the screen are three numbers and a smiley.

The smiley indicates the degree of harmony on your island. Rebels appear in low harmony situations.

The three numbers are from top to bottom:

  • Year
  • Population on island
  • Gold bars in treasury

The text log on the bottom right informs you about notable events on your island.

You may also see:

  • Rain clouds
  • Pirate ships
  • Tropical storms
  • Schools of fish
  • Hurricanes
The computer controls these elements, which come and go at random.

Governing your Island Kingdom

Click on a free field on your island to open the build menu. Click on the building you want to build to build it. Or click ouside the builing list to close the build menu.

  • FORT (50 gold bars). Protection: Guards surrounding land area against rebels. Guards nearby fishing boats against pirates and opponent's PT boats.

  • FACTORY (40 gold bars). Income: Earns at least 4 gold bars per year. (More as well-being of people increases.) Pollution increases death rate.

  • ACRE OF CROPS (3 gold bars). Income/Points: Each acre feeds approx. 500 people. When rained upon, yields added revenue (approx. 1 gold bar per acre). Average life of an acre of crops is 3 years, but this number varies.

  • SCHOOL (35 gold bars). Income/Points: Increases well-being of people and productivity of factories.

  • HOSPITAL (75 gold bars). Increases population and greatly increases factory productivity.

  • HOUSING PROJECT (60 gold bars). Points: Increases harmony on island by housing 500 people.

  • PT BOAT (40 gold bars). Protection/Aggression: Guards your fishing boat against pirates. Sinks opponent's fishing boat.

  • FISHING BOAT (25 gold bars). Income/Points: Automatically feeds 500 people and earns 1 gold bar per year. If moved over a school of fish, earns 1 gold bar. Can be sunk by pirates or hurricanes.

Keep an eye on the weather

You can't control it, but you can try to anticipate it.

RAIN STORMS help your crops grow. Try to plant where the rain most frequently falls. There are no set paths for rain, but you will notice general patterns.

TROPICAL STORMS bring a deluge. They may either help your crops or destroy them. On rare occasions, they may destroy a building or boat.

HURRICANES usually lay waste to everything in their paths. Fishing boats will be sunk if moving, but have a chance of surviving if anchored. Everything else over which the hurricane passes has a 2/3 chance of being leveled. As in real life, the faster a hurricane moves, the less damage it inflicts.

Be on guard against rebels

If the people are not satisfied, rebels may spring up on your island. Your opponent can also pay to establish rebels on your island. (And you can do the same to your opponent.) Rebels appear at random points, destroying anything on which they land. Peace can be restored only by increasing the people's well-being. A rebel faction will then disappear, usually within one year.

A FORT protects everything within a one-cursor radius around itself.

Keep your ships sailing

TO CONTROL your fishing boat or PT boat, click on it. A red border will surround the ship. Then click where the boat should go.

Pirates and patrol boats

  • A PT boat can sink opponent's fishing boat by occupying the same space.
  • PT boats can sink pirate ships.
  • Use a PT boat to protect a fishing boat.
  • PT boats can ONLY be sunk by hurricanes or tropical storms (rare).
  • PT boats cannot fish.
  • Pirates can ONLY be sunk by hurricanes or tropical storms (rare) or PT boats.
  • Pirates can sink fishing boats.

How to win the governor's award

  1. Buy a fishing boat in the first year, and hang on to it. It's the only income source that you can really control.
  2. Get housing established early in the game, then go for a factory. Remember that factories cause a slow-down in population.
  3. Hospitals dramatically increase productivity, but they also boost population. Since the point value of each individual improvement DECREASES as population increase, save hospital construction for late in the game.
  4. Do your planting early in the year. Crops planted late may disappear as soon as the year ends.
  5. Don't overplant. Crops are an unreliable source of income, since they depend on rain. They also require replanting.
  6. Prepare for the possibility of aggression. Build your town in a circle with a space left in the center for a fort, so it can protect the entire town if necessary.