Īt the time of writing there are no known published strategy guides in English, although there are two in German: an official one published by Future Press, and an unofficial one by Katja Ti, published by X-Games. And there is a poster with the product chains and a poster of ship on the box.” I have a 44 page manual in greyscale with no posters… Frieden adds: “The German manual contains special hints for 1602-gamers only.” I cannot find those either. Although not all versions have the same manual, as Vander comments: “The German manual is a coloured 80 page manual. Jochen Bauer, one of the game’s producers, wrote at the end of 2001: “Contrary to anything you might have heard there will be a comprehensive handbook.” Well, in my opinion, the manual is just about sufficient to get you through the tutorial before leaving you puzzled, while the in-game help is hard to digest. The game is not documented well, particularly when one considers the overall level of complexity and steep learning curve for new players.

This FAQ does not cover the mobile phone version – see What about the mobile phone game? below. Where possible, I have tried to indicate features that vary between the original and expansion, so the FAQ remains useful for players with either the original version or the expansion.

It also covers features and scenarios contained in the expansion pack, “Treasures, Monsters & Pirates”. This FAQ/guide should be applicable to all full versions of the Anno 1503, including 1503 AD.

Anno 1701 layout guide