[Moved to DOSBox Games/Apps. Section]

I'd start by trying fixed cycles say 8000 - 10,000 or so.

cycles=8000

Tried that in .74 and it still crashed. I also tweaked some other options.
Got up to 20000 cycles where the game speed seemed normal, but still it crashed.

Also, I downloaded Dosbox .73 and .72
The game worked best on .72 at 20000 cycles, but I got this error (jpg below) when it crashed after the first few turns.

so maybe your savegame is corrupt ?

The prompt shows C:\ instead of C:\COLONIZE or whatever subdirectory the game is installed in. This might be because the game set the default directory to the root; but it could be a sign that you've mounted the game directory as the root or are executing it from the root, and you generally should not do either. Make sure you are running the game after changing the default directory to the subdirectory where the game is installed.

How do you I adjust the default directory?

The game should be in a folder something like c:\dosgames\colonize on your hard drive, then in DOSBox:

mount c c:\dosgames
c:
cd colonize

The "cd colonize" command changes the default directory, and then you run the executable or batch file that starts the game.

If you're not following a similar procedure, you should read the 60 seconds guide in the guides section to get a better understanding of best practices for installing and running games in DOSBox.

Ripsaw,

The game worked longer after doing what you suggested, but still this error eventually came up and the game will not let me get past this certain point.

Under 0.72...try it again under 0.74

The game seems to run well enough for me in 0.74 with core=dynamic cycles=max. Not sure why you think it runs "better" in 0.72, but you shouldn't use older versions unless there is no other way to get the game running.

The game's main menu, where you start or resume a game, shows the version number; and I recommend patching to the latest version (3.0) if you haven't already, as it may fix the problem you're encountering. The version 3.0 patch is here.

One other thing you might try is to disable autosaving in the game options.

It turned out to be the autosave. I disabled it and the game is working like a charm. Thanks everyone.

One final question: Is it possible set the game to random seed, so after I save and load a different outcome occurs (like after attacks or lost city rumors)?

I doubt that. One documented way of cheating in a colonization guide that I own is based on the fact that the game tends to be identical for the upcoming terms.

Don't forget there is an official patch for the dos version of Colonization
Get it here
http://www.colonization.biz/download.htm#UPGRADES

Among other things, It fixes the U key working during a boycott which I lack the self control to avoid using 🙁