# Albion vs Latium: Choosing Your Starting Province

One of the first choices in Sandbox mode is whether to begin in Latium or Albion. This decision significantly affects your early game experience and difficulty level.

## Quick Comparison

| Aspect | Latium | Albion |
|--------|--------|--------|
| Island Size | Larger | Smaller |
| Progression | Linear (one path) | Branching (Celtic or Roman) |
| City Management | Harder (larger cities) | Easier (smaller cities) |
| Knowledge Access | Easier | More difficult |
| Citizen Needs | Simpler | More complex |

## Starting in Latium

Latium features larger islands with wide open spaces, making it easier to build sprawling cities with large populations.

### Population Progression

Latium has a single linear progression path:
1. **Tier I:** Liberti
2. **Tier II:** Plebeians
3. **Tier III:** Equites
4. **Tier IV:** Patricians

### Latium Pros

- **Larger Islands** - More room for city expansion
- **Linear Progression** - Single citizen upgrade path is easier to follow
- **Easier Needs** - Meeting citizen needs is more straightforward
- **Better Knowledge Access** - Technologies are easier to unlock

### Latium Cons

- **Health/Happiness/Fire Management** - Larger cities are harder to keep safe and happy
- **Cross-Province Dependencies** - Some fertilities only exist in Albion
- **Technology Limitations** - Some technologies require settling in Albion

### Latium Features

- At Tier IV (Patrician), you can build an **Amphitheatre** - a major monument requiring resources from across Latium
- Occasional attacks from the raider **Syracus**

## Starting in Albion

Albion has smaller islands with narrow buildable corridors between mountains and swamps, requiring more careful space optimization.

### Population Progression

Albion offers a choice between two paths:

**Celtic Path:**
1. **Tier I:** Waders
2. **Tier II:** Smiths
3. **Tier III:** Elders

**Roman Path:**
1. **Tier I:** Waders
2. **Tier II:** Mercators
3. **Tier III:** Nobles

### Albion Pros

- **Easier City Management** - Smaller cities are simpler to manage for Health, Happiness, and Fire Safety
- **Two Progression Paths** - Choice between Celtic and Roman citizenship
- **Exclusive Technologies** - Both paths unlock unique tech trees
- **Cheaper Settlement** - Lower cost to settle new islands

### Albion Cons

- **Smaller Islands** - Limited space requires optimization
- **Complex Needs** - More difficult to meet citizen requirements
- **Harder Knowledge Access** - Technologies are more difficult to unlock
- **Roman Path Challenge** - Romanized citizens (Mercators/Nobles) require goods only produced in Latium

### Path Consequences

- **Celtic Path (Smiths/Elders):** Increases reputation with raider Voada, may decrease Emperor reputation. Goods are native to Albion, making supply chains easier.
- **Roman Path (Mercators/Nobles):** Requires importing goods from Latium, making early game resource management challenging.

## Recommendation

| Player Type | Recommended Province |
|-------------|---------------------|
| Beginners | Latium |
| Peaceful city builders | Latium |
| Players wanting large cities | Latium |
| Challenge seekers | Albion |
| Min-maxers | Albion |
| Players wanting more choices | Albion |

## Unlocking the Other Province

Once you reach **Tier III citizens**, you unlock the ability to settle the other province:
- **Latium:** Requires Equites
- **Albion:** Requires Elders (Celtic) or Nobles (Roman)

### What Carries Over

- All technological discoveries
- Building unlocks

### What Does Not Carry Over

- Province-specific building progression must be restarted

## Keyboard Shortcut

Once you have settlements in both provinces, use **1/2 on the Number Pad** to quickly swap between Latium and Albion.

## Related Guides

- [Celtic vs Roman Population in Albion](./celtic-vs-roman-albion.md) - Detailed breakdown of Albion's population paths
- [Starting City Layouts](./starting-city-layouts.md) - Optimal layouts for your first city

## See Also

- [Population Tiers](../population-tiers/_index.md)
- [Fertility Guide](../systems/fertility.md)
