Starting crate

Civilizations in Age of Empires III begin a game with different resource crates. Some of these crates are fixed and tied to the civilization, while some others are randomly spawned when the Random map loads.

Random crates

In addition to the fixed crates, the players always receive another 100-sized crate of a random resource (food, wood or coin). Furthermore, there is a 2/3 chance to get another crate, but not of the same resource as the previous one. The random crates are the same for all players. In the Definitive Edition, the extra random crate is removed. All civilizations get extra starting crates as a compensation.

The Chinese will never receive random crates and have a fixed start.

Map specific crates

On some maps, all players receive more crates on top of the fixed and random ones. Examples of such maps are:

• Carolina
• Deccan
• Hispaniola
• Mongolia

Starting setup for all civilizations

The resources shown are the ones contained in the fixed crates that the civilization always receives.

Civilization		Food	Wood	Coin	XP	Villagers	Hero(es)	Additional units
	Aztecs	400	300	0	0	5 Villagers	1 Aztec War Chief	1 Warrior Priest 1 Eagle Scout*
	British	200	300	0	0	6 Settlers	1 Explorer	–
	Chinese	200	300	0	0	6 Villagers	1 Shaolin Master	1 Disciple 1 Goat
	Dutch	50	200	400	0	6 Settlers	1 Explorer	1 Envoy
	Ethiopians	0	0	0	0	5 Villagers	1 Ras	4 Zebu Cattles 1 Livestock Market
	French	350	200	0	0	5 Coureurs des Bois	1 Explorer	1 Native Scout
	Germans	300	100	100	0	3 Settler Wagons	1 Explorer	–
	Hausa	0	0	0	0	5 Villagers	1 Emir	4 Sanga Cattles 1 Livestock Market
	Inca	300	400	0	0	5 Villagers	1 Inca War Chief	1 Llama
	Indians	200	400	0	0	6 Hindu Villagers	2 Brahmins	–
	Haudenosaunee	500	100	0	0	5 Villagers	1 Haudenosaunee War Chief	1 Discovery Travois
	Italians	600	200	0	0	3 Settlers	1 Explorer	1 Architect
	Japanese	400	300	100	0	6 Villagers	2 Sohei Archers	1 or 2 Orchard Rickshaws
	Maltese	400	200	100	0	6 Settlers	1 Grand Master	–
	Mexicans	400	200	100	0	6 Settlers	1 General	1 Cow
	Ottomans	100	400	0	0	6 Settlers	1 Explorer	–
	Portuguese	200	200	0	0	7 Settlers	1 Explorer	–
	Russians	500	200	0	0	5 Settlers	1 Explorer	–
	Lakota	400	100	100	0	5 Villagers	1 Lakota War Chief	–
	Spanish	300	200	0	0	6 Settlers	1 Explorer	1 War Dog
	Swedes	150	300	0	0	6 Settlers	1 Explorer	–
	United States	400	200	0	100	6 Settlers	1 General	–

Gameplay elements in the Age of Empires series
Age Ability (II · M · III · IV) Architecture set (II · III) Area of Effect (Trample damage) Armor (Melee I & II · Pierce I & II · M · IV) Armor class (I - original · I - Return of Rome · II) Artificial intelligence Attack (IV) Attack ground Aura (IV) Auto Scout Building (I · II · M · III · IV · C · AoE:DS) Civilization (I · II · M · III · IV · C) Civilization bonus Cheat code (I · II · M · III · IV) Conversion Counter Diplomacy Elevation Gaia/Mother Nature Game modes (IV) Garrison Gather Point Healing Hit points Hotkey Line of Sight Mini map Mobile building Pass-through damage Player Population Range Rate of Fire Regeneration Relic (II · M · IV) Repairing Resists Resource (IV) · (Renewable resource) Scenario Editor (I · II · M · III · IV) Score Signal Allies/Flare Snare Soundtrack (I · II · M · III · IV) Speed Stealth mode Taunt Technology (I · II · M · III · IV · C · Unique) Technology tree (I · II · IV · C) Terrain (AoE:DS · AoM:DS) Town Bell Trade (IV) Tribute Unit (I · II · M · III · IV · C · AoE:DS · AoM:DS) Unit formation Unit stance (III) Unit type/tag (I · II · M · III · IV) Upgrade (I · II · III · IV) User interface Victory Villager Priority
Genie Engine-exclusive
Frame delay · Full Tech Tree · Team bonus
Age of Empires	Ruins · Discovery
Age of Empires II	Projectile duplication
Bang Engine-exclusive
Autoqueue · Multiplier
Age of Mythology	God (Major · Minor) · God power · Settlement (Settlement Victory) · Weight class
Age of Empires III	Age-up methods (Politician/Tribal Council/Wonder/Federal State/Alliance) · Banner army · Consulate · Damage Cap · Home City · Home City Card · Inspiring Flag · Minor civilization · Promotion · Revolution · Target Lock · Trade Monopoly · Trade Route · Treasure
Age of Empires IV-exclusive
Generic	Influence · Landmark · Point of Interest · Sacred Site · Variant civilization
Civilization-unique	Bounty · Dynasty · Golden Age · Imperial Council (Vizier Point)
Age-up methods	Buildings: Most landmarks Technologies: Commanderie/Golden Tent/House of Wisdom
If a gameplay element has different pages across games, like civilization, the individual pages are linked in brackets.