Wow, I can't believe the curse of Lack of Time I got off this shady guy worked. Let's hope it won't affect anyone else. Now to read through all those rules...
Questions (will be updated as I read through the rules):
1) If playing both Production and Survey phases gives 1 wealth, what's the actual difference between them?
2) Where is the colonist pool?
3) To be perfectly clear, if nobody played a phase, then it doesn't happen, right?
4) If a player plays Colonization, does he not choose a colonist next turn and instead only gains the one he reserved?
5) Is there any point to reserving anyone except experts?
6) If #3 is true, does a player still gain a colonist if Colonization phase doesn't happen next turn?
7) If #3 is true, then what's the point of playing Survey, considering all resources cost waaaaay more than 1 wealth?
1) Both Survey and Production give the person playing it an extra Wealth, but the effect is a bit different. Playing Survey gives you 2 Wealth instead of just one, so if you're pretty sure that someone else is going to play Production it's a decent way of getting the one extra wealth you need to buy something. It's also quite effective with a Survey Station, since that's a flexible way to gain various resources and gives you an effect during Survey that everyone else doesn't get.
2) There is a set number of colonists at the beginning of the game, which makes of the Colonist Pool. In this case, with 6 players, there are 48 Unskilled, 18 Skilled, 12 Expert, and 12 Criminals. After each Colonization phase six random colonists will be taken from that pool to refill the active set. If all Colonists are taken, the game ends.
3) Correct.
4) No, if you play Colonization you get both the Reserved Colonist next time as well as one of the active set. You must always take a colonist if Colonization is played.
5) Depends. That's usually the best choice, but there are a few cases where Skilled might suit your goals better, or even a Criminal if you're going Prison. Also, there are only 12 Experts in the pool, so later in the game that's probably not an option.
6) The Reserved colonist is gained next time Colonization is played, regardless of how many Rounds happen before that Phase happens again.
7) Pretty much covered in #1