Can you heal a weakened villager? I have tried letting them swim in the lagoon, but that hasn't done anything. Suggestions?

Making sure that you have higher tech levels in medicine helps with overall villager health and longevity. That being said, the only things that I've been able to do to actually help a weakened villager are to make sure that I have plenty of food (and that it's increasing, not decreasing) and to put them on a less strenuous task (like research).

I'm not convinced that Research is "less strenuous".

I've been playing at High difficulty and it's really tough getting enough food to keep even five villagers going - hitting 200 available food is the best I've managed. I try to have most villagers farming (Level 2) and one on research. On occassion, I'll have another one Nursing - otherwise they all die of old age before I get anywhere.

Most of my villagers are now in their 30s, and my original researcher died first. Now the current researcher is Weak - a little sliver of red and that's it. Most of the others are weakened but they're still yellow and, as the field gets harvested, I get just about enough food to last until the next harvest. Even the kids are weak - I just hope they last long enough to start work, otherwise I'll be starting again - for the ninth time!

I reckon the farners get to eat the best food before it goes into the bin at all - and the poor researchers get stuck with whatever's left

I've played many games on hard, and in my games the builder usually kicks off first (probably because construction really is hazardous - I've watched them get hurt). The scientists usually decline in health and die, too, but not as quickly. The farmers are always healthy. I think you're onto something - those sneaky farmers are raiding the baskets on the way to the food bin!

If you're playing at the easier levels, though, I think it holds true that research is less hazardous to a villager's health!

On the hard game I am playing at the moment, I finally lost my weakest villager, but noticed that my problems mainly occurred when I had the game off.....and the farm started being productive or went into fallow while I was not watching. While the food levels were around 200, the weakened villagers were definitely getting better....slowly. But yes, my former builder was on research duty for a long time, and it was hard to even keep him yellow. I have managed to get about 500 food, but that was becuase I saw the farm start, had everyone farming, except the weak ones, and was fortunate to have a long harvest. Usually it seems to be about 200-300 units in the bin at the end of the season

Savi

How about making weakened villagers study the cactus? It seems to me that the healers don't get sick as often, esp masters (maybe it's just me). So when one of them gets sick for too long or is overworked, I just tell them to become a healer and, although I haven't kept records or anything, they've seemed to either get better or (if they're elderly) stay alive much longer.

And I'm not so sure on the weak + breed = healthy thing. Whenever I tried it, she only got weaker, luckily the babies have been able to separate before their mothers died.
-spaceman

I'm now serious about this theory that the farmers nick the best food - and leave the rotten stuff in the barrel.

I left the game running on Slow overnight - in the cradle and powered on to try and get the food balance up a bit.

When I left it, Kamau was 13, in full health and had a little bit of research, so I ticked this and let him grow. When I got up this morning, he had turned 17, is a Master Scientist - and his health bar is half gone - he is in the Yellow.

There are 3 farmers (1 aged 20 and two pensioners), 1 woman nursing, 4 kids and Kamau. So the population is 9 - and he's the only researcher. There were no events that affected him. There are over 1000 units of food available and everyone else is fully healthy, but the pensioners are starting to weaken.

I'm baffled as to why Kamau is far less healthy than all the others with no apparent reason.

I've seen the same thing when I've played on the hard setting. You just never know what Arthur and team put into the game to make that particular setting be "hard"! I'd say they succeeded!

"Hard" isn't in it. This is about game 12 at this level - and I think I've finally got going. Usually they all die of starvation, but now, after 2 days, I still only have 9 villagers and 5 of them are kids, but at least now I can fish. I put Kamau on farming and his health is improving. I think he might just have been lonely