TheJoe: Also, the original title of the game is Europa 1400. I'm not actually really sure why GOG rebranded it to The Guild.
"The Guild" was the game's original subtitle, IIRC (the full title was "Europa 1400: The Guild"). Not sure why they omitted the first part; maybe that's just how the "Gold" version is.
I'm picking this game up because I read a single-screenshot review on it years ago in PC Gamer, and somehow the game stuck in my head because of how unique it seemed. Recently I sought it out on a whim, and found it here. I wasn't ready to plunk down $10 for some reason, but now that it's on sale... ;)
I'm looking forward to playing it, since I'm a fan of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms games and this game appears to have some similar elements (free choice, historical background, micromanaging, being a jerk, etc).