10 Best City-Building Games Like Town to City

There’s nothing more relaxing than building a city from the ground up and watching it grow. Town to City is a great choice for that, but plenty of other games offer similar fun with their own unique twists. Some focus on realistic city planning, while others add fantasy, survival, or creative freedom. So, if you are in search of games like Town to City, here are our ten best picks.

10. Anno 1800

Anno 1800 takes the player back to the Industrial Revolution era, where cities were growing fast with factories, trade routes, and technology. The player starts with a small colony and has to manage resources, construct industries, and construct trade networks. Building a city needs proper planning, sustaining production chains, and keeping the people happy. Exploration is also present in the game, and players can explore new lands and construct colonies. The game has a deep economic system where players have to sustain industries.

9. Sapiens

Sapiens focuses on early human civilization, where players assist a small number of settlers in establishing a thriving society. The game starts with a few people searching for shelter, food, and resources. Players must assign jobs, gather resources, and build structures while staying alive. The most striking aspect is the ability to shape the land itself. Secondly, the knowledge and skills grow over time, and unlocks new technologies. The game offers an open experience where every decision shapes the future of the tribe.

8. Planet Zoo

If you’re into animals and creativity, building a zoo is like bringing a whole world to life, right? Planet Zoo allows you to create every single aspect of your park, from the landscape to where the animals socialize. Each animal has some requirements, such as space and food. The welfare system tracks their happiness and health, which completely influences their behavior. The visitors are going to react to how the zoo’s planned and what facilities it includes, so intelligent planning is a necessity. And then there’s this awesome research system that unlocks new animals and improved facilities. And staff management is quite important to keep everything running smoothly.

7. Foundation

While building a city, placing structures in fixed patterns can feel limiting but Foundation removes those restrictions completely. Roads, houses, and entire districts shape themselves based on the land instead of following a grid. Here, players use a painting tool to guide construction and let the city expand in an organic way. Villagers find their own paths, monuments can be built however they like, and landscapes guide how settlements develop. Buildings are modular, so castles, churches, and markets can be customized piece by piece. Trading, taxes, and production chains keep the economy running, while three different progress paths decide how the kingdom grows.

6. Townscaper

Townscaper is a relaxing city-building game with no rules or limits. You just click, and buildings instantly appear, shaping themselves into houses, towers, or bridges. The game does all the work, adding arches, stairs, and little details on its own. There’s no stress — just endless freedom to create colorful towns, big or small. Every click changes the design, so no two cities look the same.

5. Fabledom

If you ever wanted to rule a kingdom where fairytales are real and magic is everywhere then Fabledom is the perfect place to do it. Build up a village, meet weird and wonderful creatures like gnomes and flying pigs, and grow your kingdom into something huge. Along the way, romance comes into play, letting you team up with other rulers, get special quests, and unlock new stuff. But it’s not all fun and games — witches and dragons are always lurking. To keep your kingdom safe, you must train an army, recruit heroes, and prepare for battles.

4. Cities: Skylines

A busy road packed with vehicles a neighborhood growing fast and a skyline filled with huge buildings show how cities keep changing all the time. Cities: Skylines lets players take full control of traffic, designing roads that keep everything moving without endless jams. Fire stations, hospitals, and schools need to be placed in the right spots so people can actually use them. Weather, pollution, and disasters make things harder, so plans need to change as the city grows. On top of that, a huge public transport system with buses, trains, and subways keeps people moving without clogging the streets.

3. Urbek City Builder

A city without money sounds unusual but in Urbek City Builder resources are the true currency. Instead of relying on cash, everything is built using food, coal, and skilled labor. Neighborhoods change based on what’s around — bars and parks make a chill bohemian spot, while fancy shops and green spaces bring in the rich crowd. Factories pump out goods but make life rough for nearby residents. Schools and universities unlock better buildings, so education actually matters. Burn through resources too fast and things go south quick. You can even walk the streets and see how the city takes shape right in front of you.

2. Stonehearth

Stonehearth is a city-building game mixed with survival mechanics that tests players in building a settlement in a hostile world. The game begins with a handful of villagers who need to collect resources, build structures, and protect their settlement. Food, shelter, and health need to be managed carefully in order to sustain the settlement. Random events like enemy raids make the game exciting and challenging. The game has a voxel-based art style similar to Town to City, and players can design buildings block by block. And a job system enables villagers to specialize as a craftsperson or a fighter.

1. Timberborn

Timberborn shares a lot of similarity with Town to City but does things in its own unique way. Humans are long gone, and now super-smart beavers are the ones building and surviving. There are two factions to pick from, one that lives in harmony with nature and another that focuses on industry. Instead of just placing buildings on the ground, everything stacks up, with bridges, platforms, and multi-level structures creating vertical cities. There are even robotic beavers that work non-stop to keep things running.