What is A City-Building Game?

City-building games are some of the most enjoyable combinations of creativity and strategy. They allow players to plan and govern their own virtual cities. You can control anything from placing roads and buildings to making sure that your citizens get all the necessary things in order to live happily.

But what, exactly is it which makes city-building games so much fun? The concept is almost simple enough-to build and expand a city-Adventure, but there’s nothing about that. You will have to manage resources carefully plan for the future be ready above all to deal with traffic, budget problems, citizen complaints, just to name a few. Now, let’s talk about what makes a city-building game and why people find them so irresistible. We’ll also look at five of the greatest city-building games around.

What is a City-Building Game?

City-building games are a type of video game that includes designing and managing your own city or settlement. Starting from empty land, you build roads, houses, schools, and many other things with great care. The final goal is to make your city grow while the living there are happy and have whatever they need. The management is yours, as you decide where things will be and how the city will function in general.

What makes city-building games fun is creativity blended with planning. You don’t just place buildings haphazardly but consider how everything fits together-an example would be that houses should be placed close to working areas or the roads must not get too crowded. Moreover, you have to consider how your choices will affect the city in the future.

City-building games are pretty free and easy-to-play games also. Some of them may require you to face real-life issues – the struggle with your money, traffic, and so on, whereas others might use fantasy or even sci-fi venues where you could develop other planets or remarkable environments.

Gameplay

The gameplay is composed of planning and managing and also problem-solving. Initially, you begin with an empty plot and eventually create the city from scratch. In this game, you will place roads, houses, and necessary buildings, for example, schools, hospitals, and factories, in this city. As your city progresses, you have to serve the needs of the citizens, either on housing, employment, or other public services. All decisions will determine how your city develops over time.

Moreover, one of the most important features of the game is resources management. You are responsible for managing valuable resources like money, electricity, water, and raw materials. For instance, you might need to build power plants for producing energy or water treatment facilities for a clean water supply for your population, but resources are usually scarce.

Besides that, city-building games always confront the player with new problems when developing the city. During some periods, there appears traffic congestion, pollution, and other economic crises reducing the activity of the city, which should be solved by you. You can rewind roads to decrease traffic jams or invest in green technologies in order to minimize the level of pollution. All these processes make the game interesting and rewarding.

Best City-Building Games

5. Frostpunk

Frostpunk is a survival city-builder, set in a world ravaged by extreme cold, and one where civilizations collapsed. You play as the leader of the last remaining city on Earth, maintaining resources, shelter, and tough choices in order to ensure survival for your citizens. This, of course means that heat is essential, and constantly having to gather fuel while satisfying the needs of the citizens proves to be quite crucial. You’d make laws, administer your healthcare system, and decide how things are meant to be in your society.

4. Surviving Mars

If you ever wanted to build a city on another planet, then Surviving Mars could well be your game. Here, you are in charge of establishing a Martian colony and so handling everything ranging from oxygen production, research and technological development. The interesting blend of resource management and exploration makes this a compelling game as the player sets his or her focus on surviving on the cold, harsh, often quite red planet.

3. Timberborn

Timberborn is a city-building game in which you control wise, evolved beavers in a world that has outgrown humans. There are no humans; instead, this earth is now dry and rough, but resourceful enough for its beavers to survive. Here, you have to build a powerful colony and must always make sure it has enough food and water; you must prepare to face droughts and toxic seasons. You can build dams, dig canals, and stack buildings in order to make the most use of this land. Using timber and clever water control, your beavers have to survive and grow in this unforgiving world.

2. Anno 1800

Anno 1800 is a city-building game amidst the Industrial Revolution of the 19th century. As a leader, you will work on building and maintaining cities, establishing trade routes, and exploring new territories. The game offers you the possibility of being innovative, liberating, or conquering. As your empire goes on expanding, you’ll be bound to face industrial challenges as well as the intrigues of politics, along with further exploration to new places.

1. Cities: Skylines

Cities: Skylines is probably the gold standard in modern city-building games. It offers a game that’s so incredibly deep and free in design, you might be able to create sprawling cities complete with highways, public transportation, parks, and skyscrapers. What takes Cities: Skylines to the next level, though, is its sense of detail. Every aspect, after all-to healthcare, to education, comes under your control.

So, what’s your favorite city-building game, and why does it stand out to you? Let us know on our socials here!