7 greatest city-building games of all time

City-building games are just awesome. They let users create a bustling metropolis from scratch with their fingers and control the lives of millions of people inhabiting it.

It’s a genre about building and managing the city of their dreams. The best part is that the players decide what to do next with their creations.

Whether gamers are looking to build a futuristic megapolis or a small quaint town, hundreds of city-builder titles exist to satisfy all the city-building urges.

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Seven city-building games where you can build city of your dreams

1) Pharaoh (1999)

• Developers: Impressions Game and Breakaway Games
• Available on: Microsoft Windows

Pharaoh is a genre-defining city-building game that lets players relive the glorious past of ancient Egypt. It is the first title to introduce never-before-seen features into the genre, including monument construction, wars, national disasters, and the founding of ancient cities.

The game offers both a campaign mode and a free-build mode. The former focuses on establishing historically accurate cities in the chronological order of ancient Egypt’s past.

Users start as low-ranking Egyptian officials, and as the campaign mode progresses, they can increase their rank until they become the Pharoah.

Pharaoh is a fascinating game about setting up trading camps and building grand cities and wonders of ancient Egypt. In the subsequent years of its release, the Pharaoh series came up with equally endearing expansion packs, including Cleopatra: Queen of the Nile, in 2000.

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2) SimCity 4 (2003)

• Developer: Maxis
• Available on: macOS, Microsoft Windows, Linux, Classic Mac OS

SimCity 4 is yet another genre-defining construction and management game that, for the first time, lets gamers build cities over a massive expanse of land. When it first came out, the title 4 was truly a revelation in the city-building genre, as it offers a wide array of micromanaging elements that breathe life into the city.

In SimCity 4, players can plan their cities into districts and zones such as Commercial, Residential, Industrial, etc. It also offers tons of cool features, such as day and night cycles.

SimCity allows users to micromanage everything about the city, from finance to the environment to the quality of life of its citizens. SimCity 4 is the best city-building game released in the early 2000s.

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3) Anno 1404: Dawn of Discovery (2009)

• Developers: Ubisoft
• Available on: Microsoft Windows, Nintendo DS, Wii

Anno 1404: Dawn of Discovery is a unique city-builder that offers mixed gameplay elements of city-building and business simulation on the one hand and real-time strategy on the other.

It takes gamers into a fascinating time in history when the Imperial European powers were just beginning to go on long voyages and settle in newly discovered lands.

In Anno 1404, players start with a small fiefdom assigned by the Emperor of an unnamed European power. The game’s core gameplay elements involve colonizing islands and setting up farms and factories to meet the Empire’s needs.

In addition, it also has active naval and land combat elements with other AI factions. Anno 1404: Dawn of Discovery is a wonderful reimagination of the Imperial era and is a must-try.

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4) Cities XL (2009)

• Developer: Monte Cristo
• Available on: Microsoft Windows

Cities XL is another city-building game that comes closest to the SimCity series in terms of the rich palette of micro-managing features available. Like the SimCity games, Cities XL also offers users a large-scale world map where they can build and link up cities of all different shapes and sizes.

The title also has an online mode known as the Planet that allows them to interact with other gamers. This includes the ability to trade resources with others.

Like SimCity 4, in Cities XL, various economic zones within the city can be demarcated.

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5) SimCity: Build It (2014)

• Developer: Maxis
• Available on: Android and iOS

SimCity: BuildIt is the city-building game of the SimCity series designed specifically for mobile phones. One striking feature is its well-polished 3D graphics compared to previous SimCity editions.

The game offers beautiful camera angles, the ability to zoom in, and a complete 360-degree camera view that takes the city-building experience to the next level.

As the mayor, players gather power and influence as they try to solve the occasional challenges plaguing the city, such as rapid-fire outbreaks, intense pollution, and even a Godzilla attack.

It’s a fun and addictive city-building game where the larger a city grows, the more engaging it becomes.

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6) Cities: Skylines (2015)

• Developers: Colossal Order and Paradox Interactive
• Available on: Microsoft Windows, Linux, macOS, Google Stadia, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, PlayStation 4

A modern take on the city-building and construction management genre, Cities: Skylines is an open-ended city-building game that introduces never-before-seen gameplay elements into the genre for the first time.

The title is detailed to perfection, and there are so many engaging elements that users can easily spend hours micromanaging an entire neighborhood. From the ability to carve out well-laid-out economic districts divided into various zones to zooming and detailing and the ability to micro-manage traffic, Cities: Skylines is arguably the best city-builder title ever made.

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7) Tropico 6 (2019)

• Developer: Limbic Entertainment
• Available on: Microsoft Windows, Linux, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, PlayStation 4 & 5, SteamOS, macOS, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S

The Tropico series is a highly addictive city-building game franchise where gamers assume the role of El President, the undisputed dictator of the island nation of Tropico.

In addition to city-building gameplay elements, Tropico games also offer business management and political simulation elements. As the dictator, it’s the player’s duty to garner political influence and transform the island nation of Tropico into a bustling paradise.

Of all the Tropico games, Tropico 6 is by far the best rendition of the series. Unlike the previous titles, where users can develop only one large island, Tropico 6 offers them an entire archipelago of islands to develop.

Note: This article is subjective and reflects the author’s opinion.