Before there was The Sims, there was Sim City. The franchise was started by Maxis back in 1989 and has since gone on to spawn multiple titles, including beginning the popular Sims franchise. The entire purpose of Sim City is to design your city, meaning you get to control where schools, hospitals, parks, roads, landscapes, and more are located within your city.

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You can't necessarily 'beat' the game, but you must try and maintain balance while still keeping residents happy in addition to making an accessible and livable place for your citizens. If you love Sim City and want more Sim games to play, here are some other games you should consider checking out.

Updated March 19, 2023, by Branden Lizardi: Sim City pioneered the simulation genre of games. While not the first, it established itself as a forefather to city builders and colony management games. But it's not the only one working away at such ideas. More games like Sim City are released every year, from Triple A developers to indie studios alike. We've returned to this list to update it with some new entries we think are worth your time.

19 Ostriv

Ostriv small rural village

If you fancy a break from the grid-based restrictions of many city-builder games, you might want to try Ostriv. This game lets you create very organic-looking villages where citizens are individually simulated, and it's a compelling experience.

Ostriv is a very beautiful, calming game set in the rustic countryside of Ukraine, the homeland of the game developer yevhen8. While the game is in Early Access and updates have slowed down due to the current world climate, as it stands, Ostriv is a full, enjoyable experience.

18 Kingdoms Reborn

Kingdoms Reborn small colony

Kingdoms Reborn is a game that has you building up a colony, attracting new residents to your settlement, trading with others, and becoming as prosperous as possible. You progress through a series of ages, gradually developing your technology level as you go.

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Most simulation games on the market are designed with single-player in mind, but Kingdoms Reborn is a game that thrives when you play it with friends. You can play cooperatively, sharing your resources and sending gifts, or competitively, cornering the global market or even using force to take lands from your friends.

17 Anno 2070

Like Sim City, Anno 2070 is another game where you build cities and try to maintain a flourishing economy. Anno 2070 also has real-time elements. It is part of the popular Anno series, but this game is one of the best in the series.

It takes place in the year 2070, as the title suggests, in a world where global warming has completely decimated the polar ice caps. Due to excess flooding, many of the old cities have been deconstructed, and new islands have taken their place. It is your job to settle those islands and create new sustainable civilizations.

16 Kingdom: Two Crowns

For those who enjoy a good challenge, Kingdom: Two Crowns offers one through building a kingdom from dust and despair and protecting what you've built from the ravaging forces known as The Greed. The player controls the monarch atop their noble steed, distributing coins to whichever citizens or buildings they deem necessary.

Any Kingdom player knows that the key to victory is proper resource management; how you spend your gold coins will mean the difference between prosperity and eventual destruction. Players must consider defensive measures (archers, outer walls, and weaponry) and money-making opportunities (farming, hunting, and fishing). If you can play the long game, your monarch might succeed.

15 Towns

If you enjoy RPG games in addition to Sim City, then you might want to check out Towns on Steam. The game introduces some RPG elements into the play, as you must manage a settlement on top of an active dungeon, which you can also explore. The developers have cited other RPG games, such as Diablo, as their inspirations.

Another fun aspect of this game is choosing a biome you want to start your settlement in, whether it be grass, snow, or otherwise. However, it should be noted that Towns is an unfinished game that was abandoned by its developers. That said, it's still playable and fun to experiment with if you're looking for something different.

14 Jurassic World: Evolution 2

a wide shot of a lush and verdant park in Jurassic World Evolution 2 surrounded by trees, water and mountains

One of the more well-known city builder games of the last few years, Jurassic World: Evolution 2 is based on the recent Jurassic World movies. You're employed as a park manager tasked with balancing the needs of running a new dinosaur park. Manage resources, establish funding, and further scientific research toward cultivating and growing once-extinct dinosaur experiences.

Trying to keep the dinosaurs happy and contained is only one side of managing a successful park. There are things like profits to consider while also keeping the public happy. Finding the balance between scientific progress and sustained business can be challenging, but it will capture your attention much in the same way being the Mayor of Sim City does.

13 Aven Colony

Aven Colony was released in 2017 to PS4, Xbox One, and PC - it is centered around humans colonizing an alien planet in order to survive. Players who enjoy science fiction elements may enjoy this game as they build mines and farms, eradicate alien bugs, and defend against unpredictable plagues.

If desired, players can travel outward to fight alien spores, though they must maintain the meticulous balance that a space colony requires.

12 Surviving Mars

If Aven Colony isn't your exact cup of tea, don't fret; there are several more space colonization games to try. Surviving Mars was released in 2018 and provided the harrowing challenge of creating and sustaining life on the planet Mars.

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Not only is there intricate building and the allocation of precious resources to worry about, but each individual colonist has their own stats that can be maintained and traits that impact how they act and work. The game also allows for a variety of difficulty settings, making it open to both beginner builders and hardcore players.

11 Against The Storm

Against the Storm - gameplay footage of a city

For once, your main enemy isn't capitalism. It's not even other people; it's a natural part of nature. Against The Storm is a dark fantasy city builder where your main goal is to survive torrential rain. Tend to the needs of your citizens, whether they're human, lizard, or beaver. Instead of focusing on long-term gameplay, Against The Storm encourages replayability through short games.

Described as a roguelite, each run will be different from the last. Each new settlement can even interact with the previous ones, creating entire worlds of towns you managed. If you want something less modern, more fantasy, and much less of a commitment, then this is a fantastic choice.

10 Constructor Plus

Constructor Plus is for those who have played their fair share of Simulation and building games and want something new and perhaps even wacky. Released in 2019, it has almost three times the amount of content its predecessor had; Constructor Plus is all about crafting and maintaining a corrupt, larger-than-life town offering plenty of comedic potential for players.

Not only can you build ridiculous structures and oddities, but the town is full of wild people, such as tripper-happy gangsters and even zombies. Those who want a more fantastical experience may enjoy this game.

9 Tropico 4

Tropico 4 is yet another city-based game, but this one is a little different than some others on this list because it focuses more on the management side of running a city in addition to politics. The Tropico series is a popular franchise, and if you like Tropico 4, we recommend you check out its sequels, too.

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In Tropico 4, you become the ruler of an island banana republic. Ten maps are created for you, and you can choose whichever you want. Then you can customize various aspects of your island, such as the type of vegetation and minerals found there. Your goal is to keep your citizens happy.

8 Cities: Skylines

Cities: Skyline is a single-player open city-building simulation. Players must work to maintain a city, simple enough. This includes everything from ensuring the pollution levels remain low to dealing with zoning, taxes, public transportation, the daily lives of citizens, and more. In the beginning, you start with a simple plot of land and an interchange exit from a highway.

Then you must begin to slowly add to what you have in terms of roads, creating jobs and essential services, and slowly the city will start to grow as people move, unlocking new assets like public schools and transit. The game offers multiple expansion packs that add new buildings, zones, industries, and even radio stations to the game.

7 Rollercoaster Tycoon

Rollercoaster Tycoon is not a city-building game, but it allows you to create and manage an amusement park. The game became so popular it spawned multiple spin-offs and sequels. The most recent release is available for Nintendo Switch.

The main goal of the game is to create an amazing amusement park, and that means you get to design roller coasters. In the earlier versions of the game, you could even 'ride' your coasters with a first-person perspective. You'll have to watch how guests interact with them depending on their intensity and ensure you keep your park clean of all vomit!

6 Frostpunk

Frostpunk is an excellent game for those who enjoy management in their video games. Released in 2018 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC, the player is in charge of the last city on Earth and must sometimes make difficult choices for both its infrastructure and its citizens.

Anyone who enjoys dystopian steampunk themes will no doubt enjoy Frostpunk, though its cold environment and colder atmosphere will make for an emotional experience. Prepare to sacrifice to ensure the survival of humanity's last civilization.

5 Before We Leave

Before We Leave Transmogrifier

If you want something relaxing while still engaging, check out Before We Leave. You begin as a small group of people that returned to the surface after thousands of years. Slowly, you recolonize, expand, and even reach other planets. Establish trade routes, improve citizen moods, and produce valuable goods.

The game is almost completely passive, so you don't have to spend every day worrying about what new terror will bring your colony to collapse. Instead, you can focus on improving and upgrading at your own pace. This can be a therapeutic alternative for management game fans.

4 Animal Crossing

Some gamers want tough challenges and tangible rewards; others just enjoy creating beauty and structure. Animal Crossing is an extremely popular Nintendo franchise and while it isn't all that similar to Sim City, they do share some basic fundamentals. While you're not trying to create a city in this game, you are trying to create a village that you'd be happy to live in.

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You start off with a small home, and soon you can grow it into a multi-level mansion, so long as you pay your loans to Tom Nook on time. New animals will move into your town, too, as it grows, and you can start contracts to build other stores and areas in the game. Plus, it is your job to maintain cleanliness to ensure your town doesn't get overrun with weeds. The online aspect of this game is another great reason to invest, as sharing one's projects with others becomes a great motivator.

3 Stronghold 3

Stronghold 3 is a real-time strategy video game that should please the most avid of Sim City fans. The game has more of a story and plot to follow than Sim City does, but you will still need to understand how to manage resources and care for a village. The plot of the story follows the Boy, a character from previous games.

The Wolf has cheated death and is seeking revenge on The Boy. You and your allies will have to stand against him. You can play with an economic campaign or a military one. The economic campaign might suit Sim City fans more as it is less story-driven.

2 Planetbase

Have you ever considered playing a building game that takes place in space? If so, then look no further than Planetbase. The game is a pretty remarkable one that involves trying to establish a livable human colony on another planet. If you enjoy playing Sim City but want a significant change in locale, then Planetbase is the perfect fit.

You'll need to help a group of space settlers build a civilization while contending with environmental factors like natural disasters. You'll be able to add robots into the game to help with some of the tasks too. There are different planets with different environments as well.

1 The Sims Franchise

Obviously, if you love Sim City, perhaps the next best franchise you can get involved in is The Sims. The Sims wouldn't exist without Sim City and although there is more focus on caring for the characters and people than the environment, there are also many opportunities to build.

In The Sims, you won't necessarily be building cities (although in some games that is an option) but if you enjoy building things from the ground up, you can take your time creating beautiful Sim manors and homes. The games are loads of fun and should keep you entertained for hours. Plus they come with many expansion packs to constantly add on new additions.

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