The 10 Best City-Building Games for Aspiring Mayors

City Skylines

We have to start this list off on the right foot, and the ultimate classic experience of modern city-building is City Skylines. Although the second part is also great, we decided to include the OG title that started it all, because of its vast amount of DLCs that, if you're fortunate enough to own them all, allow you to customize your city in luxurious detail without losing the game's primary focus. | © Paradox Interactive

Sim City 4

The myth, the legend, the classic OG city simulation game. From the same studio that created The Sims (and you'll notice your inhabitants are also called Sims), Sim City 4 brings together the best qualities of the franchise. It allows you to create grand wonders that your citizens will go hungry for, and also lets you destroy your civilization with tornadoes, volcanoes, and the occasional space robot. | © Electronic Arts

Manor Lords

The newest on the list is Manor Lords, and although it's been on the market for a short time, we couldn't resist adding it due to the complex and realistic simulation of feudal lordship it offers. Here, you not only govern your lands and take care of your peasants but also fend off armies that want a piece of your goods. Remember, it's not strictly a battle game, but fighting against other soldiers is part of the job for a medieval lord. | © Hooded Horse

Aven Colony

But if your thing is creating cities in outer space, you have to try Aven Colony. Unlike our real world, which is already known and conquered, here you are establishing colonies on planets with very different climates, vegetation, and dangers. You'll have to discover and adapt to them quickly if you want to survive... | © Team17

Surviving Mars

Well, maybe other fantastic planets are too much for you. How about something closer, within your own solar system? Surviving Mars lets us simulate what it would be like if SpaceX actually managed to reach and colonize Mars. A life in huge glass domes! | © Paradox Interactive

Anno 1800

Another of the OGs, and the latest in its long franchise history, is Anno 1800. Focusing on the colonial era, you have to manage your material businesses (particularly spices) from the Americas and trade with Europe. And I promise you, it’s much more difficult than it seems... My citizens always end up poor, sick, and starving. | © Ubisoft

Frostpunk

There isn't a list of great city-building games that doesn't include Frostpunk among the top titles, and that's due to its unique concept and world. The name itself is a portmanteau of steampunk aesthetics and surviving a harrowing winter. While other city simulators focus on keeping your citizens happy, here it's about preventing them from freezing to death, or they will soon rebel against you and your dystopian civilization. | © 11 bit studios

TimberBorn

The cool thing about TimberBorn is that, while it is the latest in a long line of games in the genre, it has chosen a unique and more natural concept. Here you play as a civilization of beavers that are a bit more advanced than those in our world. And when you build facilities, residences, and wooden skyscrapers, the biggest enemy for your civilization becomes fire. Don't forget those dams! | © Mechanistry

Tropico 6

Well, enough of thinking so much about keeping your people happy. Maybe you're tired of democracy and decide to create a banana republic where your word is law. Of all the titles in the franchise, Tropico 6 is the ultimate version, where you play as the dictator of your own Caribbean island, forging alliances with great powers to keep your head in the presidency... if your citizens don't rebel and decide to take power the same way you did. | © Kalypso Media

The Wandering Village

To conclude, I would like to add a game that stands out from the rest for its unique concept, and it's The Wandering Village, where you build your settlement on the back of a colossal creature. The cool thing about this title is the symbiosis between your dinosaur and your citizens. You can feed it and earn its trust to make decisions such as which path to take, when to rest, and when to hurry so it doesn't take its time in a snowy climate that will kill all your crops... I'm telling you from experience. | © Stray Fawn