Build your own city games have become more and more popular. These city building games are usually played in real time which will take you longer to complete. You always start out small in these games but when you get better resources and more money, you will soon see your small village blossom into a metropolis bursting with life. Another great thing about city building strategy games is that they are adaptable to all ages. Anyone can play these kinds of games and no gaming experience is needed. Only a little imagination.
One of the best city building games is Banished. This game published and developed by Shining Rock Software was first released in 2014. This single player video game can only be played on Windows computers. Banished focuses on survival and resource management while you try to build a thriving community. This game can be a little challenging at first but once you get the hang of it you will soon realize that Banished is more about city building than survival. Banished will take you about 36 hours for the main quests and side quests, but you can keep building as long as you want.
In Banished, you will start off with the clothes on your body and a cart filled with meager supplies. The rest is determined by how you play. You will have to control a group of exiled travelers who need a new place to start a new life. This game focuses on a town as a whole so be sure to give each citizen a thing to do to advance faster in the game. For more games of the genre that require you to find resources and build a new land, check out our list of games like Banished below. They are all a little different so try them all to see which one you like best.
Rimworld
One of the best building games on our list is Rimworld. Rimworld is a settlement builder game that involves combat, resource management, and other things like healing and protecting your colony. This game has an interactive AI tutor that can help you with any problem you might need. Rimworld is free to play on any computer and new content and bug fixes are added all the time. The creators of Rimworld take pride in their game and it shows with all the progress they’ve made since this game’s first release in 2013. Rimworld has a lot to discover. In this game you will find rampaging animals, quests, treasures, pirate raids, hostile tribes, and more. Start playing Rimworld now to see what all the excitement is about.
Guild
Guild is a great addition to our list of online building games similar to Banished. This game developed by 4Head Studios and published by JoWood Productions and Deep Silver can be played in single or multiplayer mode. Guild can only be played on Windows computers, there are no other versions of this game. This life simulation building game takes you into a medieval world. Your main goal in this game is to run a business, eventually get married, and start a dynasty of your own. In this economic strategy game, you may purchase, build and take on various businesses that range from easy to hard. Guild has four main professions that can be mastered and various titles that can be given to your character like commoner or baron. This game uses real time laws of supply and demand that increase and decrease depending on your citizens well being. If you’re looking for a building game based on economics, check out this one now.
Planetbase
Planetbase must be added to our list of games like Banished. This addition to our list of top city building games was released in 2015 for Windows and Mac. Published and developed by Madruga Works, Planetbase is an indie simulation strategy game that can only be played in single player mode. This game requires you to build a human colony on a distant planet. Your main goal in Planetbase is to build an outpost and finds ways to survive. In this game, you must acquire enough water and food to stay alive and, since you’re on a distant planet, you must cultivate clean oxygen too. Other things that you can do in this game include mining for different kinds of metals, manufacturing robots, and helping your colonist build skills so that they can help you reach bigger goals. This building game has 29 structures, 5 types of workers, 3 kinds of robots, and 4 different planets that you can build on. Planetbase is an out of this world experience that you must play if you like the other strategy building games on our list.
Prison Architect
Prison Architect is one of the best building games for people who like both construction and management simulation. This game released in 2015 is published and developed by Introversion Software. Prison Architect can be played on numerous platforms. They include PlayStation, Xbox, Windows, Mac, Linux, and mobile devices like Android and iOS. This single player game is a 2D top down simulation that puts you in control of a prison. You must manage various aspects of the compound, including the warden and the guards. In this game, you will have to build cells and facilities, plan and connect utilities, hire and assign staff to the right jobs, and take responsibility of the finances and the inmates happiness. Prison Architect is an intense micromanaging builder game that is loved by millions of gamers worldwide.
Cities Skylines
If you love build your own city games like Banished, you’ll love Cities Skylines. Cities Skylines is a game that was first released in 2015 for Windows, Mac, and Linux. Two years later, Paradox Interactive and Colossal Order realized just how great this game was and released it on Xbox One and PlayStation 4. Cities Skylines is a city building, construction and management simulation game that can only be played in single player mode. This game similar to SimCity puts you in charge of a metropolis. In Cities Skyline, you will have to simulate daily routines, solve various problems, and design a city. All needs to be done for millions of AI players. In Cities Skyline, you will find realistic traffic congestions that are affected by things like districts and city services. You can play this real time simulation game for free, but the additional content is bought with real money. It is not needed to play the game.
Tropico
Another great construction and simulation game found on our list of city building strategy games like Banished is Tropico. First released in 2001, this simulation game developed by PopTop Software and Feral Interactive and published by Gathering of Developers, MacSoft, and Feral Interactive can be played on Windows, Linux, and Mac. Tropico has had many sequels, its latest one was just released in 2017. This game puts you in charge. You will become the president of an island country found in the Caribbean. In this game, you will find things like electoral fraud, totalitarianism and tongue in cheek humor. The Tropico feature a ton of fun loving Caribbean music and several expansions are available to make your game more complete. The main goal of this game is to stay in power until the end. Do you have what it takes to play Tropico?
Life is Feudal: Forest Village
Forest Village is a medieval city building strategy game that was created and developed by Forest Village Game. This game released in 2017 is another one of the top additions to our list of alternatives to Banished that can’t be missed. Life is Feudal: Forest Village is free to play online with additional content available for purchase. In this online game, you must lead a group of survivors to a new land and home. In Life is Feudal: Forest Village, you will start with only the clothes on your back and limited resources like food, tools and construction materials. You will have to use your wits to figure out how to stretch out these items as long as you can until you find bigger and better ways to survive. Life is Feudal: Forest Village requires you to carefully plan out your developments and think about future additions. You will also need to take care of your inhabitants and give them all that they need to stay alive.
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