10 City-building Games to enjoy the long holiday
If you've ever dreamed of being a mayor, a kingdom owner, or a country leader, city-building games are the perfect answer. It's not just about laying roads and building buildings; it's also full of planning, resource management, problem-solving, and most importantly... the pride of watching your city gradually grow.
In this article, we will introduce you to city-building games, both free and paid but worth it.
Whether you're into chill vibes, serious gameplay, or survival in the snow... I guarantee there's a game you'll love! 🎮✨
5 best free city-building games🏢
1. City Skylines
If we're talking about the most detailed city-building game right now, it has to be Cities Skylines. It's a planning game that has both old SimCity fans and new players hooked. 😄 The game is a city-building simulation that allows you to control everything from the road system, electricity, water, waste, education, hospitals, to city policies. Recently, Cities Skylines 2 was launched at the end of 2023, and it represents a complete overhaul of the system from the first installment. If you have a powerful computer and want to try something new in the second installment, this is a golden opportunity. But if you prefer stability and a lot of mods, the first installment is still very good. 💯
🔧Highlights
- The road system is amazing, but you have to plan well. Otherwise, it will cause traffic jams, and people will complain about us again, haha.
- We can adjust taxes/service fees by region.
- Divide the zones for houses/stores/factories exactly as they are.
- We need to manage pollution because if there's too much pollution, the people won't be happy!
- There is a large community, allowing for the addition of mods, buildings, systems, etc.
🖥️Playable platform
- PC
- Xbox One
- Sometimes available for free on Epic Games
2. TheoTown
It's a city-building game in 2D Pixel Art style that you can play on mobile and PC. You manage the city from the ground up, handling roads, water, electricity, population, etc. It's similar to a cute version of SimCity, but the system is more in-depth.
🔧Highlights
- Plan the city layout yourself, including houses, shops, and factories.
- Complete transportation system: trains, buses, airports, highways
- There is a disaster system such as fire, earthquake, UFO👾
- You can build multiple cities on the same map.
- There are plugins available to download buildings/systems from players around the world.
- No annoying ads, and if you buy the full version, it's very cheap.
📱Playable platform
- Android (free)
- iOS (Free but have in-app purchase)
- PC (Steam – There is a free demo available.)
3. Rise of Cultures
It's a chill city-building game🏙️ A mobile game that combines city-building and civilization development from the Stone Age to the modern era. Manage resources, research technology, build armies, and expand your empire. Developed by InnoGames (the same team behind Forge of Empires). If you like the Civilization style but don't want to play too seriously, this game is just perfect! 🎯
🔧Highlights
- Build a city through the ages, starting from ancient times and gradually upgrading to the Egyptian, Greek, Chinese eras, etc.
- Unlock new technologies to develop the city
- There is a Turn-Based combat system where you can assemble your own team.
- Complete quests to earn rewards and gather resources.
- Join the alliance and help develop with other players.
📱Playable platform
- Android
- iOS
4. Settlement Survival
This game is perfect for city-building survival enthusiasts🔥 You will need to lead a group of survivors to establish a new settlement and gradually expand the city from scratch, overcoming obstacles such as food shortages, natural disasters, and plagues. If you want to try the "build a city to survive the winter" concept, this game is definitely the answer❄️🏡
🔧Highlights
- There are no cities at all, we have to build houses, storage facilities, farms, etc., all by ourselves.
- Must manage food, water, minerals, and logistics well.
- There is a season. The winter is very harsh. You have to stock up on supplies, otherwise people will die.
- Each person has an age, health, and profession that need to be appropriately arranged.
- Trees, once planted and grown, if all cut down and not replanted, will leave us without wood to use.
- Upgrade the city to be more modern
🖥️Playable platform
- PC ( Steam ) There is a free demo available to try.
5. SimCity BuildIt
Let's get to the legendary mobile version of the game From the legendary city-building game "SimCity," take on the role of mayor, create your dream city freely, and take care of the happiness of the citizens.
🔧Highlights
- The 3D image is very beautiful, you can rotate to view the city in 360 degrees.
- Build buildings and lay roads by yourself
- There must be water, electricity, hospitals, police, schools, etc.
- There are disasters, such as monster invasions and fires, that require forming a response team.
- Selling goods with other cities can boost the economy.
- There is a competition with other players for special prizes.
📱Playable platform
- Android
- iOS
5 paid city-building games that are really fun 🏫
1. Banished
If you like city-building games with a survival twist, you must know this game. A Survival City Builder game that lets you start as a "small group of survivors" settling in the forest, gradually developing into a village, then a city... without wars, without enemies, just nature and surviving through every season. 🌨️
🔧Highlights
- No money, no taxes, just resources.
- The people have real lives: they are born, grow old, get sick, die, have jobs, and have feelings.
- The season is really harsh. We need to plan and store enough food for the winter.
- Must manage it in balance. If we build too quickly, there won't be enough food = people will starve.
- We can't be slow because the population is getting older and older.
- There is no war. The challenge is "resources + survival."
🖥️Playable platform
- PC ( Steam / GOG / Humble)
2. Tropico 6
Welcome to the world of Tropico 6, the most outrageous, hilarious, and unique city-building game. If you want to be the "most outrageous president" on a tropical island of dictatorship... This is the one! 🏝️😎 You will have to lead the country to prosperity (or ruin) through economic development, controlling the populace, handling protests, and even... election rigging. 😆
🔧Highlights
- Create a city with multiple separate areas connected by bridges/boats.
- Establish a constitution, distribute populist gifts, or use the military to control
- Export bananas, steel, liquor, etc., to earn money for the country's development.
- The population has thoughts, happiness, and the right to resist.
- Sometimes you even have to steal the Statue of Liberty from America, haha.
- There are Sandbox and Mission modes.
🖥️Playable platform
- PC ( Steam / Epic)
3. Anno 1800
Anno 1800 is a city-building game that is stunning, deep, and extremely serious. If you love detailed management and logistics at an expert level, you absolutely cannot miss it! 🚢 You will become the owner of an empire, developing a city from a small village to an industrial metropolis, with a complete system of production, transportation, and trade.
🔧Highlights
- The supply chain system is very deep. For example, making bread requires wheat farms, flour mills, and bakeries to deliver to the public.
- Go to new islands to find minerals and produce goods that are not available on the main island.
- The population is divided into several levels: from commoners → craftsmen → merchants → nobles. The higher the rank, the more care is required.
- There are merchant ships / trading across the world / naval warfare
- The graphics are incredibly beautiful, with perfect details from every angle.
- The people will be satisfied/protest according to what is actually happening in the city.
📱Playable platform
- PC ( Ubisoft )
4. Frostpunk
This is a city-building game that is not just about "survival" but also challenges our humanity... Survival City Builder + Moral Dilemma game The Ice Age world The last group of survivors gathers around a fire in the middle of the city. They must build a city → provide warmth → share resources → cope with the "hope" of humanity. Every decision you make... affects both life and morality.
🔧Highlights
- We have to distribute energy evenly. If the power goes out... people will die.
- The population has "hope" and "dissatisfaction"
- Can enact decisive laws, such as allowing children to work, using corpses for fertilizer
- We have to sacrifice one person to save another 100 people.
- Each mode has a storyline path for you to choose, such as "City of Faith" or "City of Tyranny."
- The visuals, sounds, and music really make you feel cold.
🖥️Playable platform
- PC ( Steam )
5. inZOI
Here's a bonus: inZOI, an advanced life simulation game from South Korea, which many people call "The Sims version Unreal Engine 5" because of its incredibly realistic graphics, highly detailed systems, and complete freedom! But this one is a house-building game that was just released not long ago in March 2025.
🔧Highlights
- The graphics are stunning, on par with Unreal Engine 5. Everything looks "realistic," from the characters to the city.
- Control your life like in The Sims Create characters, decorate houses, control emotions, relationships, and work.
- Change the time, weather, city, or even the "event."
- The other characters in the game don't just walk around aimlessly; they live with a "think for themselves, act for themselves" mentality.
- Emphasizing that we are the "gods" of this world, able to command everything from rain to stirring up drama in the city. 🤭
🖥️Playable platform
- PC ( Steam )
How about the top 10 games? Whether it's Cities Skylines, TheoTown, Rise of Cultures, Banished, Tropico 6, Anno 1800, Frostpunk, SimCity BuildIt, or even the new game inZOI, each one takes us into a world of planning, creativity, and thought-provoking challenges in their own unique ways. Perfect for those looking for free city-building games or online city-building games, both on PC and mobile. 🏙️✨
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