Timberborn, a city-building game, leads players to manage beaver societies in a post-human world with a focus on sustainability and resource management. Its unique twist on traditional city simulation comes from water management and strategic resource allocation. For fans of Timberborn, this list showcases games with similar mechanics, such as strategic resource management, distinct construction systems, and environmental themes. These games offer creative problem-solving and strategic depth, echoing Timberborn's key gameplay aspects without copying its formula. Players balance growth with sustainability, experiencing a creativity similar to Timberborn's.
About this list
- 1

Frostpunk, from the creators of This War of Mine, is a society survival game. Heat dictates life; every choice costs something. In a frozen world, people build steam-powered tech against the cold. You must build the last city on Earth and secure survival for your community. Optimization and resource management clash with empathy and smart choices. City and society management takes up most of the ruler's time, but exploring the outside world becomes necessary.
11 - 2

Oxygen Not Included is a space-colony simulation. Deep inside an alien space rock, your crew must master science. They need to beat strange lifeforms and use space tech to survive, or maybe even thrive.
8 - 3

Anno 1800: Lead the Industrial Revolution! The Industrial Age begins now. The path you pick shapes your world. Are you an innovator or an exploiter? A conqueror or a liberator? You decide how the world remembers your name.
8 - 4

Surviving Mars is a sci-fi city builder about colonizing Mars and surviving. Pick a space agency for resources and money first. Then, choose a colony location. Build domes and infrastructure. Research new things and use drones to expand your settlement. Grow food, mine minerals, or just relax at the bar. Keeping your colonists alive is the main task. This is hard on a strange new planet.
7 - 5

RimWorld is a sci-fi colony sim driven by an AI storyteller. The AI creates stories by simulating psychology, ecology, gunplay, melee combat, climate, biomes, diplomacy, relationships, art, medicine, trade, and more.
7 - 6

Northgard pits a Viking clan against others for control of a mysterious new continent. Players build settlements on Northgard. You assign Vikings to roles like Farmer, Warrior, Sailor, and Loremaster. Manage resources carefully; survive harsh winters and vicious enemies. Expand and find new land, using unique strategic chances. Achieve victory through Conquest, Fame, Lore, or Trading. Play against friends or an AI on various difficulty settings.
6 - 7

Banished puts you in the world of Banished. This city-building strategy game has you control exiled travelers starting over. They only have clothes and supplies from home. The goal is keeping the population alive and growing a successful culture. You can feed people by hunting, farming, trading, or fishing. But you must plan for long-term survival.
6 - 8

Mine resources. Research tech. Build infrastructure. Automate production. Fight enemies. Design your factory using imagination. Combine simple things into smart structures. Apply management skills to keep it running. Protect it from creatures that dislike you.
5 - 9

Guide space settlers setting up an outpost on a remote planet. Grow food. Collect energy. Mine resources. Manufacture bots. Build a self-sufficient colony.
5 - 10

This top-down 2D game lets you build and run a prison. You control building and operation. Manage cells and facilities. Plan and connect utilities. Hire and assign staff, like a warden, guards, and workers. Recruit staff to unlock more game features. Manage finances. Keep inmates happy.
5 - 11

Pioneer a world filled with warmth, heroism, and mystery. Help settlers build a home in a forgotten land. Establish food supply. Build shelter. Defend your people. Monitor their moods. Find ways to grow and expand, facing challenges always.
4 - 12

El Presidente returns! Prove yourself as a feared dictator or peace statesman on Tropico's island state. Shape your banana republic's future across four distinct eras.
4 - 13

Colony Survival is a voxel RTS made by a two-person team. Build your colony in a voxel world. Command guards, farmers, miners, and other colonists. Defend your colony against monsters attacking every night.
4 - 14

Foundation redefines city-building. It focuses on organic urbanism in old cities. Polymorph Games’ Hurricane engine powers this, supporting full mod support and optimizing thousands of moving parts for huge cities. The game offers deep resource management like the Anno (Dawn of Discovery) series. It blends classic city-building from Settlers, SimCity, and Pharaoh with narrative events from Crusader Kings II, making it the ultimate medieval experience.
4 - 15

Build and expand settlements in high mountains. Plan production chains carefully. Satisfy your three-caste society's needs. Deal with mountain hazards like weather and avalanches. Can you make your town thrive?
4 - 16

The Settlers is a video game series. The first game is The Settlers. Eight games, including remakes, make up the series. Blue Byte Software developed all games. Blue Byte or Ubisoft published them; Ubisoft later bought Blue Byte. Gameloft developed the tablet version.
Also ranks #478 on Complete Simulation Video Games List
4 - 17

Command ancient humans. Guide them through ages of survival. Hunt, gather, craft tools, fight, research new tech, and face the environment's challenges.
3 - 18

Islanders is a minimalist strategy game. Build cities on colorful islands. Explore infinite, ever-changing new lands. Expand settlements from villages to cities. Enjoy the relaxing atmosphere.
3 - 19

Aven Colony is a city-building sim. It tells humanity's first extrasolar settlement story. Land on Aven Prime. Construct and maintain infrastructure. Ensure citizen well-being against alien world harshness. Keep people happy. Feed them. Provide jobs, entertainment, retail, and services. Protect them from planet dangers.
2 - 20

Dwarf Fortress combines construction and management simulation with roguelike elements. Tarn and Zach Adams created this freeware indie game. Development started in 2002; the first alpha released in 2006. The main mode sets a procedurally generated fantasy world. Players indirectly control dwarves, building a wealthy underground fortress. Complexity, difficulty, and the two-member project surviving on donations drew attention. It was selected in 2012 for featuring.
2 - 21

Kingdoms and Castles mixes SimCity, Banished, and Stronghold. Grow a kingdom from a hamlet to a city and castle. Your kingdom must survive a dangerous world. Stop Viking raiders with arrows at gates. Stop dragons torching granaries, preventing starvation. Your kingdom's success relies only on your city and castle planning skill.
2 - 22

Cities: Skylines updates the classic city simulation genre. It adds new gameplay elements. Experience the thrill and hardship of building and maintaining a real city. It expands on city building tropes. The Cities in Motion makers built a complete transport system. You can mod the game to suit your style, balancing the simulation's challenge. Your imagination sets the limit; take control and reach for the sky!
1 - 23

Timber and Stone is a voxel-based sandbox city builder. Combat, fortifications, and siege warfare take a major role. You build a simple village into a large castle town. Monsters bombard you with waves; they either cooperate or fight each other.
1
More like this

The 23 Best Games Like Tropico 6, Ranked
The 23 Best Games Like Tropico 6, Ranked, as voted on by fans. Current Top 3: Pioneers of Pagonia, Manor Lords, Banished

The 17 Best Games Like Surviving Mars, Ranked
In Surviving Mars, a city-building simulation game, players establish and manage a self-sufficient Mars colony. They must manage resources, build infrastructure, and keep the colony alive amidst harsh Martian conditions, all while strategizing.

The 21 Best Games Like Anno 1800, Ranked
Fans voted for the top games like Anno 1800. The current top 3 are Manor Lords, Frostpunk, and Tropico 6.

Best City Building Games on Steam, Ranked
Over 200 gamers voted on the top city building games on Steam. The current top 3 are Cities: Skylines, Prison Architect, and Banished.

Comments (0)
Join the conversation
Sign in to share your take and reply to others.
First take? Share what stood out to you.