Navigating through the intricate tapestry of city-building and strategy games can often feel like embarking on an expedition for hidden treasure. For enthusiasts charmed by the historical depth and economic complexity of Anno 1800, the quest doesn’t end there.
This curated list of 11 remarkable games, spanning Android, iOS, and PC platforms, promises to extend the adventure. Each title is meticulously selected for its ability to captivate with similar themes, offering a fresh yet familiar experience to Anno 1800 aficionados. What is more, you can play similar Colony Building Games.
Tropico 6
Tropico 6 stands out with its unique blend of city-building, humor, and political strategy set in a tropical island nation. Players assume the role of El Presidente, the leader of Tropico, navigating through the complexities of leadership, including political intrigue, social policies, and foreign relations.
Similar to Anno 1800, it offers a rich economic simulation and the challenge of managing resources effectively. However, Tropico 6 introduces a lighter, more satirical take on governance, differing from the serious historical context of Anno 1800. The game isn’t overly difficult, but it requires players to juggle various aspects of leadership to remain in power.
The graphics are colorful and detailed, capturing the vibrant life of a Caribbean island. The gameplay is engaging, with missions that add depth and context to the player’s actions. Tropico 6 is as much about the characters, including the whimsical El Presidente, as it is about the gameplay, making for an entertaining yet challenging experience.
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Civilization VI
Civilization VI is a turn-based strategy game where players select a civilization and lead it from the Stone Age to the Information Age. Similar to Anno 1800, Civilization VI focuses on expansion, resource management, and strategic planning. Players must build cities, develop technologies, manage their economy, and engage in diplomacy or war with other civilizations.
The game’s main idea revolves around building an empire that can stand the test of time, offering a broad historical scope compared to Anno 1800’s more focused industrial age setting. The game doesn’t feature main characters in the traditional sense, as the player embodies the leader of their chosen civilization, each with unique abilities and bonuses.
Civilization VI can be complex, especially for newcomers, due to its deep strategic elements and the multitude of decisions to be made each turn.
The graphics are vibrant and stylized, providing a visually engaging representation of the world and its historical landmarks. Gameplay quality is excellent, with a robust AI and varied ways to achieve victory, making each playthrough unique.
Forge of Empires
Forge of Empires is a strategy game where players lead a city from the stone age through the centuries, evolving into a vast metropolis. Echoing Anno 1800, it focuses on city building, resource management, and historical progression. However, Forge of Empires extends beyond the industrial era, offering a broader timeline.
The game lacks a defined plot or main characters, positioning the player as the architect of their civilization’s destiny. It challenges players to strategically manage resources, research new technologies, and expand their territory through conquest and diplomacy.
The difficulty scales with the player’s progression, introducing more complex management and strategic elements over time. Gameplay involves planning city layouts, optimizing production chains, and engaging in turn-based combat to defend your city or conquer new territories.
The graphics are polished, with each era featuring distinct architectural styles and units, enhancing the sense of progression through time. The gameplay quality is solid, offering a mix of long-term strategy and engagement with its regular updates and community events.
Banished
Banished plunges players into the realm of city-building and strategy, where the primary objective is to manage and grow a fledgling 17th-century colony. Players start with a handful of exiled travelers who have only the clothes on their backs and a cart full of supplies from their homeland.
Like Anno 1800, Banished emphasizes resource management, settlement expansion, and an economy based on the seasons and the environment. However, unlike Anno 1800, it lacks a military aspect and focuses more on survival against the elements.
The game is notably challenging, especially in managing the balance between growth and sustainability, requiring strategic planning to ensure the colony’s survival.
There are no specific main characters; the focus is on the community as a whole. The graphics are detailed, offering a realistic portrayal of life and the hardships in a new land. Gameplay quality is high, with a steep learning curve that rewards patience and strategic thinking.
Cities: Skylines
Cities: Skylines is a modern take on the classic city simulation genre. It allows players to design and manage their dream metropolis, from the ground up. This game resonates with Anno 1800 enthusiasts due to its complex city-building mechanics, intricate zoning details, and the need for efficient infrastructure management.
While it doesn’t have a historical setting or plot, the main idea revolves around urban planning and development, tackling challenges such as traffic flow, citizen happiness, and economic balance. The game is accessible to beginners but can become quite complex at advanced levels, catering to both casual and hardcore strategists.
The graphics are vibrant and detailed, offering a visually pleasing experience of city management. The gameplay quality is praised for its depth, with a plethora of options for customization and expansion, making it a sandbox of endless possibilities.
Frostpunk
Frostpunk presents a grim, survival city-building experience set in a frozen world. Players are tasked with managing the last city on Earth, facing challenges such as extreme cold, resource scarcity, and moral dilemmas.
This game shares with Anno 1800 a focus on resource management and city planning but is set apart by its post-apocalyptic, steampunk theme and the constant pressure of survival against the cold. The main characters in Frostpunk are the city’s leaders, who must make difficult decisions that affect the lives of their citizens.
The game is known for its difficulty, requiring players to balance the city’s heat, food, and hope, often forcing tough ethical choices for the greater good. Learning how to play involves managing resources, building infrastructure, and exploring the frozen wasteland for additional survivors and resources.
Frostpunk’s graphics are detailed and atmospheric, capturing the bleakness of its setting, while the gameplay is tense and engaging, with a narrative that responds to the player’s choices.
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The Settlers Online
The Settlers Online is a free-to-play, browser-based strategy game that combines elements of city-building with real-time strategy. Like Anno 1800, it focuses on building a thriving settlement through efficient resource management, economic planning, and exploration.
Players start with a small settlement and work to expand their territory, gather resources, and trade with other players. The game doesn’t have a specific plot or main characters; the focus is on the player’s journey from a small settlement to a bustling empire. The Settlers Online is moderately difficult, catering to both casual and experienced strategy game players.
The gameplay involves strategic placement of buildings, optimizing production chains, and managing trade to ensure the prosperity of your settlement.
The graphics are colorful and charming, with a detailed isometric view of the burgeoning settlements. The gameplay quality is solid, offering a relaxing yet engaging experience for players who enjoy growing and managing their own community.
Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition
Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition revitalizes the classic real-time strategy game with enhanced graphics and new content. Like Anno 1800, it immerses players in historical settings, requiring them to build and expand civilizations, manage resources, and engage in strategic combat.
The game spans a vast period, from the Dark Ages to the Imperial Age, allowing players to lead one of many civilizations to dominance. The main idea revolves around gathering resources, constructing buildings, advancing through ages, and defeating opponents.
While there are no singular main characters, each civilization comes with its unique leaders based on historical figures, enhancing the game’s historical depth. The game’s difficulty can be adjusted, providing a welcoming experience for newcomers and a challenging one for veterans.
Playing involves strategic planning in resource management, military tactics, and technological advancement. The Definitive Edition boasts improved graphics, with detailed units and buildings that bring historical battles to life. The gameplay quality is exceptional, offering a deep strategic experience combined with the nostalgia of the original game.
SimCity BuildIt (iOS, Android)
SimCity BuildIt brings the classic city-building experience to mobile devices, allowing players to create and manage their own city. Similar to Anno 1800, the game focuses on planning and developing a thriving urban area, dealing with everything from basic infrastructure to the happiness of its inhabitants.
Unlike Anno 1800’s historical setting, SimCity BuildIt is set in a contemporary world, offering a more modern take on city management. There’s no overarching plot or main characters; the main focus is on the player as the mayor, making decisions to shape their city’s future.
The game balances accessibility with complexity, gradually introducing new challenges as the city grows. Gameplay involves zoning areas for residential, commercial, and industrial buildings, providing services and utilities, and responding to the needs of citizens.
The graphics are vibrant and detailed, presenting a lively and dynamic city that changes throughout the day. The gameplay quality is high, optimized for short, engaging play sessions that are perfect for gaming on the go.
Railway Empire
Railway Empire is a railway simulator that allows players to become tycoon magnates in the burgeoning rail industry of 19th century North America. Its similarity to Anno 1800 lies in the strategic economic management and historical setting, though Railway Empire focuses specifically on the expansion and operation of railroad networks.
Players must construct tracks, purchase trains, and manage routes to efficiently connect cities, transport goods, and outmaneuver competitors. The main idea revolves around building a rail empire from scratch, focusing on logistics, economic strategy, and technological advancement.
While the game lacks specific main characters, the player embodies the role of a railroad entrepreneur, facing historical industry magnates in a race to dominate the continent’s railways. The game offers a variety of difficulty levels, catering to both newcomers and seasoned strategy veterans.
Playing Railway Empire involves careful planning of rail routes, optimizing train schedules, and strategic business decisions to ensure profitability and growth. The graphics are detailed and immersive, providing a realistic portrayal of the era, and the gameplay quality is high, with complex management systems that offer depth and replayability.
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Pocket City
Pocket City reimagines the classic city-building genre for mobile devices, allowing players to create their own bustling metropolis from the ground up. Similar to Anno 1800, it involves strategic planning, resource management, and fulfilling the needs of a growing population.
However, Pocket City simplifies these elements for a more casual, accessible mobile gaming experience. There’s no overarching plot or distinct main characters; the player takes on the role of the city’s mayor, responsible for its development and well-being. The game is designed to be accessible, avoiding the complexity and steep learning curve of more in-depth city builders.
Players manage zoning, services, and infrastructure, responding to events like fires or crime, and initiating projects to boost the city’s economy and happiness. The graphics are colorful and engaging, with a more cartoonish style that suits a wide range of audiences.
Gameplay quality is smooth, offering an intuitive interface and satisfying progression system that makes city management fun and rewarding. Pocket City is ideal for those looking for a city-building experience that can be enjoyed in short bursts without losing the essence of strategic planning and development.
