The Best City-building Games for Mac OS

Update, : Venture Valley added at rank #47.
1

Tropico 6 (2019)

View Similar Games
90
Review score
Logo of Tropico 6 Screenshot of Tropico 6 Screenshot of Tropico 6 Screenshot of Tropico 6

Mac OS PC Windows Xbox One Playstation 4 Nintendo Switch Playstation 5 Xbox Series X Linux IOS iPhone

Tropico 6 is a city-building game that offers an engaging mix of elements such as ruling your own island dictatorship, sandbox mode with customizable goals, missions, and easy controller support. You can be a big picture person and make decisions that impact the entire island or get into the minute details of urban planning.


Pros:
  • Engaging mix of elements
  • Sandbox mode with customizable goals
  • Missions
  • Easy controller support:No need for mouse and keyboard or touchscreen
Cons:
  • Minor performance issues

  • city-building
  • simulation
  • economy
  • political
  • sandbox
  • management
  • strategy
  • construction
  • military
  • politics

2

Frostpunk (2018)

View Similar Games
93
Review score
Logo of Frostpunk Screenshot of Frostpunk Screenshot of Frostpunk Screenshot of Frostpunk

PC Windows Android Playstation 4 Xbox One Mac OS

Frostpunk is the first society survival game. As the ruler of the last city on Earth, it is your duty to manage both its citizens and infrastructure. What decisions will you make to ensure your society's survival? What will you do when pushed to breaking point? Who will you become in the process?


  • city-building
  • survival
  • steampunk

3

Airborne Kingdom (2020)

View Similar Games
83
Review score
Logo of Airborne Kingdom Screenshot of Airborne Kingdom Screenshot of Airborne Kingdom Screenshot of Airborne Kingdom

Xbox One Mac OS PC Windows Xbox Series X Playstation 5 Nintendo Switch Playstation 4

The sky city builder awaits. Create your own flying kingdom and lead it on a quest across an expansive world. Explore the varied landscape, build up a floating metropolis, aid struggling people below, uncover lost secrets and, ultimately, bring back the Airborne Kingdom legend.


  • city-building
  • relaxing
  • steampunk
  • resource

4

Townscaper (2020)

View Similar Games
84
Review score
Logo of Townscaper Screenshot of Townscaper Screenshot of Townscaper Screenshot of Townscaper

Android PC Windows Mac OS IOS iPhone

Instant town building toy


  • city-building
  • grid
  • experimental
  • sandbox
  • cute
  • relaxing
  • base-building
  • building
  • minimalist
  • colony

5

Cities: Skylines (2015)

View Similar Games
94
Review score
Logo of Cities: Skylines Screenshot of Cities: Skylines Screenshot of Cities: Skylines Screenshot of Cities: Skylines

PC Windows Xbox Series X Playstation 5 stadia Playstation 4 Xbox One Linux Mac OS

Cities: Skylines is a modern take on the classic city simulation. The game introduces new game play elements to realize the thrill and hardships of creating and maintaining a real city whilst expanding on some well-established tropes of the city building experience.


  • city-building
  • simulation
  • management

6

Paragon Pioneers (2022)

View Similar Games
90
Review score
Logo of Paragon Pioneers Screenshot of Paragon Pioneers Screenshot of Paragon Pioneers Screenshot of Paragon Pioneers

Linux Mac OS PC Windows Android IOS iPhone

Paragon Pioneers is a casual island management game where you build and manage a series of island nations. It offers over 100+ buildings to advance through and has an abstract look and mechanics that make it easy to manage on small screens. It's a stress-free game for casual players.

Buy

Pros:
  • Detailed explanations and tutorials
  • No ads or premium currencies
  • Easy to pick up and put down
  • Reminiscent of the Anno series with idle gameplay
  • No inherent time limit
  • Over 100+ buildings to advance through
Cons:
  • Long waiting times
  • Lack of a thrilling narrative
  • Game mechanics become increasingly complex
  • Colonization aspect may be troublesome for some players
  • Combat has a limited army size and isn't very interesting

  • idler
  • city-building
  • colony
  • tutorial
  • management
  • base-building
  • building
  • simulation
  • medieval
  • crafting
  • economy
  • top-down
  • relaxing
  • 2d
  • resource-management

7

ISLANDERS (2019)

View Similar Games
96
Review score
Logo of ISLANDERS Screenshot of ISLANDERS Screenshot of ISLANDERS Screenshot of ISLANDERS

Mac OS Linux PC Windows

ISLANDERS is a minimalist strategy game about building cities on colorful islands.

Buy

  • city-building
  • relaxing
  • minimalist
  • strategy
  • colony
  • beautiful

8

Songs of Syx (2020)

View Similar Games
93
Review score
Logo of Songs of Syx Screenshot of Songs of Syx Screenshot of Songs of Syx Screenshot of Songs of Syx

PC Windows Mac OS Linux

Songs of Syx is a retro-style city-building game that lets you manage a single city with multiple races and cultures while conquering neighboring territories. With real-time combat and a massive world of different gods, creatures, and races, each playthrough is unique. Although it still has some rough edges, the game is promising and worth trying.


Pros:
  • Unique city-building simulation with complex gameplay
  • Ability to control thousands of troops in real-time combat
  • Encourages players to improve the lives of their subjects for tribute
  • Randomized content each playthrough makes it unique
  • Frequent updates to improve the gameplay
Cons:
  • City-building aspect requires better balancing
  • Map is too small for the maximum number of citizens

  • city-building
  • colony
  • grand-strategy
  • simulation
  • base-building
  • moddable
  • building
  • empire
  • fantasy

9

Timberborn (2021)

View Similar Games
93
Review score
Logo of Timberborn Screenshot of Timberborn Screenshot of Timberborn Screenshot of Timberborn

Mac OS PC Windows

Timberborn is a unique city builder game where you manage a society of beavers in a post-apocalyptic world. With a focus on water and food resources, players must create dams and other structures to control rivers and survive droughts. The game offers a relaxed building experience with a novel water mechanic that refreshes the genre. It is a worthy purchase for fans of colony/survival simulators seeking a unique and refreshing challenge.


Pros:
  • Unique beaver cast of characters
  • High degree of control over society shape
  • Novel water mechanic
  • Verticality offers multi-layered societies
  • Challenging gameplay
Cons:
  • Perfomance issue on big town
  • Lack of late-game content
  • Early game only provides traditional needs
  • No storyline or scripted challenges

  • city-building
  • colony
  • survival
  • base-building
  • automation
  • post-apocalyptic
  • building
  • resource-management
  • simulation
  • management
  • agriculture
  • science
  • editor
  • level
  • voxel

10

Farlanders (2023)

View Similar Games
92
Review score
Logo of Farlanders Screenshot of Farlanders Screenshot of Farlanders Screenshot of Farlanders

PC Windows Mac OS Linux

Farlanders is a turn-based city builder set on Mars, with a puzzle game mentality and an engaging story that challenges you to think about the right you have to change the face of a planet. You play as Marco, an architect who discovers that all is not what it seems. Balance resources, build structures and manage colony happiness in this demanding but rewarding space colony simulator.


Pros:
  • Vibrant visuals
  • Realistic environments
  • Dynamic building system
  • Strategic choices
  • Challenging gameplay
  • Turn-based city builder
  • Procedurally generated maps
Cons:
  • Complexity can be overwhelming for some players
  • Steep learning curve
  • Requires careful resource management

  • city-building
  • turn-based
  • mars
  • colony
  • resource-management
  • base-building
  • simulation
  • building
  • strategy
  • space
  • procedural
  • pixel
  • management
  • survival

Not seeing your game?