Best Value City Builder Games

The City Builder games that stretch a budget furthest: median reviewer playtime divided by current price. Pick your currency in the top bar to rank against your local prices.

All Indie Action Adventure Simulation RPG Strategy Co-op Open World Story Rich Casual Funny Survival Difficult Pixel Graphics PvP Horror Anime Puzzle Rogue-like Relaxing Turn-Based Strategy Local Co-Op Psychological Horror Hack and Slash Platformer MMO RTS Immersive Sim Post-apocalyptic Action Roguelike City Builder Life Sim Zombies Sports Racing Survival Horror Stealth Bullet Hell Dungeon Crawler Visual Novel JRPG Deckbuilding Grand Strategy Cyberpunk Tower Defense Clicker Fighting Open World Survival Craft Boomer Shooter Colony Sim Farming Sim Cozy Auto Battler Cooking Twin Stick Shooter Metroidvania 4X Souls-like Dating Sim MMORPG

By price

Any priceUnder $5Under $10Under $20Under $40
Price divided by median reviewer playtime — how much you pay per hour of gameplay. Lower is better. Reviewers tend to sink more hours in than the average owner, so treat this as an optimistic estimate. Free games are excluded because there's no price to divide by.
  1. 1Sid Meier's Civilization III Complete$0.02/1hr
  2. 2RollerCoaster Tycoon: Deluxe$0.05/1hr
  3. 3The Guild II Renaissance$0.05/1hr
  4. 4Sid Meier’s Civilization VI$0.06/1hr
  5. 5Stronghold Crusader HD (2012)$0.06/1hr
  6. 6Rise of Nations: Extended Edition$0.08/1hr
  7. 7The Lost Village$0.08/1hr
  8. 8Kingdom Two Crowns$0.09/1hr
  9. 9RimWorld$0.09/1hr
  10. 10Stronghold HD (2012)$0.10/1hr
  11. 11Two Point Campus$0.10/1hr
  12. 12Frostpunk$0.10/1hr
  13. 13Kenshi$0.10/1hr
  14. 14Against the Storm$0.11/1hr
  15. 15Space Haven$0.11/1hr
  16. 16Workers & Resources: Soviet Republic$0.12/1hr
  17. 17Craft The World$0.12/1hr
  18. 18Dyson Sphere Program$0.12/1hr
  19. 19Airport CEO$0.13/1hr
  20. 20Tropico 4$0.14/1hr
  21. 21Tavern Master$0.14/1hr
  22. 22Anno 1404 - History Edition$0.15/1hr
  23. 23Banished$0.15/1hr
  24. 24SimCity 4 Deluxe Edition$0.15/1hr
  25. 25Cities: Skylines$0.16/1hr
  26. 26RollerCoaster Tycoon 2: Triple Thrill Pack$0.16/1hr
  27. 27Occupy Mars: The Game$0.17/1hr
  28. 28Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition$0.17/1hr
  29. 29ContractVille$0.17/1hr
  30. 30Transport Fever 2$0.18/1hr
  31. 31Planetbase$0.18/1hr
  32. 32Endzone - A World Apart$0.19/1hr
  33. 33Construction Simulator$0.19/1hr
  34. 34Stronghold 2: Steam Edition$0.19/1hr
  35. 35Smalland: Survive the Wilds$0.20/1hr
  36. 36Age of Empires II (Retired)$0.20/1hr
  37. 37Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition$0.21/1hr
  38. 38Knights of Honor II: Sovereign$0.21/1hr
  39. 39Train Simulator Classic$0.22/1hr
  40. 40Stronghold: Definitive Edition$0.22/1hr
  41. 41Factorio$0.22/1hr
  42. 42Settlement Survival$0.23/1hr
  43. 43Cataclismo$0.23/1hr
  44. 44Tropico 5$0.23/1hr
  45. 45Northgard: Definitive Edition$0.24/1hr
  46. 46Ratopia$0.24/1hr
  47. 47Let's School$0.24/1hr
  48. 48Stronghold Crusader 2$0.24/1hr
  49. 49Per Aspera$0.24/1hr
  50. 50Kingdoms and Castles$0.25/1hr
  51. 51Timberborn$0.25/1hr
  52. 52Empires of the Undergrowth$0.25/1hr
  53. 53Cossacks 3$0.25/1hr
  54. 54Kingdoms Reborn$0.25/1hr
  55. 55Going Medieval$0.26/1hr
  56. 56Planet Zoo$0.26/1hr
  57. 57HUMANKIND$0.27/1hr
  58. 58Captain of Industry$0.27/1hr
  59. 59Bellwright$0.27/1hr
  60. 60Anno 2205$0.27/1hr
  61. 61Songs of Syx$0.28/1hr
  62. 62OpenTTD$0.29/1hr
  63. 63A Total War Saga: THRONES OF BRITANNIA$0.29/1hr
  64. 64Surviving the Aftermath$0.29/1hr
  65. 65Yog-Sothoth’s Yard$0.29/1hr
  66. 66Anno 1800$0.30/1hr
  67. 67Two Point Hospital$0.30/1hr
  68. 68Terra Nil$0.30/1hr
  69. 69Project Hospital$0.31/1hr
  70. 70Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition$0.31/1hr
  71. 71Colony Survival$0.32/1hr
  72. 72Clanfolk$0.32/1hr
  73. 73Tropico 6$0.32/1hr
  74. 74Diplomacy is Not an Option$0.33/1hr
  75. 75Norland$0.33/1hr
  76. 76Dawn of Man$0.34/1hr
  77. 77Dwarf Fortress$0.34/1hr
  78. 78Mad Games Tycoon 2$0.35/1hr
  79. 79IXION$0.36/1hr
  80. 80Parkitect$0.36/1hr
  81. 81They Are Billions$0.38/1hr
  82. 82Jurassic World Evolution$0.38/1hr
  83. 83Two Point Museum$0.38/1hr
  84. 84Fabledom$0.39/1hr
  85. 85Sengoku Dynasty$0.39/1hr
  86. 86TheoTown$0.40/1hr
  87. 87Pharaoh: A New Era$0.40/1hr
  88. 88Farthest Frontier$0.41/1hr
  89. 89Prison Architect$0.41/1hr
  90. 90Mini Motorways$0.42/1hr
  91. 91Age of Empires: Definitive Edition$0.43/1hr
  92. 92Railway Empire 2$0.43/1hr
  93. 93Cities: Skylines II$0.43/1hr
  94. 94Gladiator Guild Manager$0.43/1hr
  95. 95Infection Free Zone$0.45/1hr
  96. 96Thronefall$0.46/1hr
  97. 97Planet Coaster$0.46/1hr
  98. 98Heart of the Machine$0.47/1hr
  99. 99Gourdlets$0.48/1hr
  100. 100Kingdom Eighties$0.49/1hr

How the math works: we sample each game’s Steam reviewers, take the median of their total recorded playtime (lifetime hours, not hours at the time of review), and divide it by the game’s current price in your selected currency. Reviewers usually sink more hours in than the average owner, so the numbers run generous. Free games aren’t listed because there’s no price to divide by, and a game needs playtime data from at least 20 reviewers before it qualifies. All prices are Steam’s own regional prices, never exchange-rate conversions.