Best Value City Builder Games Under $20

The City Builder games on Steam games under $20 that deliver the most playtime per dollar: median reviewer hours divided by current price.

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$0.04/1hr
  2. 2The Guild II Renaissance$0.04/1hr
  3. 3Tavern Master$0.16/1hr
  4. 4Settlement Survival$0.16/1hr
  5. 5RollerCoaster Tycoon: Deluxe$0.16/1hr
  6. 6ISLANDERS$0.19/1hr
  7. 7Factory Town Idle$0.21/1hr
  8. 8Dyson Sphere Program$0.21/1hr
  9. 9Planetbase$0.22/1hr
  10. 10Age of Empires II (Retired)$0.22/1hr
  11. 11The Infected$0.30/1hr
  12. 12Stronghold HD (2012)$0.32/1hr
  13. 13Stronghold Crusader HD (2012)$0.35/1hr
  14. 14RollerCoaster Tycoon 2: Triple Thrill Pack$0.35/1hr
  15. 15Yog-Sothoth’s Yard$0.37/1hr
  16. 16Banished$0.39/1hr
  17. 17Knights of Honor II: Sovereign$0.39/1hr
  18. 18Rise of Nations: Extended Edition$0.40/1hr
  19. 19ContractVille$0.42/1hr
  20. 20Kingdoms Reborn$0.44/1hr
  21. 21Anno 1404 - History Edition$0.45/1hr
  22. 22Mini Motorways$0.47/1hr
  23. 23TheoTown$0.47/1hr
  24. 24OpenTTD$0.48/1hr
  25. 25Border Pioneer$0.49/1hr
  26. 26Infection Free Zone$0.52/1hr
  27. 27Craft The World$0.55/1hr
  28. 28Cossacks 3$0.56/1hr
  29. 29Gourdlets$0.58/1hr
  30. 30Anno 2070$0.63/1hr
  31. 31SimCity 4 Deluxe Edition$0.66/1hr
  32. 32Kingdoms and Castles$0.66/1hr
  33. 33Kingdom Two Crowns$0.66/1hr
  34. 34Stronghold 2: Steam Edition$0.67/1hr
  35. 35Let's School$0.67/1hr
  36. 36The Tenants$0.69/1hr
  37. 37Dorfromantik$0.70/1hr
  38. 38Minami Lane$0.74/1hr
  39. 39Stronghold: Definitive Edition$0.76/1hr
  40. 40Age of Empires: Definitive Edition$0.81/1hr
  41. 41Cattails: Wildwood Story$0.83/1hr
  42. 42Buggos$0.87/1hr
  43. 43Doraemon Dorayaki Shop Story$0.87/1hr
  44. 44Thronefall$0.89/1hr
  45. 45Tropico 5$0.95/1hr
  46. 46SUMMERHOUSE$1.02/1hr
  47. 47Stonehearth$1.02/1hr
  48. 48TerraScape$1.04/1hr
  49. 49Academia : School Simulator$1.05/1hr
  50. 50Dystopika$1.07/1hr
  51. 51Preserve$1.14/1hr
  52. 52Kingdom Eighties$1.16/1hr
  53. 53Gladiator Guild Manager$1.19/1hr
  54. 54Nordhold$1.39/1hr
  55. 55Soul Academy$1.51/1hr
  56. 56Townscaper$1.89/1hr
  57. 57下一站江湖Ⅱ$3.80/1hr
  58. 58Cardboard Town$4.69/1hr

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.