Top TheoTown Alternatives for Aspiring City Builders
Are you an avid fan of city-building simulations? Perhaps you've enjoyed watching your metropolis grow in TheoTown, defining zones, building roads, and adding amenities like parks and schools. While TheoTown offers a solid foundation for aspiring urban planners, it's still in its beta phase, meaning some features might be missing or incomplete. If you're looking for a more robust, feature-rich, or simply a different city-building experience, then exploring a TheoTown alternative is a great idea.
The Best TheoTown Alternatives
Whether you're seeking hyper-realistic simulations, casual mobile builders, or open-source freedom, there's a TheoTown alternative out there for every type of urban architect. Dive into our curated list of top picks that can satisfy your city-building cravings.
Cities: Skylines
Cities: Skylines stands as a modern titan in the city simulation genre, offering an incredibly deep and engaging experience for those seeking a premium TheoTown alternative. Available across multiple platforms including Windows, Mac, Linux, Steam, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox, it introduces intricate gameplay elements for creating and managing a sprawling metropolis. It boasts robust mod support, allowing for endless customization, and offers an offline gaming experience with strong simulation and uptime monitoring features.
SimCity
SimCity is a classic open-ended city-building simulation that has long been a benchmark in the genre, making it an excellent TheoTown alternative for those who appreciate a rich legacy. Available commercially for Mac, Windows, Android, iPhone, Android Tablet, and even ReactOS, it challenges players to develop and maintain a happy and thriving city through careful planning and resource management.
Citybound
Citybound offers a unique take on city-building with a strong emphasis on realism through microscopic details, making it a compelling open-source TheoTown alternative. It's available for free on Mac, Windows, and Linux. This title focuses on deep simulation and even includes multiplayer capabilities for collaborative city planning.
SimCity BuildIt
SimCity BuildIt is an all-new SimCity experience designed specifically for mobile devices, serving as a freemium TheoTown alternative for on-the-go builders. Available for Android, iPhone, Android Tablet, and iPad, it allows you to build, craft, and control your own gorgeous, unique city with ease and intuitive mobile gameplay.
Deep Sea Tycoon
For a truly unique spin on the city-building genre, Deep Sea Tycoon offers an underwater urban planning experience, making it a distinct TheoTown alternative. This commercial game for Windows tasks players with building a 3D underwater city, presenting a fresh challenge compared to traditional land-based simulations.
Bit City
Bit City offers a more casual and incremental city-building simulation, perfect as a free TheoTown alternative for mobile players. Available for Android, iPhone, Android Tablet, and iPad, you can grow a small town into a thriving metropolis by investing in upgrades, and customizing your city with new vehicle types, buildings, and landmarks.
Megapolis
Megapolis is a highly popular freemium city builder with millions of downloads, making it a strong TheoTown alternative for mobile users. Available on Android, iPhone, Android Tablet, Windows Phone, iPad, and Amazon Appstore, it challenges players to manage the finances of their own city, design, and develop primary infrastructure, all while enjoying a robust simulation experience.
Simpsons Tapped Out
For fans of the beloved animated series, Simpsons Tapped Out offers a humorous and engaging city-building game directly from the writers of The Simpsons. This freemium TheoTown alternative for Android and iPhone lets you create your own living, breathing Springfield, adding a narrative and character-driven element to the genre.
Futurama: Worlds of Tomorrow
Another excellent freemium TheoTown alternative with a strong IP, Futurama: Worlds of Tomorrow allows you to build your own New New York and embark on epic adventures with your favorite characters. Available for Android, iPhone, Android Tablet, and iPad, it blends city-building with combat and exploration, offering a diverse gameplay experience.
3d.city
For those interested in a free and open-source TheoTown alternative, 3d.city offers a browser-based 3D city builder game. Utilizing technologies like Three.js and SEA3D, it provides a gaming experience focused on 3D motion graphics directly within your web browser.
Voxel Turf
Inspired by Minecraft, Simcity, and Grand Theft Auto, Voxel Turf is a commercial TheoTown alternative that offers a free-roaming, voxel-based city building (and destroying) experience. Available for Windows and Linux, it features an open world, moddable content, multiplayer support, and is surprisingly kid-friendly with OpenGL graphics.
Rebuild
While not a traditional city-builder, the Rebuild series offers a post-apocalyptic take on urban management, making it an interesting TheoTown alternative for those who enjoy strategic resource management. Available commercially for Mac, Windows, Android, iPhone, Android Tablet, iPad, PlayBook, Kindle Fire, and Steam, it tasks players with reclaiming a city from a zombie apocalypse, gathering survivors, and defending against undead attacks.
Micropolis
Micropolis is a free and open-source city-building simulator based on the original SimCity source code, providing a classic and highly accessible TheoTown alternative. It's available for Mac, Windows, Linux, and can even be self-hosted, offering a pure real-time strategy (RTS) city-building experience.
CityVille
CityVille is a popular freemium web-based city builder that integrates with social platforms, making it a compelling TheoTown alternative for those who enjoy casual, social gaming. Available on the web, it allows you to build the city of your dreams, manage finances, collect rent, and even arrest criminals, all with Facebook and Google Plus integration.
Pocket City
Pocket City re-imagines classic city building simulation gameplay specifically for mobile, making it a fantastic commercial TheoTown alternative for iOS and Android users. It offers a premium, ad-free simulation experience optimized for touchscreens, allowing you to design and manage your city on the go.
With such a diverse range of TheoTown alternative options, from deep PC simulations to casual mobile games and even open-source projects, you're sure to find the perfect fit for your city-building aspirations. Explore these titles and discover your next favorite urban planning adventure!