The best economic simulation games. The best economic strategies for PC

Each genre of computer games has its fans who prefer it to any other. One such genre is strategy. They are very diverse: real-time, turn-based, tactical, global, and so on. And each variety has its fans. Today we will talk about economic strategies.

This subgenre corresponds to all the canons of strategies, but at the same time, the emphasis is not on battles, not on any other aspects, but on the economy. Your main task will be the financial prosperity of the nation, grouping or any other entity that you manage. In this article, you will find out what economic strategies are on the PC, and, perhaps, you will find the project that will make you fall in love with this genre with all your heart.

SimCity

The most popular game is SimCity. This series literally embodies the economic strategy on the PC, because it was with her that the rise of this genre began. Back in 1994, the first part of this game appeared, in which the gamer is given control of the whole city. It needs to be built up, developed, to make the population happy. It is worth noting that the city-building simulator genre is often attributed to this game, and this tag also has the right to exist. In general, in the games of the SimCIty series, you will need to make every effort to succeed, but not your own, but your city, because only its development matters.

Naturally, it is worth noting that everything did not end there, and by today five parts of the series have already been released, each of which introduced something new, and most importantly, improved the graphic component. In the fifth episode, released in 2013, you can already see incredibly beautiful and realistic landscapes and buildings.

However, economic strategies on the PC are not limited to this series. There are other projects that deserve attention.

Anno

Economic strategies on the PC will not only take you to modern cities - you can also be sent on trips to the distant past, as, for example, the Anno series does. Each game allows you to take control of a certain nation in a specific period of time. For example, in the first game, the action begins in 1602, and in the 2009 project - in 1404. Separately, it is worth noting the most recent episode of the series, which was released recently. It stands out from the rest in that it does not send you back to the past, but throws you into the future. The game is called accordingly - Anno 2070. You have to build a full-fledged city of the future with futuristic technologies and other relevant details.

Here, again, you will have to focus on the economic component - much less playing time is given to battles and other moments. That is why Anno is an economic strategy. PC games are very diverse, and this genre also finds its fans, although fans of dynamic shooters sometimes cannot understand why gamers are attracted to rather passive and slow economic strategies.

CitiesXL

This series can be considered the younger brother of SimCity. The fact is that the gameplay is very similar to the one that implements the most popular economic strategy. PC games are often similar, especially within the same genre, so there's nothing to be surprised about. Moreover, you should better pay attention to the differences in this series, as they are available in quite impressive numbers. You have access to other buildings, the economic system that is the core of these projects is fundamentally different, and there are many other nuances that you will quickly discover if you start comparing these two popular series. However, it is worth paying attention to the fact that CitiesXL is a much younger project, the first part appeared on the market only in 2009. And if you are interested in the best economic strategies on the PC, then this series definitely belongs to them.

Settlers

This project is one of the most diverse. The fact is that the series began back in 1994, at the same time as SimCity. But there are already seven main games in Settlers today, and there are also various add-ons that create dozens of hours of game content. And this is definitely not all the economic strategies on the PC - the list of Settlers projects will be updated.

In these games, you have to take on the role of the leader of a medieval community, that is, you will build your own royal castle, around which you need to develop a city, a village with its inhabitants and the personal problems of each family. These games can also be described as military-economic strategies on the PC, as they are equally focused on war and economics, as well as scientific development.

Tropico

This series of games is special, as it is very different from the other projects that have been described above. Here you will need to place special emphasis on economics and politics. Games in this series are often called dictator simulators. You have to play the role of the ruler of one of the islands of the Caribbean, on which you will establish your own power. You will need to keep the residents with a tight rein, but in such a way that they themselves want to work for you. In parallel, it will be necessary to develop the tourism business so that it brings both direct income and profit from smuggling.

Port Royale

This is another game that mixes economics with warfare. Here you have to try yourself as a pirate who develops his own pirate community, or a pirate hunter who prepares ships to catch bandits.

Tavern Tycoon is a great simulator for creating your own tavern. Moreover, you can create a tavern of the highest class, where any traveler will not only be able to drink the best tincture, but also have a delicious meal, spend the night and receive other services. Of course, the better your tavern is, the more profit you will receive. And a good profit will allow you to invest in expanding your business by creating various buildings in the form of a bathhouse, a gym, a hotel, etc. Of course, such extensions will attract even more guests and, accordingly, their money.

game under development

Production Line is a simulation of a car manufacturing factory. The player's task is to establish production and get high profits for further development. The larger your factory, the more difficult it will be to keep track of everything. Do not think that it will be easy, because the automotive market is oversaturated, and there are a lot of competitors. Optimize production to reduce the cost of cars, but at the same time, do not lose quality. Keep track not only of production, but also of personnel. Let your engineers work together, only in this way you can create a competitive car.

The game is still in the early stages of testing! Version: 0.17.11

It's been trendy lately to call games with freedom of action sandboxes, so Factorio is a huge 2D sandbox where you have to explore an entire planet. Equip a new planet for the settlement of earthly inhabitants. In the game, you need to extract resources, produce the necessary components and supply them to the war with the aliens. Your task is to equip the base, arrange logistics and, in general, organize the invasion of a new planet faster than your enemies. If you like games that emphasize good economic management, then Factorio is a must have for your computer. The game does not have modern graphics, but it is not needed here. But there are huge opportunities in terms of organization and logistics. Here is the search for the extraction of the necessary resources, here is various production, here is the development of modern weapons, etc.

Big Pharma v1.08.06 + DLC

Big Pharma is a pharmaceutical company simulator in which you will create both existing drugs and invent new ones. You and three of your friends get a small business on the verge of bankruptcy. Your task is to resume production and start earning money. With the money you earn, you can buy new equipment and increase the size of the plant. Also, most of the money will be spent on research, and you can choose either one direction or distribute funds to several directions at once. Of course, big companies will interfere with you in every possible way and try to destroy you at the very beginning of the journey, but if you invest the money correctly and can even make a small breakthrough in medicine, then success is guaranteed to you.

Imagine Earth is a new game project in which the player will be asked to create a civilization on an uninhabited planet. Before you is an ideal planet for humanity. Your task is to create a prosperous civilization on the planet. Gradually developing, you must monitor the basic resources, as well as the ecology. A powerful industry provides good resources and a strong impetus to development, but it can completely destroy the planet. You can mindlessly cut down trees, which will very soon lead to a lack of oxygen and other natural disasters. You must learn how to moderately use the wealth of the planet, but at the same time develop your civilization. The problem is that other civilizations are developing on other planets, which will charmingly try to take the lead and because of this they will want to destroy you.

Game version: 1.11.1-f4

Cities: Skylines is a city builder with almost limitless possibilities. Create the city of your dreams, from small residential areas to huge business centers. You have full control over the city, tax profitable areas, create new jobs, connect cities with highways, make profitable but not popular decisions for the people. Cities: Skylines is a huge sandbox in which the player is given the opportunity to create the city of their dreams. You have to take into account the smallest details of the city, think over public transport routes, build various factories, take care of the water supply, separate industrial areas from sleeping areas, etc. Cities: Skylines is another attempt at a realistic city building simulation. Despite the fact that the system requirements are quite low, the game has excellent graphics, you can always watch the hectic life of people in your prosperous city.

Evil Bank Manager is an economic simulation game that takes you back to the 16th century to run a small bank. Your main goal is not to make a million or a billion, your goal is to get Federal Reserve status! It doesn't matter how much money you have, what matters is who runs the money. The path to complete control over money is not easy. You have to develop your bank in fair and dishonest ways.

Although "Mad Games Tycoon" is a simulator of a computer game developer and is very similar in concept to the popular game "Game Dev Tycoon", it is still not a clone, rather, it is a continuation of the famous game. Unlike its predecessor, Mad Games Tycoon has a number of additional features, one of the most important being the ability to equip your office. Start with the layout of your office, buy the right equipment, find and hire specialists and try to create the best game of all time. Of course, at first, do not take on serious and difficult projects, start simple, earn money, gain experience, create a well-functioning team, and only after that create serious projects that will allow you to rise to a new level, get a bigger office and even hire secretaries .

If you like games like Factorio and Transport Tycoon, then you should definitely try Rise of Industry. This is a management simulation strategy game in which you will try to create an industrial empire. For all its complexity, the game is quite easy to learn. Your task is to build factories and establish supply and trade routes with other cities. The whole cycle of product creation is under your supervision: build a factory, establish efficient supply routes, transport goods and establish trade. The state of the market is changeable, as is the success of your competitors - be prepared for anything, be one step ahead.

Business simulators are a unique opportunity to become a real financial tycoon, trying yourself as a generous businessman and a skilled investor!

Nowadays, there are a huge number of business games. However, very high demands are placed on this genre, so often low-quality games of this kind do not win the due attention of gamers. Over the past few years, the "Tycoon" series, which includes time management games and clicker games, has made a splash. As a rule, with such a discouraging number of existing business simulators, choosing something really worthwhile is often a big problem for the sophisticated consumer.

Further, the top 10 best business games in their genre are presented to the attention of readers. They are arranged in alphabetical order, because. each of them is so good that they all just want to award an honorable first place, by all means avoiding lower ratings. All of the games listed below are available for purchase on Amazon.

1 Airline Tycoon

The list opens with perhaps one of the most controversial games of its kind - Airline Tycoon. It's hard to call it a bestseller, and, in truth, it has never been considered in a serious way. Moreover, it can be called simply an entertaining simulator that is not burdened with complex rules. In Airline Tycoon, the player is invited to try on the role of the owner of one of four competing airlines. The competitive nature of the game is quite stimulating, and the gameplay is more and more addictive, immersing the gamer in his exciting business reality. Despite the fact that the graphics are made in a cartoon style, the internal economy system is very carefully designed and functions perfectly. As a result, it is fair to say that Airline Tycoon has a very easy gameplay that will appeal to both beginners and die-hard fans of this genre.

By the way, the recently released Airline Tycoon 2 also certainly deserves attention.

2. Anno

Anno is a city builder dedicated to building small colonies to majestic empires. The main task of the player is to settle on the island and start building his own colony there, rationally using the available resources and effectively managing finances in his possessions.

It is obvious that the main emphasis in the proposed simulator is aimed precisely at the development of the internal economy of the colony. To be frank, it is not at all easy to maintain such an impressive territory, satisfy the needs of your people and at the same time try to get at least a little decent profit from your land. In addition, a whole army is under the control of the player, and the elements of battles fit very well into Anno's gameplay.

Fun fact: Anno is actually a very successful and quite long franchise. It includes:

• Anno 1602 (1998), also known as "1602 A.D." in Australia and the US.
• Anno 1503 or 1503 A.D. (2003). In this sequel, some details have been improved: the territory of the islands has been increased, the buildings under construction have been improved, the organization of the army has been improved, as well as various resources taken from the previous Anno 1602.
• Anno 1701 or 1701 A.D. (2006) is somewhat different from its predecessors: although the main tasks of the game remain unchanged, the player now has to deal with periodically standing in his way government agencies and even with the queen herself. As a consequence, the player-landowner needs to make a lot of effort and money to bravely defend the honor and dignity of his developing financial empire. Among other things, natural disasters can also occur in the game and popular riots can be organized. But, as you know, the path to the stars is difficult and thorny, so the listed additions only add excitement to the gameplay.
• Anno 1404 (in the USA-Dawn of Discovery). Was released in 2009. In this part of the franchise, sadly, the quality of the graphics leaves much to be desired. In addition, apparently, the developers were too lazy to introduce any new interesting improvements into this sequel.
• Anno 2070 (2011). At the moment, it is the last released simulator within this franchise. Here the player is transported to the distant future, where he comes face to face with new environmental and financial problems.

3.Caesar

Caesar is a city building strategy game set during the reign of the great Roman Empire. Here, the player is faced with the task of developing the infrastructure of their initially small cities and raising them to the level of impressive metropolitan areas. In places, this game resembles SimCity, only with the addition of fierce battles.

Graphics, combat system and other gameplay details - all this has undergone a fairly successful refinement in the following parts of the series: Caesar II, Caesar III, and Caesar IV. Unfortunately, in many franchises, there is an unfortunate trend in which the quality of the game only worsens with each sequel. However, Caesar consistently holds a high bar, which is a pleasant surprise. As a result, the simulator leaves an exceptionally good impression.

4. Capitalism

Capitalism is a truly uncompromising business simulation, sometimes so much so that some gamers call it the most boring of all existing games of this genre. It is quite possible to disagree with this statement, using an indisputable fact as an argument: the game copes with its immediate task - to act as a business simulator - at the highest level. Here the player needs to produce and sell their goods, wisely manage their resources and materials. The game also develops skills to skillfully maintain an optimal balance of supply and demand in order to extract maximum benefits. So an inexperienced newcomer who misallocates his resources has quite a lot of chances to either burn out or be deceived by more enterprising businessmen.

Capitalism II is an improved version of the first part, with more advanced features and improved game artificial intelligence. Unfortunately, for a whole decade, no more parts of this series were released.

5. Europa Universalis

Some wouldn't give Europa Universalis the status of a business simulation game. However, this game can still be called such, because its essence is to manage not just a small town, but the whole country. The main goal is to do everything that contributes to the prosperity of the player's possessions, to control all economic processes within the country, and also to try to expand the territory of their state, while maintaining friendly diplomatic relations with other empires.

Also, Europa Universalis has some interesting sequels:

• Europa Universalis II (2001), which covers the time period from 1419 to 1820.
• Europa Universalis III (2007), where the events start in 1453 and end in 1789, right before the French Revolution.
• Europa Universalis: Rome (2008) - the player is invited to go back to the time of the Roman Republic.
• Europa Universalis IV (2013) is the last installment in the illuminated franchise. Here the events of the game unfold in the turbulent times of the Napoleonic Wars.

It is worth noting that Europa Universalis forces the player to work hard and requires a lot of effort. The structure of the economy in the game is quite difficult to master, especially for beginners who have just begun to get acquainted with the rich world of business games. Nevertheless, this is quite a suitable simulator for a person who has always dreamed of being at the helm of an entire empire!

6. The Patrician

Until the release of the third part of The Patrician series, the game could not boast of great popularity. In the presented simulator, the player is invited to try on the role of a businessman, a member of the Hansa - an economic and political union that existed in Northern Europe during the Middle Ages. On the way to success, the player trades his goods throughout Europe, while trying to gain honor and respect in the political arena and become the head of the Hanseatic League.

Sequels to The Patrician include:

• Patrician II, released in 2000, is very similar to its predecessor.
• Patrician III: Rise of the Hanse (2003) noticeably overtakes the previous parts in terms of the quality of the gameplay. New industry areas, excellent organization of the economic system cannot but please sophisticated players. In addition, in this part of the spice of the game, pirate battles are even more intense than in previous sequels.
• Patrician IV (2010)

7 Railroad Tycoon

Railroad Tycoon is the very first game in the Tycoon series. In it, the player must transport passengers and their goods, while at the same time developing their own transport empire. The graphics of the first part of the franchise are very primitive: the territory is a flat green area, and the trains are simple black rectangles moving along plainly depicted rails.

• Railroad Tycoon II (1998) is a jump into an already more promising future, a game with significantly improved customization. Railroad Tycoon II is rich in innovations: now the player can build railways at different heights, build bridges and tunnels, it becomes possible to choose different passage scenarios, as well as trade and buy stocks on the stock exchange. High-quality voiced video inserts complement the overall picture well.
• Railroad Tycoon III (2003) is a slightly improved version of the second part of the game: here the supply and demand mechanism has been improved.
• Sid Meier's Railroads! (2006) is the second game created directly by Sid Meier himself, the founder of the entire Railroad Tycoon series. This economic strategy is fully three-dimensional. Now the player can even track the movement of trains throughout their entire journey. But, unfortunately, The game interface cannot boast of a complete absence of lags.

8 Roller Coaster Tycoon

Rollercoaster Tycoon is equally unrelated to either Railroad Tycoon or Transport Tycoon. However, obscenely ascetic graphics distort the overall positive impression of the game. The main task is to create your own ideal amusement park that meets absolutely all the requirements of visitors who should be ready to leave mountains of money in this heavenly place, just to ride the breathtaking rollercoaster once again.

• Rollercoaster Tycoon 2 (2002) is almost identical to the first part, apart from some minor improvements.
• But Rollercoaster Tycoon 3 (2004) is significantly different from its older comrades. Firstly, a noticeable plus to the game is added by excellent 3D graphics, which now gives the player real aesthetic pleasure. Secondly, from now on, the owner of the park has the opportunity to ride the rides himself, evaluating them personally and enjoying the picturesque landscapes that open up to the eye, which, by the way, can be changed at will. And thirdly, now it is possible to significantly raise the rating of the amusement park and attract even more visitors by organizing bright pyrotechnic shows. In later expansions, the player is given the chance to add pools and animals to their park.

9 SimCity

It's no secret that back in 1989, the fresh, just-released SimCity game became a real sensation in the world of the gaming industry. It was rightfully considered the best game on the PC and, by the way, still does not give up its positions. After its release, several more sequels were released:

• SimCity 2000 (1994) is quite different from the original, but this does not prevent it from enjoying the same frenzied popularity among fans of the city-building simulator genre. In addition to the new rather futuristic title, this part of the presented series uses isometric graphics. In addition, a height map has been added to the game and the number of natural disasters that occur has been increased.
• SimCity 3000 (1999) is unfortunately not as good as the previous installments.
• But SimCity 4 (2003) returned the franchise to its former laurels of glory. The graphics have been changed to 3D, various types of buildings and vehicles have been added, colorful landscapes have been added, as well as a map of the area and the ability to interact with other cities. Among other things, the game has an editor that allows you to design your own buildings.
• SimCity Societies (2007) is so dramatically different from its famous predecessors that it can hardly be called a worthy continuation of this series.

10 Transport Tycoon

This is one of the most exciting and really addictive games in its genre. Transport Tycoon has been refined and improved over the years thanks to the efforts of dedicated fans of the game. In this simulator, the player is the owner and manager of a transport company. He is given a very simple task - to earn as much money as possible and develop his railway network. However, for many years the game still arouses unflagging interest among gamers.

In an economic simulation game on PC, the player has to manage some large object, improve it, monitor its condition and increase its value. This category of projects is small, and during the existence of the industry, you can collect up to ten projects that are worthy of attention and are able to interest a person for a long time.

The essence of the genre

It should be understood that everyone on a PC is as close to reality as possible. Some developers even make the game in real time. This means that the required time to build or complete the work is measured in natural hours and minutes. Graphics and physics also work according to the canon of realism. Traffic in cities follows the rules, there is the influence of the weather, the change of day and night, and many other similar elements. All of them make the gameplay interesting, make you focus on your goals and take into account possible obstacles. With such entertainment, the player thinks about the ways of development, but at the same time does not strain over difficult tasks, but spends his free time pleasantly.

Settlers game

Project "Settlers" is a classic economic simulator on PC, where the player needs to build and develop his own town. Settlers is considered one of the genre, because its simplicity does not make the user strain when passing. The player takes on the role of the head of a small medieval village and develops it to the level of a big city. Units have built-in artificial intelligence and understand what tasks they need to perform. Such a system allows the user to focus on the development of the city and the extraction of the necessary resources. The gameplay does not bother, because it has a lot of different small features.

After the development of the town, you will have to think about protecting it and organizing your own army. All this is more fun to do in cooperative mode or multiplayer. The developers took care of this possibility and added them to the game. The result is an interesting project with high marks from critics and society.

strong hold

If you ask a fan of the genre which economic simulator is considered the best on PC, he will immediately answer: Stronghold. This series includes several high-profile projects and is remembered for its interesting and balanced component in the development of the city. The player takes on the role of the mayor of a settlement in the Middle Ages, which must be improved and defended from external threats in every possible way. The main factor here is the "popularity" of the mayor among the settlement. If you bring it to the maximum by building temples, taverns and reducing taxes, then revelry will begin, and this will lead to a drop in productivity. The construction of gallows and prisons can force the population to work, but such actions will reduce authority in society.

The user will have to look for a delicate balance, and in this regard, other economic games are losing the baton to Stronghold. Here the true abilities of a person to lead the population in the harsh conditions of the Middle Ages are manifested.

Series ANNO

The ANNO project stood at the origins of the "economic simulator" genre. The list of the best at that time was headed by the game Anno 1602, which opened the world of American expansion to the user. The player had to expand his possessions from one small island to a huge archipelago.

After the original game, the world saw four more parts that throw the user into different conditions. The main feature of these projects is an interesting combination of trade, diplomacy and economics. The user will have to monitor the state of his settlement and at the same time look for ways to expand it. The accession of new territories will negatively affect relations with neighbors, and therefore, diplomatic abilities will have to be used.

The project will not let you get bored for even a minute, because some events are constantly taking place in this world, and the player will have to constantly monitor them. If this is not done, then you can miss the moment to rise to a new level. We'll have to re-accumulate resources and wait for an opportunity to expand.

Farming Simulator

In the category "Best economic simulators on PC" for several years, the games of the Farming Simulator series have been in the TOP. This is the most thoughtful, detailed and realistic copy of the life of a farmer who owns a huge farm. The series includes a strong economic foundation. Players will have to study the market, choose crops for planting, monitor weather conditions, harvest and sell crops. A mistake in choosing vegetables can be costly if they are not in demand by buyers.

In addition to the economic component, the project has many other interesting elements. One of the main features is the stand-alone game. The player himself gets behind the wheel of a vehicle and drives out into the field to plant or harvest crops. Due to the maximum realism and well-thought-out gameplay, other economic games are equal to this particular project. Developers annually work to improve all elements and release new interesting parts of the series. The latest project added the impact of the weather and the change of time of day on agricultural activities, significantly expanded the fleet and tightened the conditions for economic struggle in multiplayer.

Development in space

Economy simulation games use many settings to increase the interest of the players. A prime example is a project called Buzz Aldrin's Space Program Manager. In it, users will lead a large company that is engaged in research and development of the space environment. Players will have to hire astronauts, send them on missions, build buildings and take care of a sufficient amount of all resources.

The developers have created two modes - campaign and sandbox. The first involves the passage of the storyline, and the second - free construction on a vast territory. The project is notable for its scale, in which the map is not limited to a few asteroids. It entered the category of the best simulators of the genre due to its unusual setting, beautiful design and easy gameplay. These features made the project popular, and even now, thousands of gamers continue to improve their personal space organization.

Connection to the Cold War

If Farming Simulator is the best economic farm simulator, then Tropico is the leader in terms of building your own state. Users are provided with a small territory somewhere in the depths of Latin America. The task is extremely simple - to develop the settlement to the level of a world state, so that everyone hears about it.

At first, the player will feel a constant lack of funds, and only handouts from the USA and the USSR will save him. At this time, the Cold War is in full swing, and two great states are trying to win over new allies to their side. Interest in the game is fueled by random events. It can be either a natural disaster or finding valuable materials in the country. Developers in this way hint to users that it is necessary to be in constant readiness. Leading a country is not an easy task and this game will test every person's skills in this pursuit.

Airport Tycoon Series

There is only one well-made airport economic simulator - Airport Tycoon. All users in this game will take the lead over a small flight company and develop it to the level of an aviation magnate. The development scheme in the project is simple. It is necessary to save the proceeds and use them to buy new vehicles or expand the airport. The more money begins to flow into the treasury, the brighter the opportunities will open to the user. The project is distinguished by a large number of different aircraft, buildings at the airport, the importance of personnel, and most importantly - realism. The developers have done everything to make the players feel like real leaders of the flight company.