The 13 Best City Building Board Games
Ready to start building your own city? But not too sure where to start?
Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered!
I’ve put together 13 of the best city building board games available on the market, with detailed reviews, images and pros & cons to help you select the best one for you and your gaming group.
Best Board Game Building Cities – Comparison Table
Not sure 7 Wonders would be the best board game building cities for you?
Don’t fret, have a look at the comparison table below with a good mix of city building games for all kind of gamers.
Game Reviews – Board Game Where You Build Cities
Truth is, there really isn’t one board game where you build cities that would be superior to all others.
It all depends on which type of games you like, who you’ll play with, how complex you want your game to be, how much time you have, and so many other factors.
To ease your choice, I’ve made a shortlist of the best ones.
🥇 Best overall: 7 Wonders
📸 Most beautiful: Everdell
📈 Best for advanced players: Puerto Rico
⏳ For long & challenging games: Underwater Cities
⚙️ Most advanced & complex: Lisboa
👤 Works solo: Le Havre
🤣 For great fun: Lords of Waterdeep
⚔️ For high player interaction: Architects of the West Kingdom
🧠 Best brainburner: Keyflower
👨👩👧👦 For the whole family: Carcassonne
🎉 For high number of players: Welcome to...
👥 For 2 players: Alhambra
🏘 Real city planning simulation: Suburbia
Want more details? Alright, let’s dive in the reviews!
7 Wonders
The first game on our list is 7 Wonders, truly a classic among the classics.
You get to pick which Ancient World city you want to run, built around the 7 wonders of the world. You have 3 ages to build your city the most you can, by building trade centers, learning institutes, military structures, and even a world wonder!
To me, the main appeal of 7 Wonders is how fast-paced the game is. No matter the player count, a game will take max. 30mn, thanks to its simultaneous play mechanic.
It’s a light game, perfect for a first experience in the city building board games, that still gives enough interesting choices each turn to keep the replayability high.
We likeFast play time
Easy to learn
Beautiful art
We don't likeNo player interaction
Complicated setup
Everdell
Everdell is a city-building board game that goes away from the traditional “city” as we might imagine it. The theme is unique, charming, and will immerse you in the forest where you’ll build your city in the trees.
On top of building your city, you will also get to manage your little animals that will help you build your city and gather resources. On every turn you’ll be faced with challenging decisions that will impact how your city grows, which feels meaningful and rewarding.
If you already have some experience with board games and are looking for an immersive city-building game that still stays relatively light, then Everdell is a great pick for you.
We likeStunning artwork
High replayability
Rich gameplay
We don't likeComplex for an entry game
Luck aspect can feel frustrating
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico is more focused on economic development than physical construction; however I still include it in this list as you construct buildings on your own player board (plantations, mines, factories and warehouses).
As the colonial governor of the island of Puerto Rico, your goal is to gain victory points by shipping goods to Europe or by constructing buildings. You build your city on your own board, and have to manage shared elements (3 ships, a trading house and resources)
Overall, Puerto Rico is considered as one of the best board games of all time, so if you’re not deterred by the play time and complexity, I’m sure you’ll love it.
We likeVaried building options
Rewarding strategic gameplay
Variable setup and lot of different strategies
We don't likeComplex
Don't play with analysis paralysis prone players
Visually very bland
Underwater Cities
Tired of the land? Let’s go build on the ocean floor with Underwater Cities!
Your task is to build a sustainable city, underwater, and make it the best city to live in for the future inhabitants. You do so by picking cards & placing them on the board, that will enable you to build domes, tunnels, and production buildings.
The game combines many mechanics such as worker placement, engine-building, and resource management, which creates a really challenging gameplay experience.
This game is for you if you favor gameplay over visuals, want to be constantly challenged to take the best decisions, and already have experience playing this kind of board games.
We likeUnique theme
Variable player powers
Heavy player interaction
We don't likeMeh artwork & component quality
Complex & long
Lisboa
Picture this: it’s 1755, and a major earthquake completely devastated the city of Lisboa, Portugal. Your task, as a member of the Portuguese Nobility, is to rebuild the city.
You’re building iconic landmarks, but not only. You’ll also need to schedule hearings to get favors (commerce, construction and openings), manage influence, construction licences, store permits, church power, workers, and money.
It’s one of the most complex games out there; takes time to learn the rules, takes time to explain, and takes time to really understand the rules and the game to get to a point where you can play efficiently. This is definitely a game for experienced gamers, that are ready to put some time in for a very rewarding experience.
We likeRich thematic and immersive experience
Multiple paths to victory
Feels very satisfying to master over time
We don't likeReally, really complex
Long setup and long game
Can feel frustrating at first
Le Havre
Let’s move on to our next game, deemed by many as one of the greatest board games of all time. In Le Havre, you’re building a ship empire and your own harbor city.
It combines city-building, worker placement and worker management, and ties it all up with a good dose of player interaction. Whether that player interaction is cooperation or competition, well this will be up to you to decide.
A more advanced game for experienced gamers, that is yet still easy to learn. However it requires many repeated plays to start understanding the game to its full potential, and to start getting competitive.
We likeBuilding a huge empire feels very satisfying
Great player interaction
Great solo play
We don't likeTakes time to master
Doesn't play well with more than 3 players
Long setup
Lords of Waterdeep
Lords of Waterdeep is a fantastic city-building board game that provides a unique and immersive gameplay experience. It’s set in the Dungeons & Dragons universe, and players take on the role of one of the city’s masked rulers, seeking to gain power and influence by completing quests and building structures.
It’s a good game to start getting into more complex games, and one that would be fun to play for newcomers and experienced players alike. Simple, yet fun and highly replayable, especially with the expansions.
We likeLooks complex but is surprisingly easy
Variable setup and diverse strategies
Great fun
We don't likeSub-par production value
Can feel too simple for some
Architects of the West Kingdom
In Architects of the West Kingdom, not only do you get to build a city, but you get to build the most epic city possible to impress the King! Otherwise? Well, you can kiss your Noble status goodbye.
On top of building your city, you’ll need to manage your workers, and keep an eye on them. Why, you ask? Anyone can capture your workers and start using them to build their own city!
All in all, Architects of the West Kingdom is a great city building board game that breaks the usual genre by adding a “Take That” mechanism to screw with your opponents.
We likeFun & interactive
Beautiful artwork
High replayability
We don't likeLacks a strong theme
Can fall flat at 2/3 players
Complicated rules, but easy to play
Keyflower
Next up on our list is a game released in 2012, which has been sitting firmly on the top #100 games of all time since then. Keyflower is set in medieval times, and you have to build the most prosperous village and community to win the game.
You’ll be building your own village, physically by laying tiles, and it feels great to see your village expand as you play. But you’ll also need to manage your little workers, and, most importantly, bid for tiles. Don’t get it wrong, it gets very cutthroat, really quick.
The learning curve of Keyflower is quite steep, and games are quite long. It can feel punishing if you’re playing with more experienced players, but overall the replayability is through the roof and you’ll see yourself playing over and over.
We likeUnique blend of game mechanisms
Real city customization with tile-laying
Highly replayable
We don't likeComplex game
Can feel very punishing
Doesn't play well at 5-6 players
Carcassonne
You might be surprised you had to scroll so far to see this, but here it is. Carcassonne just had to be included in this list, as this classic released in 2000 is to this day an iconic city building game.
Every turn you draw a random tile from the bag, and place it on the board to build the city. You then get to decide if you want to place a meeple on this tile, to gain control of the area (road, city, fields, …).
Since everyone is building the same city, and competing for control, the game can be very cutthroat. You build a great city, turn over turn, only for someone to steal it from you 2 turns away from the end of the game!
Carcassonne can be played with the whole family, every play is different, and you can easily expand the fun by tapping into more than 100 expansions.
We likeReally easy to learn
High replayability, even enhanced by expansions
Tense & engaging from start to finish
We don't likeLuck of the draw can be frustrating
Can get very cutthroat
Welcome to…
In Welcome to..., you’re an architect in the United States of 1950s, and you’re there to build the best new suburban neighborhood.
The game is a roll and write, without the rolling part. Each turn 3 cards are drawn, and all players decide how to use them by drawing on their own sheet, at the same time.
It can be played by an unlimited amount of players, as long as they can all see the cards and that you have enough scoresheet for all. And best of all? Whatever the player count, a game will run for around 25mn!
The game is so easy to teach, that you could be tricked into thinking it’s shallow. But far from that, as it packs a lot of depth! There are so many strategies available to how you organize your neighborhood, and you’ll be looking forward to the next game to try a different route.
We likeEasy to learn
Surprising amount of depth & strategy
Plays fast with simultaneous turns
We don't likeDefinitely more abstract than other titles on this list
Limited social interaction
Alhambra
It’s 1278 in Granada, Spain. It’s time to build one of the most beautiful landmarks of Spain, the Alhambra.
To build your own Alhambra, you’ll need to purchase buildings from the open market, using the right type of currency. But other players are also buying from the same open market! There’s a decent amount of strategy involved, to decide on your turn if you want to get money, buy a building, or construct your Alhambra.
Alhambra is a very good light game, perfect to introduce new players to the hobby, play with your family, or just enjoy a lighter game. It’s easy to learn, challenging enough to keep you interested, replayable, and creates fun interaction with other players as you compete for the shared resources.
We likeFeels great to physically build your Alhambra
Interesting decision-making
Great social interaction with the shared resources
We don't likeCan take too long if you play with analysis paralysis prone players
Doesn't play well at 5-6 players
Suburbia
And finally, the last game on our list of best building board games, Suburbia.
Suburbia is probably the most thematic game in this list, and the one that feels the most like you’re building a city as a city-planner, where you have to think of many elements like cash, infrastructure, reputation, population and much more.
There are so many different types of buildings, and each game will be played with a selection of them, making for great replayability. The game makes so much sense thematically, with mechanics such as building the landfill that improves your income as it becomes more efficient to dispose of your garbage, but build it next to houses or business and your reputation will go down!
If you like puzzles, figuring out the best way to construct your own city, and building great combos turn over turn, then it’s definitely the game for you.
We likeTheme works well and feels immersive
Incredibly high replayability
Combo building feels pretty satisfying
We don't likeVisually unappealing
Multiplayer solitaire with very little player interaction
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