I’ve been away from gaming for a long time, but I think maybe it’s like what Hobbes said about ice cream: you don’t know you don’t like ice cream until you’ve tried every kind.

What ancient city builders OR civilization sims would you recommend? Because I hate cars and love history in equal measure.

Running on Linux Mint with Steam installed.

Edit: Nebuchadnezzar is the winner because it’s a modern version of the older games y’all are recommending and because it’s exactly those babylonian cities I was hankering for.

Thanks! I added a bunch of stuff to my wishlist.

  • Talcosis@lemmy.zipEnglish
    5·
    18 days ago

    Songs of Syx

    Imagine rimworld crossed with sim city. Start with ten dudes, keep them happy, fed, healthy, and their friends will show up. And then more of their friends. And suddenly you have a city of 12,000 dudes and a complex chain of diplomacy and taxation keeping your stockpiles full.

    • schipelblorp@sh.itjust.worksOPEnglish
      1·
      18 days ago

      That sounds like Dwarf Fortress crossed with Sim City.

      It’s like Speed 2, but on a bus!

      Thanks, this looks intriguing.

      • Talcosis@lemmy.zipEnglish
        2·
        18 days ago

        I’ve put a couple hundred hours into all three four games mentioned, if we count sim city as a single game. If you like two of them…

  • deadbeef79000@lemmy.nzEnglish
    5·
    18 days ago

    Caesar II was good back in the day, I think it’s available from GOG.

    The Wandering Village might scratch that itch minus the ancient criterion.

    • Nefara@lemmy.worldEnglish
      2·
      18 days ago

      Caesar 3 was so satisfying I still come back to it. Devilishly hard at times but that’s part of the fun.

  • aceslip@lemmy.zipEnglish
    4·
    18 days ago

    All of the recommendations so far are great! I just also wanted to throw in Laysara: Summit Kingdom. It’s not a traditional ancient civ builder, but it’s very close and scratches a lot of those itches.

  • Nefara@lemmy.worldEnglish
    4·
    18 days ago

    Banished always gets a recommendation from me. It’s a labor of love from a solo dev and it’s my comfort game just about every time I’m sick. Dawn of Man was fun for a while, and Nebuchadnezzar is a modern love letter to the old Caesar/Pharaoh generation of games. Speaking of, I’ve loved and played Caesar 3 for decades, and it’s not even $4 right now so you should 100% grab that if you have even the slightest interest in the genre.

  • BoxscapeEnglish
    3·
    18 days ago

    Entries from the Anno franchise maybe? Never played myself but watched a few LPs and it was fun to watch. Some games are fun to watch but a slog to play yourself though which is why I bring it up.

    • schipelblorp@sh.itjust.worksOPEnglish
      2·
      18 days ago

      Well, Anno Pax Romana certainly looks amazing, but it’s the first recommend(ation) I’ve gotten with less than positive reviews. Hm.

      • Talcosis@lemmy.zipEnglish
        4·
        18 days ago

        Anno series is more about setting up trade routes and balancing resource flows between islands.

        I would recommend trying Planet S. Literally same exact concept as anno, same gameplay, but its free, it’s based in space and not islands (anno series is always islands), and it’s not a ubisoft product. If you absolutely love Planet S, then maybe it’s worth dealing with ubisoft to play anno.

        Edit: When I say same gamplay, I mean it felt like a reskin of anno 2070, which is the last anno game Ive played. Literally same exact thing. Build housing, check needs to level up housing to level 2, build those two production chains, level up housing, build housing, check needs to level to 3, now you need off planet/island resources, set up trade route, level to level 3, check needs, get to level 4 housing, etc, maintain your logistic chain while destabilizing opponent logistic chains.