<s>
A	O
city-building	B-Application
game	I-Application
,	O
or	O
town-building	O
game	O
,	O
is	O
a	O
genre	O
of	O
simulation	O
video	O
game	O
where	O
players	O
act	O
as	O
the	O
overall	O
planner	O
and	O
leader	O
of	O
a	O
city	O
or	O
town	O
,	O
looking	O
down	O
on	O
it	O
from	O
above	O
,	O
and	O
being	O
responsible	O
for	O
its	O
growth	O
and	O
management	O
strategy	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
City-building	B-Application
games	I-Application
such	O
as	O
SimCity	B-Application
,	O
Cities	B-Application
XXL	I-Application
or	O
Cities	B-Application
:	I-Application
Skylines	I-Application
are	O
considered	O
a	O
type	O
of	O
construction	B-Application
and	I-Application
management	I-Application
simulation	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
earliest	O
city-building	B-Application
game	I-Application
was	O
The	B-Application
Sumerian	I-Application
Game	I-Application
(	O
1964	O
)	O
,	O
a	O
text-based	O
mainframe	O
game	O
written	O
by	O
Mabel	O
Addis	O
,	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
ancient	O
Sumerian	O
city	O
of	O
Lagash	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
subsequently	O
adapted	O
into	O
The	B-Application
Sumer	I-Application
Game	I-Application
(	O
1968	O
)	O
,	O
later	O
known	O
as	O
Hamurabi	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
city-building	B-Application
game	I-Application
genre	O
was	O
established	O
in	O
1989	B-Application
with	O
SimCity	B-Application
,	O
which	O
emphasized	O
continuous	O
building	O
rather	O
than	O
a	O
set	O
victory	O
condition	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Subsequent	O
SimCity	B-Application
titles	O
such	O
as	O
SimCity	B-Application
4	I-Application
soon	O
followed	O
when	O
high	O
sales	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
demonstrated	O
its	O
popularity	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
sim	O
game	O
,	O
Utopia	B-Application
(	O
1982	O
)	O
developed	O
for	O
the	O
Mattel	B-Operating_System
Intellivision	I-Operating_System
console	O
system	O
,	O
covered	O
many	O
of	O
these	O
same	O
elements	O
,	O
but	O
was	O
limited	O
by	O
the	O
primitive	O
screen	O
resolutions	O
of	O
its	O
era	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
the	O
thousands	O
of	O
individual	O
spaces	O
possible	O
a	O
few	O
years	O
later	O
in	O
SimCity	B-Application
,	O
each	O
island	O
in	O
Utopia	B-Application
held	O
only	O
29	O
"	O
buildable	O
"	O
spaces	O
for	O
schools	O
,	O
factories	O
and	O
other	O
constructions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
second	O
boost	O
in	O
the	O
popularity	O
of	O
the	O
genre	O
came	O
in	O
1993	B-Application
with	O
the	O
release	O
of	O
various	O
games	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Including	O
The	B-Application
Settlers	I-Application
,	O
which	O
is	O
set	O
in	O
medieval	O
times	O
and	O
simulates	O
a	O
complex	O
settlement	O
and	O
economic	O
system	O
,	O
which	O
was	O
revolutionary	O
at	O
the	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
started	O
a	O
series	B-Application
that	O
has	O
continued	O
ever	O
since	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
same	O
year	O
,	O
a	O
blockbuster	O
game	O
which	O
modeled	O
cities	O
in	O
ancient	O
Rome	O
was	O
published	O
:	O
Caesar	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Subsequent	O
titles	O
in	O
the	O
City	O
Building	O
Series	B-Application
followed	O
,	O
all	O
simulating	O
cities	O
in	O
past	O
civilizations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
PC	B-Device
game	O
Stronghold	B-Application
also	O
appeared	O
in	O
1993	B-Application
,	O
and	O
was	O
advertised	O
as	O
"	O
SimCity	B-Application
meets	O
Dungeons	O
&	O
Dragons	O
in	O
3D	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Anno	O
series	B-Application
started	O
in	O
1998	O
and	O
established	O
a	O
high	O
level	O
of	O
detail	O
in	O
graphics	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
an	O
intense	O
economy	O
simulation	O
and	O
a	O
distinct	O
gameplay	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
SimCity	B-Application
4	I-Application
,	O
released	O
in	O
2003	O
,	O
was	O
praised	O
as	O
a	O
standard-setter	O
among	O
city-builders	B-Application
and	O
is	O
still	O
widely	O
regarded	O
as	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
best	O
games	O
in	O
the	O
genre	O
,	O
despite	O
its	O
complexity	O
and	O
steep	O
learning	O
curve	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Subsequent	O
games	O
in	O
the	O
series	B-Application
attempted	O
to	O
remedy	O
this	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
SimCity	B-Application
Societies	I-Application
(	O
2007	O
)	O
,	O
which	O
did	O
not	O
further	O
deepen	O
the	O
gameplay	O
along	O
the	O
line	O
of	O
city	B-Application
simulation	I-Application
but	O
incorporates	O
different	O
gameplay	O
elements	O
such	O
as	O
social	O
management	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
reboot	O
,	O
SimCity	B-Application
,	O
attempted	O
to	O
bring	O
the	O
franchise	O
back	O
to	O
its	O
roots	O
but	O
was	O
panned	O
by	O
critics	O
and	O
traditional	O
fans	O
for	O
its	O
forced	O
online	O
requirements	O
,	O
bugs	O
in	O
simulation	O
,	O
missing	O
promised	O
features	O
and	O
restrictions	O
on	O
city	O
size	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
waning	O
dominance	O
of	O
the	O
SimCity	B-Application
franchise	O
in	O
the	O
genre	O
has	O
caused	O
several	O
other	O
companies	O
to	O
release	O
similarly	O
themed	O
games	O
,	O
like	O
Cities	B-Protocol
XL	I-Protocol
(	O
2009	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
Cities	B-Application
:	I-Application
Skylines	I-Application
published	O
in	O
2015	O
is	O
widely	O
regarded	O
the	O
best	O
city-building	O
sim	O
to	O
date	O
and	O
was	O
very	O
successful	O
with	O
the	O
audience	O
of	O
the	O
genre	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Starting	O
with	O
Anno	B-Application
2070	I-Application
in	O
2011	O
,	O
continued	O
by	O
Anno	B-Application
2205	I-Application
in	O
2015	O
,	O
and	O
emphasized	O
by	O
Surviving	B-Application
Mars	I-Application
and	O
Frostpunk	B-Application
in	O
2018	O
,	O
futurist	O
settings	O
became	O
again	O
widely	O
popular	O
with	O
the	O
audience	O
of	O
the	O
genre	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
the	O
rise	O
of	O
social	O
gaming	O
,	O
mobile	O
gaming	O
,	O
freemium	O
and	O
micropayment	O
model	O
in	O
the	O
2010s	O
,	O
there	O
has	O
been	O
a	O
surge	O
of	O
casual	O
city-building	B-Application
games	I-Application
with	O
different	O
mechanisms	O
like	O
time-based	O
"	O
produce	O
and	O
upgrade	O
"	O
feature	O
,	O
including	O
CityVille	B-Application
,	O
SimCity	B-Application
Buildit	O
,	O
and	O
City	O
Island	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Despite	O
the	O
fact	O
that	O
most	O
traditional	O
followers	O
of	O
the	O
genre	O
dislike	O
these	O
games	O
due	O
to	O
factors	O
like	O
simple	O
,	O
dumbed-down	O
mechanics	O
and	O
microtransactions	O
,	O
they	O
have	O
gained	O
greater	O
commercial	O
success	O
around	O
the	O
world	O
than	O
most	O
prior	O
city	B-Application
building	I-Application
games	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Another	O
development	O
trend	O
is	O
the	O
increased	O
popularity	O
for	O
city	B-Application
building	I-Application
games	I-Application
by	O
independent	O
developers	O
,	O
like	O
the	O
2019	O
Islanders	B-Application
or	O
the	O
2020	O
release	O
Townscaper	B-Application
with	O
their	O
simple	O
,	O
intuition-based	O
gameplay	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Also	O
sandbox	O
games	O
like	O
the	O
ever-popular	O
Minecraft	B-Application
(	O
published	O
in	O
2011	O
)	O
offer	O
features	O
that	O
are	O
alike	O
to	O
various	O
city-builders	B-Application
.	O
</s>
