Unknown Horizons is a 2D real-time strategy simulation with an emphasis on economy and city building. Expand your small settlement to a strong and wealthy colony, collect taxes and supply your inhabitants with valuable goods.



Anno is described as 'ANNO is a city-building and economic simulation video game series, with real-time strategy elements' and is a RTS game in the games category. There are more than 10 games similar to Anno for a variety of platforms, including Windows, Linux, Steam, Wine and Mac apps. The best Anno alternative is Unknown Horizons, which is both free and Open Source. Other Anno like games are Empire Earth, CaesarIA, openage and Banished.
Unknown Horizons is a 2D real-time strategy simulation with an emphasis on economy and city building. Expand your small settlement to a strong and wealthy colony, collect taxes and supply your inhabitants with valuable goods.



Empire Earth, also known as EE, is a real-time strategy video game developed by Stainless Steel Studios and released on November 23, 2001. It is the first game in the Empire Earth series: Empire Earth, Empire Earth II, Empire Earth III.

CaesarIA is an open source remake of Caesar III game released by Impressions Games in 1998, it aims to expand the possibilities of the classical city-building simulators and to add new features showing the city life. Now the game work with Windows, Linux, Mac, Haiku and Android.




Free (as in freedom) open-source RTS Age of Empires engine. Written from scratch in C++, Python, Cython, Qt/QML, OpenGL/GLSL, Vulkan, ...


In this city-building strategy game, you control a group of exiled travelers who decide to restart their lives in a new land. They have only the clothes on their backs and a cart filled with supplies from their homeland.




Dune Legacy is an effort by a handful of developers to revitalize the first-ever real-time strategy game. Based from Dune II




Age of Mythology is based on building towns, gathering resources, creating armies, and ultimately destroying enemy units and buildings. In this way, players are able to defeat and conquer rival towns and civilizations.






Tropico is a series of construction and management simulation computer games developed by PopTop Software and published by Gathering of Developers in April 2001. Feral Interactive has developed and published a number of the games.




Many interesting production chains


As a provincial governor charged with spreading the glory of Rome your mission is clear – build cities, foster trade and industry, make money. How you accomplish this is up to you. Gain wealth and power, make a career out of pleasing the emperor, battle barbarians and repel...



Spring:1944 is a WWII themed game based on the open source Spring Engine. Our goal is to create four fully functional sides (US, Germany, USSR, Britain) with period-accurate units and strengths. Realism is a primary design goal, second only to creating a game that is fun and...

Stonehearth is a game of exploration and survival in an epic fantasy setting. Build your town, care for your hearthlings, and defend against marauding invaders.



This game focusses more on combat and less on logistics/supply/transportation. Few resources, few production chains.