Forge of Empires: Build a City

Rating: 4.2	Downloads: 10,000,000+
Category: Strategy	Offer by: InnoGames GmbH

Forge of Empires: Build a City is an engaging mobile city-building strategy game where players design, construct, and manage their own virtual empire from the ground up. It belongs to the popular city-builder genre combined with resource management and turn-based strategy elements. What makes it particularly interesting is the blend of detailed construction mechanics with global strategy goals, allowing players to see the direct impact of their city’s development.

The gameplay of Forge of Empires: Build a City offers a visually appealing experience, often featuring charmingly detailed pixel art or cartoon graphics depending on the specific variant or update. The storyline and world-building provide context for the empire’s growth, adding narrative appeal alongside the core building and resource challenges that players face daily.

Gameplay and Features

• Core Gameplay Loop]:: Players take control of an expanding civilization, gathering resources like wood, gold, and food by establishing and managing districts (e.g., farms, mines). They use these resources to build and upgrade structures, research new technologies, unlock unique units and wonders, and defend their empire against AI or player opponents through strategic planning and efficient resource allocation in each turn-based phase.
• Visuals or Art Style:: The game boasts vibrant, stylized graphics, often featuring charming pixel art or detailed cartoony characters and buildings, creating an accessible and visually engaging world. Buildings and units are typically animated during production or movement, adding dynamic flair.
• Modes or Levels:: Primarily a single-player experience focused on campaigns spanning centuries, though some versions may include competitive online leaderboards. The core campaign offers immense replayability through different civilization choices, varied map layouts, unlockable technologies, and strategic playstyles over long development periods.
• Controls or Interface:: Designed for touchscreens, controls are generally intuitive, involving tapping buildings for management, dragging to move units, and selecting icons for actions like gathering resources or starting production. The interface is user-friendly, with clear icons and menus accessible via a main toolbar, simplifying complex operations.
• Customization or Power-ups:: Players customize their empire through extensive building options, technology trees unlocking new abilities and units, and researching unique wonders and achievements. Motivation for ongoing play comes from unlocking powerful units, discovering secrets, achieving milestones, and witnessing the tangible growth of their meticulously planned cities.
• Any Special Systems:: Optional – The game often includes a robust market system for trading resources with other empires (sometimes against AI rivals) and potentially features seasonal events or challenges that alter gameplay dynamics and offer special rewards.

How to Play

Beginner’s Guide:

• Step 1: Download the game from your device’s app store, create an account or login, and start the initial tutorial sequence provided by the game.
• Step 2: Begin by focusing on your initial settlement. Assign villagers to gather basic resources (wood, food, etc.) by clicking on the corresponding districts (farms, lumber camps), build essential structures like Barracks or Temple, and complete the tutorial objectives.
• Step 3: Once resources accumulate, expand your city’s borders, construct more complex buildings (markets, workshops, advanced defenses), manage your population and resources efficiently, and start researching technologies to gain an advantage and progress through the centuries-long campaign.

Pro Tips:

• Plan Your City Layout Carefully: Design districts efficiently to minimize transport times; group resource-producing areas together for easier access and faster production.
• Leverage Unique Units and Wonders: Focus on researching and using units unique to your chosen civilization for specific advantages, and prioritize unlocking powerful city-wonders for significant buffs.
• Balance Expansion with Resource Management: Don’t expand too quickly before securing sufficient resource production. Focus on upgrading existing buildings to increase output before venturing into new territories.

Similar Games

Game Title	Why It’s Similar
Stronghold Kingdoms: Warlords & Merchants	Shares a similar strategy and city-building blend, focusing on resource management, settlement development, and turn-based warfare in a medieval fantasy context.
Stronghold War	Appeals to the same type of players. Offers a more focused war-focused gameplay loop combined with settlement building, sharing the tactical depth aspect found in “Forge of Empires: Build a City”.
Civilization VI	While different on a PC platform, the flagship strategy game in its series offers deep civ-building and resource-based decision-making, appealing to fans of the empire management core found in “Forge of Empires: Build a City”, albeit with different mechanics.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How often are resources gathered in the game? Do I wait for villagers or can I speed it up?

A: Resource gathering is automatic once buildings like farms or mines are constructed. Villagers work continuously, allowing passive resource collection. You cannot directly speed up the gathering rate, but upgrading the district buildings (e.g., Lumber Camp to Sawmill) increases the overall output rate significantly over time.

Q: Are there real-time elements, like time limits for building projects or military actions, or is it strictly turn-based?

A: “Forge of Empires: Build a City” is primarily turn-based. You make decisions, issue orders (like starting building projects, training units, or declaring war/peace), and then the game progresses through its internal time system (e.g., hours, days, centuries). Actions take effect after the turn completes.

Q: What is the best civilization (empire/nation) to choose for beginners?

A: There isn’t one single “best” for beginners, as each offers a unique starting advantage or special ability. Consider choosing a civilization with a technology bonus related to resource gathering (like Woodsmen) or one with unique buildings that might ease resource management early on. Experimentation is key, but many civilizations offer balanced starting conditions suitable for newcomers.

Q: Is “Forge of Empires: Build a City” completely free to play, or are there costs involved?

A: The core gameplay is usually free to download and play. However, developers may implement optional in-app purchases for currency, expansion packs, or convenience features. These typically offer advantages like extra lives in some modes, currency, or cosmetic changes, but the fundamental city-building experience should be accessible without spending real money.

Q: Can I connect with other players directly, like sending troops or messages?

A: Yes, the game includes diplomatic features. You can establish embassies with other empires to trade resources or form alliances. Some versions might allow direct military interactions, such as declaring war, sending spies, or conducting espionage actions, depending on the specific “Forge of Empires” variant and its current iteration.

Screenshots