Free games like SimCity

3D.CITY is the closest to classic SimCity: its simulation comes from the city builder that started the genre, shown in full 3D. Lay out roads, zone homes, shops and factories, keep the power on and the budget healthy, and keep crime and pollution low so the population grows.

OpenTTD looks at the city from the transport side. Its towns grow when you serve them well with buses, trains, planes and ships, and your company earns money by carrying passengers, mail and cargo between towns and industries. Tiny Yurts is a small, calm path-building game in the spirit of Mini Motorways: connect yurts to their farms and keep the paths working as the village grows.

All three games are free, need no download and are best played with a mouse.