Base building games sorted by release date
Base building is a self-explanatory gameplay activity featured mainly in strategy and simulation games. In the X-Com series, part of the game involves building your base to properly fight an alien invasion. In Dungeon Keeper the goal of the game is to build an underground base and defend it from heroes. Recently some devs took base-building to a whole new level with games such as Dwarf Fortress and Rimworld.
Most popular base building games
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Moonbase
DOS1990 Wesson International
Castles
DOS1991protected Quicksilver Software
Castles is what happens when SimCity meets Game of Thrones. You design your own fortress, manage the budget, and tell unruly peasants why the walls are more important than food. Between building bricks and issuing royal edicts, yo...
Castles 2: Siege and Conquest
DOSMac OS1992protected Quicksilver Software
Castles 2 took everything the first game did and cranked it up with actual diplomacy, espionage, and conquest mechanics. Now you’re not just stacking bricks—you’re plotting political marriages and assassinating r...
Rampart
DOS1992 Atari
Rampart is an abandoned mix of strategy and shooter game designed by Dave Ralston and John Salwitz, developed by Atari and released by Electronic Arts in 1992 for DOS. Rampart was converted from the original arcade version to a nu...
Dinopark Tycoon
DOS1993 Manley Associates
SimFarm
DOSWindows XP/98/95Mac OS1993 Maxis
SimFarm is a simulation video game developed by Maxis and published by Electronic Arts in 1993. In SimFarm, players take on the role of a farmer and manage various aspects of running a farm, including planting crops, raising lives...
The Settlers
DOS1993protected Blue Byte Software
Reunion
DOS1994 Dinamic Multimedia
SimTower
Windows 3.x1994 OPeNBooK Co.
SimTower is an old Windows 3.x (1994) building and business simulation game where the player is tasked with the management of a skyscraper nonetheless. Raise floors, build apartments, shops, offices and try to avoid bankruptcy if ...
Theme Park
DOS1994protected Bullfrog
X-COM: Ufo Defense
DOS1994protected MicroProse Software
UFO: Enemy Unknown (or X-COM: Ufo Defense) is a sci-fi tactical strategy game created by Julian Gollop set in a not-to-distant future where aliens are invading the Earth. The gameplay switches between tactical combat, where you fi...
X-COM: Terror from the Deep
DOS1995protected MicroProse Software
X-COM: Terror from the Deep (also known as X-COM 2) is a DOS science fiction tactical strategy game and the sequel to one of the most popular DOS games in history, X-COM: UFO Defense. Terror from the Deep was designed by Step...
Free Enterprise
Windows XP/98/951996 Tsunami Media
Dehumanizing offices? Check. Depressing environment? Check. No windows in the whole place? Check. Good, I'm ready to exploit my workers and become great entrepreneur. All of this thanks to Free Enterprise, a simulation for Windows...
The Settlers II: Veni, Vidi, Vici
DOSMac OS1996protected Blue Byte Software
Age of Empires
Windows XP/98/951997protecteddemo Ensemble Studios
Released in 1997, Age of Empires is what happens when ancient history gets drunk and decides to party. You start in the Stone Age, bashing wild boars and clubbing trees, and before you know it, you’re building temples and fl...
Dungeon Keeper
DOSWindows XP/98/95Mac OS1997protected Electronic Arts
Dungeon Keeper 2
Windows XP/98/95Mac OS1997protected Bullfrog
Theme Hospital
DOSWindows XP/98/951997protecteddemo Bullfrog
X-COM: Apocalypse
DOSWindows XP/98/951997protected Mythos Software
X-COM: Apocalypse is the third installment of the very popular X-COM franchise. After X-COM: Ufo Defence and Terror From the Deep, fans expected another smash hit. Apocalypse is quite different under many aspects, from gameplay to...
Age of Empires 2: The Age of Kings
Windows XP/98/951999protecteddemo Ensemble Studios
Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings is a landmark real-time strategy (RTS) game developed by Ensemble Studios and published by Microsoft. Released in 1999, it is the second installment in the Age of Empires series and remains one ...
Age of Wonders
Windows XP/98/951999protecteddemo Triumph Studios
Mix one part turn-based strategy, one part fantasy novel, add a dash of dragon, and you get Age of Wonders (1999). This is the game where wizards rule, elves sulk in forests, and you get to conquer the world with tactical brillian...
Yoot Tower
Windows XP/98/951999 OPeNBooK Co.
The spiritual sequel to SimTower, Yoot Tower asks the important question: what if you were god, but only over elevators, sushi bars, and the occasional alien invasion? It’s a sandbox of capitalism, letting you build the vert...
Dungeon Keeper 3: War for the Overworld
Windows 10/112000canceled Bullfrog
Dungeon Keeper 3 was a cancelled dungeon management strategy game being developed by Bullfrog that was never released. Dungeon Keeper 3 was cancelled in 2000 and the Dungeon Keeper franchise ended without a third chapter.
Zoo Tycoon
Windows XP/98/952001 Blue Fang Games
Ever dreamed of running your own zoo without needing a shovel for elephant poop? Zoo Tycoon lets you do exactly that. Build the ultimate animal empire - until the lions escape, the penguins riot, and your guests storm out because ...
Age of Wonders 2: The Wizard's Throne
Windows XP/98/952002protecteddemo Triumph Studios
Age of Wonders II: The Wizard's Throne is a turn-based strategy game developed by Triumph Studios and published by Gathering of Developers. It was released in 2002 as a sequel to the original Age of Wonders. The game is set in a f...
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