Construction and management simulation

[6] These games are based in a setting where an economy can be built and managed, usually some kind of community, institution, or empire.

[1] These games emphasize growth, and the player must successfully manage their economy in order to construct larger creations and gain further creative power.

[6] Unlike other genres, construction and management simulations seldom offer a progression in storyline, and the level design is a simple space where the player can build.

[6] In contrast to genres such as action games, CMS players are given computer-like controls such as pull-down menus and buttons.

[6] The game world often contains units and people who respond to the players' actions, but are seldom given direct orders.

Utopia was released in 1982 for the Intellivision, and is credited as the game that spawned the construction and management simulation genre.

[8] Utopia put players in charge of an island, allowing them to control its entire military and economy.

It combines number crunching, Japanese history, and grand strategy simulation, including elements such as raising taxes and giving rice to prefectures.

That same year, Capcom released a simulation game of their own, Destiny of an Emperor, also based on Chinese history.

[10] Utopia had a notable influence on SimCity in 1989,[9] which is considered the first highly successful construction and management simulation.

[12] SimCity has spawned numerous successful sequels and spinoffs,[13] and is credited with inventing the city-building subgenre.

They may also feature combat against hostile entities of the remote environment, typically not a feature of other subgenres, and often require the player to consider fortifications, so this genre may be named "base building games" The colony management genre has fewer titles compared to the other subgenres due to the niche market.

Some business games typically involve more management than construction, allowing the player to invest in virtual stock markets or similar trade systems.

The closest example of a 'pure' economic simulation may be Capitalism, the goal of which is to build an industrial and financial empire.

Such business simulations include Theme Hospital, Sim Tower, and Game Dev Story.

Factory simulation or optimization games typically involve the efficient conversion of resources into products through a combination of a labor workforce and automated systems.

[23] Other factory simulators are based on open-world survival games, with the goal to build enough parts from raw materials found in the world while fending off hostiles to be able to escape or achieve a very large-scale production target, such as in Factorio, Satisfactory, and Dyson Sphere Program.

Early examples from the Cold War era include Balance of Power, Crisis in the Kremlin, Conflict: Middle East Political Simulator.