Tips · City Empire

City Empire: 12 tips to grow from village to megacity

The game itself is in French, so in-game labels are given in French with a translation. In City Empire you start with €100,000, a town hall and three houses. Your city grows in stages, from a small village (0 residents) to a futuristic megacity (100,000 residents). Here is how to get there without going bankrupt.

City Empire

Play now

1. The basics: roads, zones and demand

A building that does not touch a road does not work. Lay a simple grid of roads around your town hall first, then place buildings along the roads.

• Residential (R), Commercial (C) and Industrial (I) zones fill up on their own as residents and private businesses move in.
• Watch the R, C and I bars on the left: the tallest one tells you what your city needs right now.
• Keep industry a little away from homes: pollution lowers happiness and land value.

2. Power and water first

Without power or water, buildings show an exclamation mark and stop earning. Early on, a generator and a water tower are enough. Later, move on to wind turbines, a solar farm and a power plant.

• The pumping station gives far more water, but it must touch a lake, a river or the sea.
• The water treatment plant reduces pollution and raises your water output by 15%.

3. Keep your budget out of the red

Every building has an upkeep cost per minute. Open the Finances tab to see your detailed income and expenses. If you are losing money, build shops and businesses before new public services.

• The companies you create yourself (Entreprises tab) earn a lot and can grow from local to international.
• The Bank unlocks large loans: handy for a big project, but plan for the repayments.

4. Services keep residents happy

Schools, clinics, police stations and fire stations each cover a radius around them. Use the map view menu to spot poorly covered areas (health, education, safety, fire) and place your services where they are needed.

5. Missions, research and rare buildings

• Missions give rewards to claim: check the Missions tab whenever a number appears.
• IT companies and the university produce research points. Start with solar power and wind turbines, then traffic management and fibre optics (+20% business income).
• Some rare buildings unlock through missions: the Royal Casino with “1 million euros”, the Botanical Garden with “90% happiness” and the Glass Skyscraper with “business district”.

6. Districts and their policies

In the Quartiers (districts) tab you can give each part of your city a policy: quiet, green, business, industrial, tourist or luxury. Each has a bonus and a cost. A business district around your offices and a green district near industry is a good start.

7. Time and camera

• Pause with the Space bar to think, and speed up to x2 or x4 when your city runs smoothly.
• Rotate the camera with Q and E, and click the mini-map to move around quickly.