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Squirrel's Pick Squirrel's PickThe best game on this page. If you only try one, try this.
City BuilderColony SimBase-Building
Strong Mods Strong ModsA deep, active modding scene extends it past its base content.
$24.99 ~64 hr median no co-op complexity: heavy 94.5% of 9k
The Squirrel's verdictBoth scale a settlement from small beginnings into an empire managing thousands, with Rimworld-level complexity in colony logistics, trade, and eventually armies. Songs of Syx has no co-op, so the multiplayer politics driving Ymir's vassal system are gone, replaced by a solo campaign against AI that reviewers call more approachable than Dwarf Fortress.
Not for you if the multiplayer cooperation and rivalry between real players was what kept you in Ymir, since this is single-player only.
2
City BuilderBase-BuildingColony Sim
$19.99 ~62.7 hr median co-op complexity: moderate 90.5% of 10k
The Squirrel's verdictBoth are city builders in the Sierra/Impressions lineage with cooperative multiplayer at the core. Kingdoms Reborn works solo, unlike Ymir, and runs at a normal pace instead of idle waiting. Trade/import routes can dominate a playthrough, and reviewers report repetitive mid-game loops across cultures.
Not for you if you want deep 4X politics among many players rather than a solo-friendly builder where trade routes can trivialize other resource systems.
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Closest Match Closest MatchThe most similar game to the anchor, by what players say. Budget Pick Budget PickThe best game here for the least money.
City BuilderMedievalPvP
$14.99 ~9.8 hr median co-op complexity: light 83.6% of 688
The Squirrel's verdictDice Kingdoms structures its co-op strategy around simultaneous turn-phases — everyone rolls for resources, builds, and attacks at once — rather than Ymir's real-time civilization sprawl and slow accrual. Matches average under ten hours, building systems are deliberately simple, and the dice-based resource model replaces long idle stretches. Some reviewers note the dev has gone quiet and replayability has thinned out.
Not for you if you want deep long-term civilization-building, real-time political scheming, or a game with active ongoing development.
4
Illyriad - Grand Strategy MMO
PC
Massively MultiplayerRPGCity Builder
Free ~40 hr median co-op complexity: moderate 69.2% of 208
The Squirrel's verdictBoth are persistent multiplayer civ-builders where cooperation with other players, not AI, drives the game, and idle waiting between actions is normal. Illyriad drops the real-time settlement management for browser-based resource ticks and premium currency that speeds production, trading Ymir's city-building density for established community politics and years-long persistence.
Not for you if you want exploration or combat to matter, since the map is fully revealed and most communities have settled into passive, pre-decided politics.
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Massively MultiplayerGrand StrategyEconomy
Monetized MonetizedHeads up: leans on microtransactions or free-to-play hooks.
$19.99 ~33.1 hr median co-op complexity: light 67% of 564
The Squirrel's verdictGrand-strategy and MMO design merge in Minds of Nations, where persistent-world servers pit nations against each other across timezones in a slow-burn political grind. It swaps Ymir's city-building and vassal systems for national policy and diplomacy, but reviewers report that policies function more as lore-flavored upgrades than mechanics with visible impact, and the game was previously free before moving to a $19.99 price point.
Not for you if you want policies that visibly affect gameplay, single-player options, or confidence that development is ongoing.
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City BuilderCraftingMedieval
$24.99 ~21.1 hr median no co-op complexity: moderate 66.3% of 419
The Squirrel's verdictBoth start you at hunter-gatherer roots and build toward a medieval settlement through slow accrual of population and resources. Empires and Tribes drops the multiplayer vassal politics entirely for solo play, putting your character directly in the city as a builder, but it has no co-op and ships at Mixed rating with reported crashes and bugs.
Not for you if you came to Ymir for the multiplayer cooperation and vassal politics rather than solo city-building, or crashes will break your patience.
7
Thrive: Heavy Lies The Crown
PC
RTSColony SimGrand Strategy
$27.99 ~9.5 hr median co-op complexity: moderate 59.2% of 448
The Squirrel's verdictBoth are slow-building civilization games where idle time waiting on resources and population is part of the deal, and both layer combat and politics onto city management. Unlike Ymir, Thrive is playable solo and has co-op rather than requiring a full multiplayer server community to function. Bugs and pacing complaints run through both fanbases.
Not for you if you want combat and expansion to feel snappy rather than slow, with units that reliably do what you tell them.
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Massively MultiplayerCity BuilderColony Sim
Monetized MonetizedHeads up: leans on microtransactions or free-to-play hooks.
Free ~43.2 hr median co-op complexity: light 45.9% of 462
The Squirrel's verdictFree-to-play with a cash shop that speeds up build timers, Romans: Age of Caesar runs on the same loop of waiting on resources and coordinating with other players in persistent servers. It trades Ymir's deep economic simulation and city-building complexity for simplified mechanics that reviewers consistently call mobile-style, and the pre-existing player alliances on active servers can lock newer players out of mid and late-game content.
Not for you if you want economic depth and simulation complexity rather than mobile-paced mechanics and a paid speed-up shop.