History Main / SpaceManagementGame

* ''VideoGame/CitiesInMotion'' and its sequels (including ''VideoGame/CitiesSkylines'').

* ''Videogame/{{Caesar}}'', the originator of the VideoGame/CityBuildingSeries and followed by three sequels. ''Caesar III'' is the trope codifier: the next three entries on the list were all directly inspired by it and played very similarly:
* ''VideoGame/{{Pharaoh}}'' and ''Cleopatra''
* ''VideoGame/{{Zeus}}'' and ''VideoGame/{{Poseidon}}''
* ''VideoGame/EmperorRiseOfTheMiddleKingdom''
* ''Videogame/ImmortalCitiesChildrenOfTheNile''
* ''VideoGame/TheSettlers'' (AKA Serf City) and its first three sequels. After that it becomes... different.

* In ''VideoGame/XCom'' (and its many sequels and derivatives) space is often at a premium during base construction, and the specific layout you use will likely influence how defensible a base will be if invaded. However the game as a whole is a [[/index]]TurnBasedTactics[[index]] game with very different gameplay from the others listed here, and base defense is (relatively) rare.

* ''VideoGame/{{Startopia}}'', a Space Management Game [[/index]]InSpace[[index]], mixes Service with Lair gameplay.
** [[/index]]Service: Your goal is to develop a recreational facility on a derelict space station, catering to a wide variety of alien life forms. These aliens show up, require certain facilities, and spend their heard-earned cash while you strive to keep them happy enough to spend it all.

* ''{{Stronghold}}'', while more of a [[/index]]RealTimeStrategy[[index]], fits both the Commodity and Lair categories. The MMO version, ''Videogame/StrongholdKingdoms'', also fits the niche.
* ''VideoGame/{{Tropico}}'', a [[/index]]BananaRepublic[[index]] simulator, is a mixture of Commodity and Services; foreign tourists arrive on the player's island and make use of dedicated facilities built to cater for their special needs. Also since the player has to periodically revalidate his power through elections or at least be able defend his regime against armed opposition or coups, the player has to service and care for his own citizens and/or military forces or they will turn against the government.

No, this isn't about [[EveOnline Business Simulators played in the cold dark vastness of the stars]] (though it can be sometimes). The idea behind a SpaceManagementGame is for the player to figure out how to make the most out of as little space as possible.

* ''VideoGame/TheSims'', believe it or not, is a SpaceManagementGame. Although it bears little resemblance to any of the other games listed here, it heavily involves construction and/or interior design of a limited living space (at least, during the early portion of the game). With tons of different objects available (and many of them very useful), it is virtually impossible to build a house containing everything - especially when your Sim starts out in some tiny apartment and has no chance of moving out anytime soon.

* ''VideoGame/{{Startopia}}'', a SpaceManagementGame [[/index]]InSpace[[index]], mixes Service with Lair gameplay.

* In Commodity Games you'll be constructing a city or other bustling living area from the ground up. However unlike in Mayor Games (above), the focus here is less about money and more about the production of material goods. The denizens who come to live in your city will need to extract raw materials from the surrounding area, deliver it to craftsmen, and eventually [[RefiningResources process it into consumption goods]] (required to keep the denizens alive) and into trade goods (to be sold for money). Expect having to conduct diplomacy with other cities, and possibly even raise an army to defend your city from them. The first game in this genre was probably {{Caesar}}, set in the Roman Empire, which launched a long series of sequels set in various periods throughout human history.

* ''{{Stronghold}}'', while more of a [[/index]]RealTimeStrategy[[index]], fits both the Commodity and Lair categories. The MMO version, ''StrongholdKingdoms'', also fits the niche.

* ''{{Stronghold}}'', while more of a [[/index]]RealTimeStrategy[[index]], fits both the Commodity and Lair categories.

* The 2013 edition of ''VideoGame/SimCity'' has slightly branched from the Mayor genre into the Commodity genre, with the introduction of resources that can be extracted from the ground, traded to other cities, and potentially processed into other, more-expensive resources. Furthermore, the interplay between cities in a region (which are often controlled by different players) also brings this a step closer to Commodity games - but not fully (still no warfare...).

* ''VideoGame/CitiesInMotion'' and its sequel.

"Space Management Games" is the collective name for a respectable number of {{Simulation Game}}s which all follow very similar core gameplay. They usually share the same premise: The player is the head of some organization or business, and receives a set amount of money (or points) with which to construct a facility. This can be a business place, a secret lair of evil, an amusement park, or even a city - depending on the genre of the specific game involved. The player is allotted a limited amount of space for construction of this facility, as well as access to the various "pieces" that must be placed down in order to make the facility work. These pieces (which are usually called "Rooms", "Buildings" or "Zones", depending on the scope of the game) are often oddly-shaped, and some must be placed in close proximity to specific other pieces in order for the facility to achieve peak efficiency. Deciding what to put where is the whole point of the game, and it is often necessary to make compromises in order to fit everything in.

* ''VideoGame/TheMovies'' can be described as this... without the customers.

* ''SpaceColony''

* ''TransportTycoon'' and its many counterparts can be described as a remote version of this. Space Management becomes a function of travel times vs. profit, which deals very much with the correct placement of stations, tracks and roads in what can occasionally be a very tight space.

* ''VideoGame/SimCity'' and its sequels.

* ''{{Pharaoh}}'' and ''Cleopatra''
* ''{{Zeus}}'' and ''{{Poseidon}}''

* ''TheSettlers'' (AKA Serf City) and its first three sequels. After that it becomes... different.

* ''SpaceColony''. Ditto.

* ''VideoGame/TheSims'', believe it or not, is a SpaceManagementGame. Although it bears little resemblance to any of the other games listed here, it heavily involves construction and/or interior design of a limited living space (at least, during the early portion of the game). With tons of different objects (many useful ones too) available, it is virtually impossible to build a house containing everything - especially when your Sim starts out in some tiny apartment and has no chance of moving out anytime soon.

* In ''VideoGame/XCom'' (and its many sequels and derivatives) space is often at a premium during base construction, and the specific layout you use will likely influence how defensible a base will be if invaded. However the game as a whole is a TurnBasedTactics game with very different gameplay from the others listed here, and base defense is (relatively) rare.

** Service: Currently most (all?) Fortresses are communist; booze and food are the only essential services, provided free by the state, so long as there are raws available. [[http://threepanelsoul.com/2009/07/21/on-mixed-economies/ Earlier implementation of capitalist economies]] have been aborted; though a revamp may make Service relevant again, it'll likely remain an option most players [[ScrappyMechanic won't choose]].[[index]]

* ''VideoGame/{{Startopia}}'', a SpaceManagementGame InSpace, mixes Service with Lair gameplay.

* ''{{Stronghold}}'', while more of a RealTimeStrategy, fits both the Commodity and Lair categories.
* ''VideoGame/{{Tropico}}'', a BananaRepublic simulator, is a mixture of Commodity and Services; foreign tourists arrive on the player's island and make use of dedicated facilities built to cater for their special needs. Also since the player has to periodically revalidate his power through elections or at least be able defend his regime against armed opposition or coups, the player has to service and care for his own citizens and/or military forces or they will turn against the government.

* ''VideoGame/TheSims'', believe it or not, is a SpaceManagementGame - though it bears little resemblance to any of the other games listed here, it heavily involves construction and/or interior design of a limited living space (at least, during the early portion of the game). With tons of different objects (many useful ones too) available, it is virtually impossible to build a house containing everything - especially when your Sim starts out in some tiny apartment and has no chance of moving out anytime soon.

* Beginning with VideoGame/SimCity, these games put you in the shoes of the mayor of a more-or-less realistic, modern city. You'll have to place down residential zones, provide employment in industrial and commercial areas, connect areas with roads and electricity, provide services like water and education, and generally make sure that the city is attractive to new immigrants. Money is the chief commodity, so it's important to stay in the black. The laid-back nature of city-building is usually supported by [[WideOpenSandbox open-ended gameplay]], although "scenario"-type missions are also sometimes included. There may or may not be any visible denizens at all - Mayor Games tend to treat them as a statistic rather than as individuals.

* Similar to Mayor Games, you'll be constructing a city or other bustling living area from the ground up. However here, the focus is the production of material goods. The denizens who come to live in your city will need to extract raw materials from the surrounding area, deliver it to craftsmen, and eventually [[RefiningResources process it into consumption goods]] (required to keep the denizens alive) and into trade goods (to be sold for money). Expect having to conduct diplomacy with other cities, and possibly even raise an army to defend your city from them. The first game in this genre was probably {{Caesar}}, set in the Roman Empire, which launched a long series of sequels set in various periods throughout human history.

* ''VideoGame/RimWorld'' is a mix of Mayor, Commodity, and Lair games. Your job is to help a group of survivors stranded on an undeveloped planet survive by building a makeshift colony to provide for basic needs such as food, shelter, clothing, and defense against hostile threats. It takes a great deal of mechanical inspiration from ''Dwarf Fortress'', listed above.

** [[/index]]Mayor: Carve or construct space to zone for residence or production, allocate traffic values for pathing between them, assign subsets of population to defined districts for work and living.

* ''VideoGame/{{Tropico}}'', a BananaRepublic simulator, is a mixture of Mayor, Commodity and Services; foreign tourists arrive on the player's island and make use of dedicated facilities built to cater for their special needs. Also since the player has to periodically revalidate his power through elections or at least be able defend his regime against armed opposition or coups, the player has to service and care for his own citizens and/or military forces or they will turn against the government.

* ''VideoGame/Banished'' is a rare game of this genre produced after 2010.

* ''Videogame/{{Caesar}}'', the originator of the CityBuildingSeries and followed by three sequels. ''Caesar III'' is the trope codifier: the next three entries on the list were all directly inspired by it and played very similarly: