Four Easy Steps to Start a City

SimCity Classic was the game that started it all. Here you can play a classic online while chatting with other players about your experience. Getting started is easy, just follow the 4 easy steps below and you will have your city up and running in no time.

Step 1 -- Build a Power Plant

Every city needs a power plant. To build a power plant, click on the Coal Power Plant tool, then click on an empty area of the map. (Note: If the smoke from your power plant is not animating, the game is probably paused. Choose a game speed to start the smoke animating.)

Step 2 -- Add Zones Zones are areas that you designate for different kinds of buildings in your city. The people who will move into your city (Sims) need to live in Residential Zones, work in Industrial Zones, and shop in Commercial Zones. Place each zone type on the city map near the power plant.

Zones won't come to life until they are powered. Connect your zones to the power plant with Power Lines. Note: Power can pass through zones.

The Sims will need some way to get around in the city. Place some Roads along the sides of your zones. Now that the zones in your city have power and transportation, you should see your city slowly come to life. Congratulations! You've created your first city -- you may now call yourself "Mayor."

Keep an eye on the Demand Indicator (located at the upper-right corner of the map). It has a vertical gauge for each zone type: Green for Residential, Blue for Commercial, and Yellow for Industrial. If a gauge grows above the middle white line, there is demand for that type of zone. If a gauge drops below the white line, there is an oversupply of that type of zone. The Demand Indicator will help you decide which zones to add to your city.