8 Best Kingdom Building Games, Ranked

Key Takeaways

• Many gaming genres have kingdom-building features, from survival games like Terraria to RPGs like Fallout 4.
• Mount & Blade blends strategy with first-person action, while Dwarf Fortress offers unparalleled building freedom.
• Players must balance exploration and settlement management in games like Fallout 4 and Terraria.

Renowned for their usually slower pace and tactical-mindedness, kingdom-building games see players undertake the role of a leader, whether as a protector of NPCs, a ruler, or a god. For players, their goal is to keep their kingdom alive. Whether defending their settlements personally or providing them with the means to protect themselves, players can rest assured that they will be rewarded for their efforts with power, wealth, and respect.

While the term kingdom builder is often associated with grand strategy games like Crusader Kings, it spans many genres and forms, from first-person builders like Colony Survival to dynasty builders like The Guild 2.

5 Colony Survival

First-Person Kingdom Building

Colony Survival is a first-person strategy game set within a medieval world. Players lead their colonists, building sprawling cities to protect them from nightly monster hordes. Cities are costly to make, however, and players must keep their colonists fed and healthy to ensure the survival of their kingdom.

Colony Survival’s base building gives players a tremendous amount of creativity and customization options when it comes to building their settlements. No two settlements are ever the same, from tiny outposts to sprawling fortresses. This game also pressures players to build and bolster their defenses as monster hordes become increasingly more powerful. The gameplay loop does, however, become repetitive as players find themselves cycling through a handful of actions for hours on end.

4 The Guild 2

Destroy The Competition

The Guild 2 is a life simulation strategy game. Players play as the impoverished founder of a new dynasty in a medieval world. Become a wealthy trader, holy healer, or sticky-fingered rogue; the choice is in players’ hands, so long as they can out-compete rival dynasties. No one said the game had to be fair. Political intrigue and violence are just as viable a means to eliminate threats as financial prowess.

The Guild 2 is a fantastically multifaceted game. Whether making powerful thugs, financially lucrative businesses, or accruing political power, there are endless ways for players to win. As a multi-generational game, players must also balance improving their current characters with that of their children. Dynasties will quickly crumble under sub-par successors.

3 Mount & Blade Series

A Strategy-Action Hybrid

The Mount & Blade series is a strategy-action RPG hybrid. Players must learn to survive in a brutal medieval world where brigands and overzealous nobles lurk around every corner. Players can recruit armies, wage wars, and conquer cities to claim the continent as their own.

This series is a unique gaming experience that expertly blends strategy with action-filled first-person combat. Poor choices on the strategic map will make combat very difficult, while a bad battle will limit players’ options on the strategic map. These games also evolve organically as players grow in wealth and renown, from a single army and personal battles to commanding a nation and managing castles.

2 Dwarf Fortress

Building Safety In A Hostile World

Dwarf Fortress is a survival sandbox city builder. Build a fortress to protect settlers against the horrors of this medieval fantasy world. Players must learn how to keep their settlers happy and healthy while gathering resources to increase their fortress’ strength and wealth.

Dwarf Fortress gives players unprecedented levels of freedom with their fortress building. Complex and varied building mechanics allow players to build anything they can dream of. From decadent throne rooms to deadly lava traps, creativity is the only limit in this game. Players are also allowed to choose where in the world they want to build their fortress, giving access to an array of unique biomes, monsters, and factions.

1 Crusader Kings Series

Manage An Empire

The Crusader Kings Series is a grand strategy game with dynasty simulation. Players are the rulers of a nation in a historical medieval world. Raise armies, conquer the land, and launch political schemes; players can pursue power and wealth by any means necessary.

This game is a kingdom builder in the literal sense, with players building their nations up from rags to riches. Players must not only build their kingdom and rulers’ strength but also that of their heirs, as a nation will not long outlive its ruler with an unsuitable heir. Random events also add chaos and tension to the game, as players can never predict how their conquests and political schemes will unfold.