Anno 1800 was released almost 6 years ago and it’s currently 90% on sale on Steam for only $5,99. If you’re someone who loves playing strategy, city builder, and economy simulation genre, this game should be on your cart check out right away.

Unlike the typical city-builder game and simulation, Anno 1800 offers a more in-depth storyline, production, quests and mechanics which will keep you hooked for eternity. Even more so when you fancy classical graphic focuses on old styled cities, Anno 1800 has a lot going for you.

However, one thing that I have to warn everyone is that this game is developed by Ubisoft. The reason I am warning everyone is that if we purchase the game on STEAM, you will have to download an extra Ubisoft launcher called “Ubisoft connect”. You will be forced to create an account just to play the game. IF you forget the password to it, you will be temporarily blocked to play the game.

This isn’t my first game in this genre but the games I have mostly involve a futuristic look to it. I don’t necessarily like futuristic scenes and prefer something classic and old-styled. This is why when Anno 1800 was on sale, I didn’t even think twice, I just bought it and was really happy, except when I had to deal with Ubisoft.

The premise of the game is quite simple, being prosperous and leading an island to be the pioneer of the industrialization era in the 18th century. It is set in England with the premise that the queen is the ruler and there is an advisor to the throne who will be dealing with.

Like many other city-builder simulation games, there is a background story. The background story especially in the campaign is that we are free roamers who live on a boat roaming around island to island. One day we receive a scribble letter from our sister saying our father recently passed and was accused of treason. Then, our sister with some of her money left purchased an island away from the life they used to live under the “Goode and Sons” company. Our uncle became the sole proprietor of the previous islands and our family owed him a significant sum especially after the funeral. So, our mission is to repay the debt as it is officially registered by our uncle. Then, another mission is to find out the actual killer of our father.

We’ll start on a mid-size island called Ditchwater. There’s only one storage dock and in campaign easy mode we’ll be given $75,000 as the starting amount. We can use the money to build houses, hut, lumber jack and market.

In this game, we have to be careful about the vast expansion and also the city layout as roads cost money. At the same time, we should check out the bar that’s located on top to see if we have enough workers and money to take care of our citizens but to also repay the debt to the uncle.

Once we covered some of the basics, there are some ways to generate more income to take care of the citizens on the island. Especially later in the game we will have the ability to build ships which could generate faster money than if we were just trading simple goods.

You can also upgrade houses as the city becomes more prosperous. With people more civilized as you establish schools, churches and fire stations, the people will have more needs.

There will be a tier system in the game as the population grows as well. You’ll be starting out as farmers, then workers, then artisans, then engineers and eventually investors. Each tier will unlock different needs and different new buildings that support such lifestyles. You can see each of them on the bar and if you need extra workers which can be done by upgrading the houses around the area.

Unlike other sim city-building, in this game you can also trade with ships. The ships are not only able to carry cargo but also passengers who will generate income to your city as you expand the island. There are trading routes and also trade agreements that you have to establish with other AI or competitors.

I am currently playing with Intel Iris XE Core i5 11th gen. It works just fine and make sure that you have extra storage. I have baldur's gate and it takes a huge space on my laptop as I haven't add any additional storage. But know that if you have peasant laptop like mine, it works just fine.

When I first started out, I was trying all the options and ended up with a hideous looking layout. In this game the zone is free as in you can choose which is the housing zone, farming zone etc. So, the layout depends on your own aesthetic and the way you want them to be.

After 3 hours deep into the game, I finally understand the best way to layout the city so that once it progresses, it doesn’t become too complicated to expand and I would have more room to expand the house if I need it.

Below is a simple example on how you can build the houses. It’s not really my best as I was re-playing some of my first game and tried to fix what went wrong with it. So, it all looks like this as warehouses need to be directly connected to the harbor.

What makes this game a complete challenge is that we have to be extremely careful with our spending and not to over-expand too quickly. The population also costs money and they can really break our bank pretty fast. You will be proclaimed defeated in campaign mode early in the game with Financial Collapse which basically means your treasury is in the negative. In my experience, -5000 is already getting me into defeat.

There will be pirates and other AI in the game that you have to also outpace but also develop diplomacy and alliance. This adds more intricate to the game as sometimes they are not always in your best interest. There are also pirates that can also attack your ships and it’s why, it’s not just about the overall economy on the main island but also how you conduct the character in the game and how you strategically win this game.

Now, the graphics of the game might look pretty outdated but to find a city-building game especially with a classic look that does one person view is great. This is one of the features that makes me feel happy with my purchase as it is more interactive and we can walk around, seeing the surrounding nature and experience as if we’re there in the game. The best part is definitely around the shore with its pristine water and sandy beach.

I know 2025 is still early to say if this was my best buy but definitely it is. I have spent quite a few hours on this game and trying to progress more and understand the complex mechanics of ship trading. This game is also multiplayers, so if your friends are also into this kind of game, it’s pretty good to try.