Controls and camera
The build menu contains Roads, Zones, Transit, Services, Leisure, Utilities and Terrain. Choose a category, then a tool. Tools with variants offer choices such as road type, zone density or building size. Locked tools explain their Arcade requirement.
Moving and inspecting
| Action | Control |
|---|---|
| Move the view | Drag the map with no build tool selected, or use W, A, S and D |
| Zoom | Mouse wheel; pinch with two fingers on a touch screen |
| Inspect | Click a building, road or park with no build tool selected |
| Cancel a build gesture or deselect a tool | Right-click |
| Rotate a civic building's placement footprint | R while the building tool is selected |
| Show or hide zoning | H |
| Show the pedestrian network | J |
| Toggle x-ray selection in 3D | T |
Clicking with a tool selected builds or paints instead of inspecting. Deselect it before dragging the map or selecting a building. Read the placement preview and status text before releasing a drag; an invalid placement explains what is missing.
R rotates civic placement footprints, including the underground platform orientation of a metro station. It does not rotate the camera or a building that has already been placed. Some selection aids apply to the 3D view: x-ray temporarily hides buildings in front of the cursor so you can select one behind them.
Building and painting
Drag to lay roads, paint zones or parks, and use terrain tools. Click to place civic buildings. The preview shows the footprint and price.
The Bulldoze tool removes editable city works or clears zoning. Private property requires a buyback. See Development and construction before removing an occupied block.
When metro track or stations exist, Underground reveals the metro beneath the city. The tunnel tool works underground; with the cutaway open, inspection and the bulldozer can target underground track too. Surface-building tools still place on the surface.
Calendar controls
Use Pause, 1x, 2x and 4x at the top of the screen. Pause the calendar to inspect or plan; construction resumes when you start it again.
New cities start paused. A save briefly holds the calendar while it is written, and the interface shows Saving. If the simulation cannot sustain a selected speed, the game reports that it is running more slowly.
Reports and inspection
Select a building to inspect its occupants, jobs, finances or service status. Select a road to inspect traffic and condition; select a park to inspect the whole connected park.
Citywide reports cover Economy, Society, Services and Utilities. Use Map layers and reports to find where an issue is happening, then inspect affected buildings for the cause.
Graphics and sound
The start screen and in-game Options provide settings. The Graphics tab controls visual mode, the graphics engine, detail, shadows, effects, city life and frame rate. Some changes require a restart; use the save-and-restart control when offered.
3D uses WebGPU by default. If it fails to start, the game offers WebGL 2. If 3D cannot run on the device, choose 2D from the main menu. Both views use the same simulation. See System requirements.
The Sound tab provides Master, Music, Effects and Ambience levels and mute controls. The game options also include autosave frequency and welcome-screen/tutorial preferences.