SimCity BuildIt Beginner's Guide

Master the fundamentals of production, trading, and city building with this comprehensive guide for new mayors.

Getting Started with Production

Your city starts with basic factories in Green Valley. These factories produce essential materials like metal, wood, plastic, seeds, minerals, and chemicals. Each factory has a limited number of production slots, and managing these slots efficiently is key to success.

The Production Chain System

SimCity BuildIt uses a dependency-based production system. Many items require other items as materials. For example, creating a chair requires wood and nails. Nails themselves require metal. This creates production chains you need to plan carefully.

Factory Types and Regions

  • Green Valley (Level 1+): Basic materials and simple products
  • Limestone Cliffs (Level 15+): Building materials and construction supplies
  • Cactus Canyon (Level 20+): Textiles, furniture, and home goods
  • Sunny Isles (Level 30+): Beach and tropical items
  • Frosty Fjords (Level 40+): Winter sports and cold-weather items

Using the Production Calculator

The SimCity Manager Production Calculator is your most powerful tool for planning complex production runs. Enter your current inventory in the "Have" column, define your goals in the "Want" column, and the calculator automatically determines all materials required.

Trading and Making Simoleons

Your Trade Depot is where you sell items to other players. Items with complex production chains sell for more than basic materials. Regional items from Limestone Cliffs, Cactus Canyon, and other regions typically command premium prices.

City Growth and Population

Your city's population grows as you upgrade residential zones. Each upgrade requires specific items. Population growth requires services: power, water, sewage, waste management, fire, police, and health.

Common Mistakes New Players Make

  • Leveling Up Too Fast — Rushing to level up before building a solid production foundation
  • Ignoring Factory Queues — Leaving factory slots empty wastes production time
  • Selling Everything at Max Price — Items priced too high sit unsold, wasting Trade Depot slots
  • Neglecting Storage Upgrades — Storage space is one of the most important resources
  • Overbuilding Services Too Early — Placing too many service buildings when your city is small wastes Simoleons
  • Not Using a Production Calculator — Manual tracking leads to overproducing some materials and running short on others

When to Sell vs When to Hold Items

If an item takes less than 30 minutes to produce, sell it freely when storage is tight. If it takes more than an hour, think twice before selling unless you genuinely don't need it.

Feeder City Basics

A feeder city is a second SimCity BuildIt account that you create specifically to support your main city. Kept at level 8-12, it focuses entirely on production and selling items to your main city through the Global Trade HQ.

Next Steps