If you’ve played Tribez (or, to give it its full title, The Tribez: Build A Village) then you’ll know just how addictive it can be. This little idle city-builder sucks you in with incredibly simple yet compelling gameplay mechanics, leading to that “just one more minute” mentality prized by so many developers. Of course, there’s always a chance that you’re done with playing Tribez and you’re looking for something similar to fill the gap. We’re here to help. Here are the best games like Tribez to check out on your mobile (or potentially on other devices!) in 2022.
The Simpsons: Tapped Out
There are going to be a lot of licensed property-style games on this list; after all, this genre lends itself perfectly to building cities and towns you already know and love. The Simpsons: Tapped Out is no exception, allowing you to reconstruct Springfield however you like. You’ll get to meet lots of characters from the show, all of whom come prepared with catchphrases and fun dialogue written by the show’s writers. The game also features plenty of ambient events to keep things interesting, so if you’re a Simpsons fan, give this one a look.
Disney Magic Kingdoms
Much like The Simpsons: Tapped Out, Disney Magic Kingdoms tasks you with building your own take on Disneyland. You can place rides and buildings pretty much anywhere you like, and you’ll have to take on quests from various different Disney characters if you want to gain more resources for your kingdom. New characters and quests are added on a regular basis, and you’ll find plenty of Disney franchises on display. The graphics are characteristically colourful and fun, too. Disney Magic Kingdoms does suffer from some of the same gameplay choke points as its compatriots, but it’s worth a play.
Ice Age Village
Do you love the Ice Age movies? Then this game is definitely for you. It features characters from the series like Scrat, Manny, and Diego, as well as the same beautifully animated visuals you’ve come to expect from the Ice Age movies. You must build a habitat across icy tundras in order to create a home for the animals that flock to your village. There are plenty of minigames on offer here, too, and you can even visit your friends to see what they’re doing with their towns. All in all, this is a nice little time-sink and a great way to pass a few hours with your phone.
Family Guy: The Quest for Stuff
Although it’s fair to say that there’s a significant contingent of people who believe Family Guy has lost its way as a show, happily, that’s not the case with the smartphone game. Family Guy: The Quest for Stuff is an accomplished town-building game shot through with the irreverent humour and iconic characters you know and love from Family Guy. After a fight with the Giant Chicken ruins everything in Quahog, you must help Peter Griffin to put everything back together again. Along the way, you’ll meet Family Guy stalwarts and help them with their personal quests.
Smurfs’ Village
Like other city-builders on mobile platforms, Smurfs’ Village takes place after a catastrophe has decimated the titular town where the little blue folks live. It’s your job to help the Smurfs rebuild however you see fit. Again, the game is populated with plenty of iconic Smurfs characters, and you’ll have to complete quests for them in order to rebuild their town and save the day. The visuals are lovely, full of the same charm that the original cartoon had, and while this one doesn’t have the sharp dialogue of The Quest for Stuff, it’s certainly a fun time-killer nonetheless.
SimCity BuildIt
Just like Family Guy, SimCity is a property that many say has lost its way in recent years. It may be true that the 2013 iteration of SimCity isn’t a particularly enjoyable game, but the mobile title BuildIt picks up some of the slack. It marries the kind of idle city-building gameplay espoused by other titles on this list with a more management-focused approach to gameplay, so you’ll have control over many of the same things you need to take care of in SimCity, including designing your city, allocating different regions, and more. Play this one if you love city management games but want something a little less intense.
Little Empire
Here’s a city-building idle mobile game with a difference. Little Empire has more of a focus on combat elements and battling other players; you’ll build and maintain a city, yes, but you must also sally forth and attack other player teams in order to establish dominance. As such, this is a hybrid game with more of an emphasis on conflict, so if you want to play a pure management game, you won’t find it here. However, if you don’t like the slow, sedentary pace of many games in this genre, then you should definitely take a look at Little Empire.
World at Arms
Given the current state of geopolitics, this may not be one you feel comfortable playing, but it’s sufficiently divorced from reality not to be too harrowing. World at Arms tasks you with bringing down a military superpower and asks you to build and maintain a base in order to do so. You must also attack enemy bases across a variety of different biomes; World at Arms is proud of being the only game of its kind that accommodates deep-sea battling. Give this one a try if you want something more militaristic and serious when you’re gaming on your smartphone or tablet.
