Factorio ✅ Not demanding Factorio If you think Factorio sounds like a factory-building simulation you’d be right. And if all you’re doing is building factories you can bet they’re going to be big, require lots of resources, and attract lots of enemies.



Add in cross-platform cooperative multiplayer, modding support, and a map editor, and Factorio takes factory building to the next level. If you’re a fan of building big, complex systems that do cool things, Factorio is for you.

NA Metascore Not demanding No

This War of Mine ✅ Not demanding This War of Mine Perhaps the most unique game on this list, This War of Mine is a single-player survival game simulating war from the perspective of a group of civilians in a bombed out city.



By day you craft, take care of yourself and your group, and plan for the night, when you venture out to gather resources including food, fuel and weapons. With Overwhelmingly Positive reviews on Steam and low hardware requirements, This War of Mine suits many Mac gaming needs.

83 Metascore Not demanding No

Kingdoms and Castles Construction and Management Kingdoms and Castles Kingdoms and Castles, from Lion Shield, LLC, is as you might expect a city building sim set in Medieval times where you start by building your hamlet and graduate to building your castle.



Considered more of a “lite” city sim builder, with low-poly graphics and smallish maps, Kingdoms and Castles offers an alternative to the modern-era city builders.

72 Metascore Not demanding No

Surviving Mars ⚠️ Fairly Demanding Surviving Mars Along with Northgard above, Surviving Mars is one of the newest games on this list. It offers a unique, Mars-based twist on the city building sim.



Building a city on Mars offers unique challenges, like making sure your colonists have air to breath, and developer Haemimont Games has thrown in some mysteries inspired by classic science fiction depictions of Mars to keep things interesting and different every time you play.

76 Metascore Fairly Demanding No

0 A.D. ✅ Not demanding 0 A.D. This open-source, historical, real-time strategy game comes from Wildfire Games, a group of volunteer game developers from around the globe who are obviously big fans of Age of Empires 2.



In 0 A.D, you will begin development of your city, raise a mighty army, build an empire, and contend with rivals to take over the world. Those rivals can be on Windows, Linux, and Mac. And did we mention it’s free?

NA Metascore Not demanding Yes

Endless Legend ✅ Not demanding Endless Legend A fantasy entry in the 4x turned-based genre dominated by the Civilization series, Endless Legend comes from AMPLITUDE Studios, who brought us Endless Space and Dungeon of the Endless.



Working to survive and unravel the mystery of why your planet seems on a cycle of doom, you will build and lead a civilization using resources, skills, and magic. Cross-platform multiplayer rounds things out for those seeking a fantasy-based Civilization-like game.

82 Metascore Not demanding No

Dawn of War 3 ⚠️ Fairly Demanding Dawn of War 3 Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War 3 is an RTS set in the Warhammer universe.



Featuring big armies, huge heroes, and an increased focus on multiplayer (only cross-platform between MacOS and Linux), developer Relic has announced the end of DoW III support meaning no new content will be coming. However if you can find it on sale, it should be supported on your machine for years.

77 Metascore Fairly Demanding No

Hearts of Iron 4 ✅ Not demanding Hearts of Iron 4 The latest in the series of turned-based, WW2 grand strategy games, Hearts of Iron is considered the deepest, most authentic simulation of WW2 on a world scale.



Choose your nation and run it exactly as you wish, from making economic, diplomatic and political decisions to how, when and where you fight.

83 Metascore Not demanding No

StarCraft ✅ Not demanding StarCraft That’s right, the original also makes this list, because it’s just that good. And free.



Possibly the best RTS of all time, StarCraft has you gathering and building as one of three races in a story that connects them all. The Brood War expansion is also free, and there’s no reason you shouldn’t grab them and play them (again) now.

88 Metascore Not demanding Yes

Tooth and Tail ✅ Not demanding Tooth and Tail Another lighter RTS, in Tooth and Tail you play as one of four different weaponized animal factions battling over control of the food supply.



Tooth and Tail features short battles, pixel graphics, multiplayer, and system requirements that should appeal to owners of less powerful machines. While the single-player is hampered by some balance issues, the game is an affordable and different take on the genre.

80 Metascore Not demanding No

Offworld Trading Company ✅ Not demanding Offworld Trading Company Offworld Trading Company is a rare RTS that features no combat. That’s right, you’ll be collecting resources, but not to build armies.



Instead, you’ll be on Mars trying to build the next big company, play the stock market, and defeat your enemies in commerce, not on the battlefield. It also features a difficult AI and cross-platform multiplayer.

78 Metascore Not demanding No