# Pocket City *Game* · `pocket-city` · status: **sourced** A premium mobile city builder in which the mayor zones residential, commercial, and industrial land along roads that also carry power and water, and earns experience levels that unlock buildings. | field | value | |---|---| | year | 2018 | | developer | Codebrew Games | | platforms | Mobile, PC | | subgenre | City builder | | sim domain | Urban, Economic | | player role | Planner / mayor | | agency model | Zoning / placement, Policy / parameter | | time model | Real-time | | sim scale | City | | fidelity | Stylized | | perspective | Isometric | | win structure | Open sandbox | | failure model | Soft / recoverable | | narrative mode | Hybrid | | multiplayer | Single-player | | modding | None | | production tier | Indie | | agent count order | Aggregate only | | emergence | 2 | | influence | 1 | | cluster *(computed)* | C07 | | core count *(computed)* | 3 | | mechanic count *(computed)* | 12 | ## Summary A premium mobile city builder in which the mayor zones residential, commercial, and industrial land along roads that also carry power and water, and earns experience levels that unlock buildings. ## Core Loop zone residential, commercial, and industrial land beside roads -> place power plants and water towers on the road network -> zones develop as demand allows -> taxes fund services and land -> respond to crime, fires, disasters, and quests for experience -> level up to unlock buildings ## Design Notes Pocket City cuts the SimCity utility layer down to the road graph: power plants and water towers sit on roads, and any building within two tiles of a road receives power, water, and access, so there are no power lines, pipes, or terrain elevation to manage. A gauge reports which zone type citizens demand. Progression runs on experience rather than population: construction, responding to crime, fires, and disasters, completing quests from residents and an advisor, and hosting events such as block parties, firework shows, and rocket launches add experience, and each city level unlocks buildings or pays out cash. The map grows by buying extra plots from a landlord whose price rises with each purchase (proposed as land-expansion). Difficulty settings change starting cash and whether the city depends on bank loans, and a sandbox mode removes costs, quests, and levels. It was sold as a premium game with no timers or in-app purchases. ## Sources - src-destructoid-2018-pocket-city-review - src-imore-2018-pocket-city-review - src-toucharcade-2018-pocket-city-review - src-indiehive-2019-pocket-city - src-apple-2026-pocket-city-ios - src-apple-2026-pocket-city-mac ## Relations **uses** - [Zoning](../mechanic/zoning.md) (core): The player paints residential, commercial, and industrial zones tile by tile or by dragging, and lots develop only when they are within reach of a road with power and water. - [Road networks](../mechanic/road-network.md) (core): Roads are the only utility network; a building within two tiles of a road gets power, water, and access, so the player lays more road than traffic alone would need. - [Milestone unlocks](../mechanic/milestone-unlocks.md) (core): Experience from building, quests, hosted events, and handling crime, fires, and disasters raises the city level, and levels unlock building types and grant money. - [RCI demand](../mechanic/rci-demand.md) (supporting): A gauge at the top of the screen shows whether citizens want more residential, commercial, or industrial zoning. - [Power grid](../mechanic/power-grid.md) (supporting): Power plants placed on a road supply the buildings served by the road network instead of a separate grid of power lines. - [Taxation](../mechanic/taxation.md) (supporting): Raising taxes increases revenue at the cost of residents leaving, and lowering them attracts residents. - [Treasury and budget](../mechanic/budget-treasury.md) (supporting): City funds pay for construction, services, and land; difficulty sets how much cash the city starts with and how expensive building is. - [Loans and debt](../mechanic/loans-debt.md) (supporting): On Expert difficulty the city must take bank loans to keep building. - [Service coverage](../mechanic/service-coverage.md) (supporting): Safety buildings (police, fire department, hospital) and recreation unlock with level as the city grows. - [Crime and policing](../mechanic/crime-policing.md) (supporting): Crime rises as the city grows; police stations unlock with level, and stopping crime earns experience. - [Random disasters](../mechanic/random-disasters.md) (supporting): Disasters such as tornadoes strike at random or when the player triggers them, can be switched off, and damaged buildings are repaired with a paid rebuild button. - [Building placement](../mechanic/free-placement.md) (supporting): Service buildings, parks, and landmarks are placed on the tile grid next to roads; some rectangular buildings cannot be rotated. ## Claims - Pocket City was released on 2018-07-31 for Android and iOS by Codebrew Games. *(confidence: high)* [[45](../source/src-destructoid-2018-pocket-city-review.md)] Quote: "Released: July 31, 2018" (review information box) - Power and water reach buildings through roads; the game has no power lines, water pipes, or elevation editing. *(confidence: medium)* [[45](../source/src-destructoid-2018-pocket-city-review.md)] Quote: "There is no elevation manipulation, no powerlines to worry about, no pipes for water and sewer." (review body) - A gauge on screen tells the player which zone type citizens are demanding. *(confidence: medium)* [[46](../source/src-imore-2018-pocket-city-review.md)] Quote: "A small gauge at the top notifies you of what the citizens are demanding more of" (Gameplay) - City levels pay out money or unlock buildings. *(confidence: medium)* [[47](../source/src-indiehive-2019-pocket-city.md)] Quote: "level up and gain monetary rewards or unlock buildings" (review body, experience section) - Extra areas of the map are bought with in-game currency and become expensive. *(confidence: medium)* [[48](../source/src-toucharcade-2018-pocket-city-review.md)] Quote: "with additional areas of the map purchase-able via the in-game currency things can start to get expensive, fast." (review body) - A macOS edition is sold on the Mac App Store. *(confidence: high)* [[49](../source/src-apple-2026-pocket-city-mac.md)] Quote: "The hit city-building game for iOS is now available for MacOS." (app description) - The iOS listing describes zoning residential, commercial, and industrial land. *(confidence: high)* [[50](../source/src-apple-2026-pocket-city-ios.md)] Quote: "Create residential, commercial, and industrial zones." (app description) ## Sources - [Review: Pocket City](../source/src-destructoid-2018-pocket-city-review.md) - [Pocket City review: Build and manage your dream city](../source/src-imore-2018-pocket-city-review.md) - ['Pocket City' Review – Building Greatness One Zone At A Time](../source/src-toucharcade-2018-pocket-city-review.md) - [Pocket City – Premium City Building for Mobile](../source/src-indiehive-2019-pocket-city.md) - [Pocket City](../source/src-apple-2026-pocket-city-ios.md) - [Pocket City (Mac)](../source/src-apple-2026-pocket-city-mac.md) --- Provenance: created in run `2026-10-25-catalog-game-pilot`.