Play Micropolis online — free, instant Runs natively — no emulator
Micropolis is the city simulator Maxis first released in 1989 and Electronic Arts open-sourced in 2008. Zone land, lay roads and power lines, set the tax rate, and watch a city grow — or fail. Playable right now: no download, no sign-up, nothing to install, and no original game files needed.
There is no emulator here. This is micropolisJS, a hand-written JavaScript port of the open-source release, so it loads like any other web page and runs on a phone.
Controls — what does what
| Action | How |
|---|---|
| Start | Pick a generated map with Play this map, or Generate another until you like one. Then name the city and choose a difficulty. |
| Build | Click a tool in the Tools panel, then click the map. Cost is shown on each tool. |
| Scroll the map | Drag the map, or use the arrow keys. |
| Demolish | Bulldozer, then click what you want gone. |
| Inspect a tile | Query, then click any tile to see what it is and how it's doing. |
| Money & taxes | Budget — set the tax rate and how much goes to roads, police and fire. |
| Save / pause | Save and Pause in the left-hand panel. |
What it is
This is the original city-building simulation, the one that defined the genre: a grid, three kinds of zone, and a simulation underneath that decides whether anyone actually wants to live there. Demand rises and falls, traffic clogs, power fails, and the city either grows into a metropolis or stalls at a few thousand people while you work out why.
The version here is the source Electronic Arts released under the GPL in 2008, so that the game could ship on the One Laptop Per Child machine. That release is called Micropolis — the game's original working title — because EA kept the SimCity trademark. It is the same simulation, legally free, and it is what runs on this page.
Getting a city off the ground
- Power first. A zone with no power never develops. Build a coal plant early and run wire to your zones — power jumps across a one-tile gap, but not further.
- Roads are demand. Zones need road access to grow. A zone touching no road stays an empty lot forever.
- Watch the R/C/I bars. The little graph shows what the city is short of. Zone for whichever bar is highest instead of guessing.
- Keep industry downwind and apart. Pollution drags land value down, and low land value keeps residents away.
- Don't over-tax early. 7% is a reasonable start. Push it much higher and growth stops before the income matters.
- Save before you experiment. Disasters are optional, but bad zoning is its own disaster and there's no undo.
Frequently asked questions
Is this SimCity?
It is the same code, under its original name. Maxis shipped this simulator as SimCity in 1989; EA released the source under the GPL in 2008 for the One Laptop Per Child project, under the name Micropolis, because EA kept the SimCity trademark. So this is that open-source release — not a copy of any commercial version, and not affiliated with Electronic Arts. Details in our provenance notice.
Do I need any original game files?
No. Everything needed is open source and already here — the simulation, the graphics, all of it. Nothing to buy and nothing to upload.
Is this an emulator?
No. Unlike the DOS and Windows titles on this site, there's no emulator involved: micropolisJS is a hand-written JavaScript port, so it runs as a normal web page. That's why it starts instantly and works on a phone.
How do I actually play?
Zone land for residential, commercial and industrial use, connect it with roads and power, and keep the budget in the black. Zones only develop if they have power and access, so a road and a wire to every zone is the first thing to get right.
Can I save my city?
Yes — use the game's own Save button, and Load game on the welcome screen. Saves are kept in this browser on this device, so they don't follow you to another machine.
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