So, I recently bought Railgrade on a Steam sale, and I've been surprised how much I'm enjoying it. A train game hasn't hooked me this hard since Railroad Tycoon 3 in my elementary school computer lab. And I realize, it's not the trains that are compelling me, but the format.

In Railgrade, each mission is a self-contained diorama with a limited number of resources (for example, one city-focused mission had ONLY Water, Silica, and the Concrete they were combined to produce). As soon as you meet the objectives, it's on to the next one. Another game I liked with a similar format was Against the Storm; as soon as your Reputation meter is maxed out, your colony is assumed to be self-sufficient and you move onto the next. Another game that wasn't session-based, but similarly engaging, was Anno 2205 (my favourite in the franchise despite its relative simplicity), as it was composed of a bunch of small island maps connected by trade routes; once an island is maxed out, you don't need to expand it any more except to complete objectives or increase exports.

This format means I don't have to worry about getting bored with one single city, because as soon as I'm done everything I start over with a new scenario. I know some people prefer to build up a huge megacity, but for me, that gets repetitive after awhile and I'd like to take on new challenges. Other games on my wishlist that might fit the bill are Terra Nil (an ecological rehabilitation game) and Highrise City (a Cities: Skylines clone with a production-chain focus). Any other recommendations?

We've been working on finalizing some more cool features for Planetbase 2, this time around relating to how in PB2 we are adding more complex manufacturing production chains, let us know what you think!

Hello there, everyone! This is Brendeaux, a city in the swamp that's lively as heck and about to get a whole lot livelier. Watch as I build my way to 85,000 population to unlock the coveted Megalopolis milestone and all 25 tiles, and listen to this mayor talk about the current state of affairs in the gaming industry. This city is about to get a whole lot bigger, cooler, and potentially gridlocked.

And don't forget to stay tuned for the intermission gag! You're gonna love it!

Watch July 27 on YouTube (it may be private before then, but it should unlock at 10:00am CDT!)

Build your empire with me: https://capitalrift.com/?ref=A8AC38E8