Difficulty and Easy mode
From The City Wiki · Reference page · 3 entries · game data version 1.10.11
Difficulty and Easy mode: The standard rules, and what Easy mode changes.
The City plays by its standard rules unless you turn on Easy mode. Under the standard rules a city has to be run well to stay happy: a big city with no fire station, hospital or police station nearby is a miserable place to live, illness spreads from person to person, and running out of money has consequences. Easy mode keeps things gentler.
Turning on Easy mode
Open Settings, go to the Gameplay tab and find Easy mode under Difficulty. It is off when you first play. It is a game setting rather than part of a save, so it applies to every city you load, and you can switch it whenever you like.
Sandbox mode, on the same tab, has its own rules: everyone is happy, nothing burns and nobody dies, whichever difficulty you pick.
What changes
| Standard rules | Easy mode | |
|---|---|---|
| Buildings the city builds | 10% cheaper than the list price | The list price |
| No fire station, hospital or police station in reach | A few points at first, then much worse as the city grows (see Happiness) | -3, -4 and -4 points |
| Illness | Catching: people pass it to each other, more in winter and in poor streets | Not catching. A small chance each day |
| Fires | Engines stay at the fire about an hour after it is out. Fewer people die | Engines leave soon after. More deaths |
| Break-ins | Mostly down to police staffing, street lights, poverty and unemployment | Mostly down to dark streets and cheap land |
| New residents | A few households at a time. Happier cities get more | Bigger groups whenever homes are free |
| Medium and high density | From 2,000 and 20,000 residents | From 1,000 and 1,500 residents |
| Very high taxes | Down to -30 points (-13 at 150%) | Down to -16 points (-8 at 150%) |
| High business taxes | Fewer new jobs, and residents complain about prices | No effect on mood |
| Borrowing | Up to 4 months of income, dearer the more you owe | Up to 6 months of income |
| Staying in debt | Services cut after 7 days, the state takes over after 60 | No penalty beyond missed loan payments |
Every page on this wiki gives the standard numbers first. Building prices on the reference pages are the standard prices, with the Easy mode price under them. For the details see Growth and move-ins, Health and illness, Fires, Crime and police and Money and the budget.
See also
- Money and the budget – Taxes, charges, loans and debt, and where the money goes.
- Growth and move-ins – How people move in, what keeps them away, and when denser buildings arrive.
- All reference categories
- How the City Works
The reference pages are made from the game's own data, version 1.10.11. Numbers can change between versions.