Goal. Grow New York from 1918 to 1981 (and beyond) — maximize population while keeping residents happy. Your Metro Score rewards both.
Zoning. Paint Residential, Commercial, and Industrial zones on streets. Zoned lots develop on their own when demand, transit access, and land value support it — watch the R/C/I demand bars.
Power. Build at least one Power Plant before zones can grow past their first stage.
Transit. Streets, trolleys, and els are available from 1918; motor buses arrive in the mid-1920s; expressways unlock in 1936. Subways and els are fast and clean but expensive; expressways are cheap to move a lot of cars but reliably fill back up with new car trips (induced demand), raise pollution, and can pave straight through a developed neighborhood — bulldozing whoever was living there, Robert Moses style.
History. Real events fire on their historical years, including a few consequential choices (1936 Moses, 1948 Cross-Bronx Expressway, 1956 Interstate Highway Act, 1962 Lower Manhattan Expressway, 1975 fiscal crisis). Figures and dates are simplified for gameplay, grounded in real NYC history but not a rigorous simulation.
Saving. The game autosaves periodically and on major choices. Use Save/Load for named slots — everything lives in this browser only.