SimCity, but with Permits
Ranked 6 of 21 city builder games by recommenders
A browser city builder that teaches civics through permits and petitions, praised for its detailed design and customization. Critics say the constant petitions and cluttered interface get in the way of play.
A browser city builder that teaches civics through permits and petitions, praised for its detailed design and customization. Critics say the constant petitions and cluttered interface get in the way of play.
28 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 19
- criticize it
- 9
- approval share
- 68%
Recommended in 1 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 19 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 2.1 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 1 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Detailed design and city customization
“my first impressions are positive because of the detailed game design, customization capabilities of the city”
Comment from 24 Oct 2026 in “Show HN: SimCity, but with Permits” “I just played it for half an hour, it's enjoyable!”
Comment from 21 Oct 2026 in “Show HN: SimCity, but with Permits” “the game is great and really playable”
Comment from 23 Oct 2026 in “Show HN: SimCity, but with Permits” Teaches civics through city management
“The subject area is great (teach actual civics) but this fails in execution.”
Comment from 21 Oct 2026 in “Show HN: SimCity, but with Permits” “a game whose very description makes a bold and valid point”
Comment from 21 Oct 2026 in “Show HN: SimCity, but with Permits” Graphics style and charming tone
“Love the graphics style, and the idea to it.”
Comment from 21 Oct 2026 in “Show HN: SimCity, but with Permits” “the website itself is excellently droll”
Comment from 21 Oct 2026 in “Show HN: SimCity, but with Permits” “slightly hilarious and awesome”
Comment from 20 Oct 2026 in “Show HN: SimCity, but with Permits” Enjoyable and playable
“I just played it for half an hour, it's enjoyable!”
Comment from 21 Oct 2026 in “Show HN: SimCity, but with Permits” “the game is great and really playable”
Comment from 23 Oct 2026 in “Show HN: SimCity, but with Permits”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Constant petitions and requests distract
“this game's implementation of a full-fledged city builder is quickly drowned out by the fact that it's shoving resident petitions and requests for variances in your face every 20 seconds”
Comment from 20 Oct 2026 in “Show HN: SimCity, but with Permits” “The various decisions/petitions that pop up can break the immersion by mentioning details that don't fit the city”
Comment from 20 Oct 2026 in “Show HN: SimCity, but with Permits” Cluttered, overwhelming interface
“I might have had a minor stroke when the side panel popped up”
Comment from 20 Oct 2026 in “Show HN: SimCity, but with Permits” “A little too much going on all at once in the beginning.”
Comment from 20 Oct 2026 in “Show HN: SimCity, but with Permits” “a cluttered and busy UI is just a cluttered and busy UI”
Comment from 20 Oct 2026 in “Show HN: SimCity, but with Permits” - Comment from 20 Oct 2026 in “Show HN: SimCity, but with Permits”
Bugs with roads and zooming
“This is very cool - one minor issue, when I zoomed out on a Metropolis it hung for a very long time”
Comment from 21 Oct 2026 in “Show HN: SimCity, but with Permits” “One really buggy thing though is the road system.”
Comment from 22 Oct 2026 in “Show HN: SimCity, but with Permits” Poor mobile support
“New game scroll broken on mobile safari”
Comment from 20 Oct 2026 in “Show HN: SimCity, but with Permits” “not built for mobile should be a sin”
Comment from 20 Oct 2026 in “Show HN: SimCity, but with Permits”
Other city builder games people recommend
The four most recommended other city builder games, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SimCity 3000 | 23 | 2 | 92% | 5 | — | Approved |
| SimCity 2000 | 20 | 7 | 74% | 11 | — | Approved |
| SimCity | 20 | 12 | 63% | 9 | — | — |
| Cities: Skylines | 20 | 18 | 53% | 9 | — | — |
| SimCity, but with PermitsThis page | 19 | 9 | 68% | 1 | — | — |
What people said
29 of the 30 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“my first impressions are positive because of the detailed game design, customization capabilities of the city”
“the game is great and really playable”
“One really buggy thing though is the road system.”
“a game whose very description makes a bold and valid point”
“This is very cool - one minor issue, when I zoomed out on a Metropolis it hung for a very long time”
“the website itself is excellently droll”
“I took some perverse pleasure from the wall of complexity”
“I just played it for half an hour, it's enjoyable!”
“Love the graphics style, and the idea to it.”
“after playing it for a while something just felt "off"”
“couldn't find a simple zoning overlay (i.e. that just shows colors based on the underlying zoning category residential, industrial, commercial, etc)”
“progressively layering/revealing the depth works better to establish the contrast”
“Love it, I hope this becomes the most popular game on the internet”
“its good aside from the bug that I can spam some proposal in order to stack amount of support”
“The subject area is great (teach actual civics) but this fails in execution.”
“not built for mobile should be a sin”
“a cluttered and busy UI is just a cluttered and busy UI”
“I might have had a minor stroke when the side panel popped up”
“It really did a good job of presenting that.”
“I don't understand what I'm seeing.”
“This is beautiful rage bait of a game.”
“New game scroll broken on mobile safari”
“The various decisions/petitions that pop up can break the immersion by mentioning details that don't fit the city”
“Both are similarly unplayable, but I guess it's the thought that counts.”
“slightly hilarious and awesome”
“this game's implementation of a full-fledged city builder is quickly drowned out by the fact that it's shoving resident petitions and requests for variances in your face every 20 seconds”
“It's a nice little wanna be clone. But playing a browser game just doesn't feel like a game.”
“A little too much going on all at once in the beginning.”
“Couldn't get past the new city screen where I'm choosing "Blank Slate" or the other one.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.