Best Sandbox Games on Steam
Unlike generic lists, our strategy game recommendations use a rigorous analysis of Steam user reviews to identify and feature only the best, community-validated sandbox games.
Filters & Lists
Evil Genius 2: World Domination
A satirical spy-fi lair builder where YOU are the criminal mastermind! Construct your base, train your minions, defend your operations from the Forces of Justice, and achieve global domination!
Mech Mechanic Simulator
Become a Mech Mechanic to deconstruct, rebuild, paint and fix gigantic iron machines. You live in an age of enormous machines and you better get ready to get your hands dirty!
Vectorio Classic
The original, uncompleted version of Vectorio. Claim resources, unlock new buildings, and expand your defenses as you fight back against enemy forces in the classic edition of Vectorio! Play for free now.
Rogue State Revolution
Greetings your Excellency. Time to rebuild, reform and prepare for new challenges in the People's Republic of Basenji. In this thrilling political strategy, you will appoint ministers and lead the country to success. Be careful — you may find yourself replaced in the next election.
Endzone - A World Apart
Endzone is a post-apocalyptic survival city builder, where you start a new civilization with a group of people after an ecological disaster. Build them a new home and ensure their survival in a shattered world, threatened by constant radiation, toxic rain, sandstorms and droughts.
Gladio and Glory
Goofy Ragdolls and Physics Simulated duels that will challenge your tactics. Customise & Upgrade your Gladiator, dismember opponents in the arena and climb the Leaderboard. All for free!
Size Matters
You play as a scientist who is shrinking every second in a race against time! Find all the ingredients and formulas scattered around the laboratory, which are necessary for producing the life-saving antidote. But beware, your time is very precious.
Stronghold: Warlords
Besiege Great Khans, Imperial warlords and Shōgun commanders in Stronghold: Warlords, the latest 'castle sim' from Firefly Studios. Command AI warlords across the battlefield as you build a castle economy and new gunpowder-fuelled siege engines!
Let It Flow
What happens when you let your Youtube community make a game? Well, you're looking at it. Chat tells me what to make and so I build it for them. I have no choice but to fulfill their wishes. Don't judge me.
Airport CEO
Build and manage an international airport!
Breathedge
Survive in outer space! Together with your immortal chicken, discover the truth behind your sudden spaceship crash. Craft tools, pilot vehicles, and even control space stations to survive and explore the wreckage.
Nebuchadnezzar
Create and customize cities in Nebuchadnezzar, a classic isometric city-builder where careful planning and define your rise as a ruler in ancient Mesopotamia.
Academia : School Simulator
Design, build, and manage a high school with terrific teachers and fantastic facilities or simply let your students poop in the bushes? Academia : School Simulator is a management/tycoon game where you get to decide!
NIMBY Rails
Design and run your own railroads for the real world. Solve global transportation dilemmas. Unleash your inner railway engineer and transit policy manager.
Main Assembly
You’re the designer, engineer and architect if you can imagine it you can create it! Construct robots of any shape or size from eight-legged spider bots to eerie UFO contraptions.
Survival Classic
Try to survive the harsh realities of the cold Siberian countryside. Live long and always remember, man is man's enemy. You can trust no one but it is almost impossible to survive on your own. Choose your path and go to finish. Firefights, transport, crafting and survival.
SuchArt: Creative Space
Paint on any surfaces with numerous tools in Creative Space — a free sandbox version of SuchArt: Genius Artist Simulator. Create masterpieces, complete commissions, and decorate your studio in the most advanced artist sim!
Dyson Sphere Program
Build the most efficient intergalactic factory in space simulation strategy game Dyson Sphere Program! Harness the power of stars, collect resources, plan and design production lines and develop your interstellar factory from a small space workshop to a galaxy-wide industrial empire.
Pumping Simulator
Pumping Simulator As an active member of a gas station in a major city around the world, you can play with up to 10 friends in a multiplayer co-op mode or single player mode to help you understand what the pumpers are going through, and maybe will make you rich.
Founders' Fortune
A fantasy village builder focusing on creative building, colonist psychology and base defense. Handle resources, farming, production, tools, diplomacy, families, trading, defense, and research, as well as the wishes, expectations, thoughts, and equipment of every villager.
Fireworks Mania - An Explosive Simulator
FIREWORKS MANIA is a small casual explosive simulator game where you play around with fireworks, create beautiful firework shows or just blow stuff up.
Per Aspera
Make Mars your own! Take control of the world’s most sophisticated AI (AMI) and terraform the surface of the Red Planet for a city-building experience on a planetary scale. Transform this barren world into a lush paradise and explore the surface for any ancient secrets that may be waiting.
Winter Resort Simulator 2
Winter Resort Simulator 2 is the extensive simulation of a ski area with all its exciting technical facilities and vehicles.
Prime & Load : 1776
Set in the American Revolution, Prime & Load : 1776 lets command and control your very own regiment.
Amazing Cultivation Simulator
Rise up in a search for immortality in this strategy sim and management game based on Chinese mythology. Rebuild your sect and train new disciples through the path of cultivation. Research magic and gather mystical artifacts, face ancient dangers and other sects in your path to spiritual ascension.
Bridge Constructor: The Walking Dead
Bridge Constructor: The Walking Dead combines the legendary and challenging puzzle gameplay of Bridge Constructor™ with the post-apocalyptic zombie universe of AMC’s The Walking Dead.
Firefighting Simulator - The Squad
Firefighting Simulator lets you experience what it means to fight fires up close as an active part of a major US city's firefighting crew - together with up to 3 friends in the co-op multiplayer- or in the single player mode.
Rover Mechanic Simulator
As an Engineer - crew member of one of the first Mars colonies - you are responsible for repairing and maintaining Mars Rovers. In this advanced simulator you will learn the internal details of various Mars Rovers and their components.
The Falconeer: Revolution Remaster
Take flight in this remastered 'stick control era' aerial combat RPG. Explore haunting landscapes, engage in epic dogfights, and uncover ancient secrets in a visually enhanced, rebalanced edition of the BAFTA-nominated, award-winning original.
From the Depths
Over 1000 unique components allow you to build and command voxel vehicles from the deep ocean to outer space! Forge strategies, allegiances and fleets strong enough to destroy eight deadly factions of the planet and reign supreme. A genre-defying mashup of simulation, building, RTS and RPG.