Starting a new city in Theotown is exciting. Whether you are playing on Mobile or PC, the basics are the same. But disaster can strike quickly if you don’t know what you’re doing.

Goal: Build a stable town with 100% Happiness and a positive cash flow.

0. The Roadmap to Mayor

Here is the visual roadmap for your journey:

Roadmap to Mayor

This comprehensive guide will walk you through the essential steps to build a thriving metropolis from scratch, ensuring you have a solid foundation for future growth.

1. The First Pause

Before you build a single road, Pause the Game.

  • Why? Theotown is a real-time simulation. If you build slowly while the clock is running, you are paying monthly maintenance costs for buildings that aren’t even working yet.
  • Plan: Look at the map. Identify water sources, flat land for building, and trees (which reduce pollution).
  • The Grid: Turn on the grid view. It makes placing roads and zones much easier.

2. Infrastructure: The Backbone

Your city needs three things to survive: Power, Water, and Roads.

Electricity

You have several options, but for a starter city, you have two real choices:

  • Solar Panels: Clean, silent, but expensive per watt. Good for small green towns.
  • Coal Power Plant: Dirty, noisy, but cheap and powerful.
    • Recommendation: Build a Coal Plant far away from where you plan to put houses. Connect it with a power line.

Water

  • Water Tower: The easiest start. Place it anywhere (except near pollution!).
  • Pipes: You must drag pipes under your zones. Blue zones need water to function.

Roads

  • Dirt Roads: Cheap but slow. Good for the very first few blocks.
  • Country Road (Paved): The standard. Upgrade to this as soon as you have income.
  • Layout: Don’t just draw random lines. Read our City Layouts Guide for ideas on grid planning.

3. Zoning: The RCI Demand

The RCI bar at the bottom relates to Residential, Commercial, and Industrial.

Residential (Green)

  • What: Houses. Where Sims sleep.
  • Placement: Away from pollution and noise. Near parks and schools.
  • Density: Start with “Low Density”. High density requires happier, richer citizens.

Commercial (Blue)

  • What: Shops, offices, gas stations.
  • Placement: Place them as a buffer between Industry and Residential. They don’t mind a little noise.
  • Density: They need high traffic. Main roads are perfect for shops.

Industrial (Yellow)

  • What: Factories, farms, warehouses.
  • Placement: Far away! They generate “Influence” (Pollution) that kills land value.
  • Tip: Check the wind direction arrow in the minimap. Place industry downwind so the smoke blows away from your city.

4. The Economy of Survival

Money is your health bar. If it hits zero, you can’t build.

Taxes

Go to the budget menu (the coin icon).

  • Default: Taxes usually start low.
  • Action: Raise them to 8% or 9%. This is the “sweet spot” where citizens pay up but don’t riot.
  • Don’t: Do not go to 10% or higher early on. It kills growth.

Services (The Money Pit)

New players love to build Fire Stations, Police Stations, and Schools immediately. Don’t.

  • Fire: Wait until you get your first fire warning.
  • Police: Wait until crime actually appears.
  • Health: Build a small Doctor’s office once you have about 500 people.
  • Education: Build a small Elementary school once you are making a profit.

For a deep dive on money, read our Economy Guide.

5. Growing Pains

As your city grows, you will face new problems.

Traffic

Cars will start clogging your intersections.

  • Fix: Upgrade dirt roads to paved roads.
  • Fix: Replace 4-way stops with T-intersections.
  • Learn More: See our Traffic Guide.

Garbage

Eventually, trash piles up.

  • Landfill: Cheap but ugly. Place it near your industry.
  • Incinerator: Burns trash for power but creates massive pollution.

Death

Sims die. If you see ghost icons, you need a Cemetery. Cemeteries are technically “Parks” that raise land value, so you can place them near homes (spooky, but Sims like it).

6. Common Newbie Mistakes

  1. Building too fast: You spend all your money and have no buffer for emergencies.
  2. Ignoring pipes: You zoned an area, but the buildings aren’t spawning. Check your water view!
  3. Pollution poisoning: You placed a coal plant next to a school. Everyone is sick. Move the plant.
  4. Useless Roads: You built a massive highway for a town of 100 people. It costs a fortune in upkeep. Bulldoze it.

Conclusion

Theotown is a marathon, not a sprint. Start small, manage your budget, and expand slowly. Once you have a stable town of 2,000 people with a positive weekly income, you are ready to start looking into Industrial Strategies and Uber Mode.

Good luck, Mayor!