Thriving City: Song Beginner’s Guide – Tips for New Players

by Fernando Diaz / Game Guides, General Guides / 01 Feb 2021

There’s an abundance of urban development games available, but few are set in China like Thriving City: Song. This one-of-a-kind city-building game takes place during the Song dynasty. As the mayor, you’re responsible for cultivating a flourishing city by overseeing agriculture, industry, commerce, education, civil affairs, and politics. In this all-inclusive beginner’s guide, we’ll help you navigate the essential aspects of the game, from basic principles to advanced tactics, ensuring your city thrives.

Game Modes

Thriving City: Song features two primary game modes:

Story Mode: In this mode, you dive into the highs and lows of the Song dynasty, encountering historical events and imperial decrees firsthand. Your critical decisions have the potential to alter the course of history.

Adventure Mode: This mode lets you tap into your creativity while constructing a dynamic cityscape, free from the constraints of historical events or timelines.

Developing Your City

A well-designed city is the key to success. Here are some tips for fostering a prosperous city:

Allocate Jobs: Distribute your workforce across various industries and professions to maximize productivity.

Gather Resources: Regularly collect valuable materials like wood, stone, and iron to build structures and facilities.

Construct Production and Living Facilities: Develop a variety of facilities to address your citizens’ needs.

Cluster Related Buildings: Position related buildings near each other to enhance production and efficiency.

Meet Basic Needs: Supply food, shelter, and other necessities for a peaceful, thriving city.

Place storage facilities close to production centers to minimize resource transportation time.

If your city spans bodies of water, build bridges to facilitate the movement of citizens and resources.

Locate happiness-enhancing structures, like parks or entertainment venues, in densely populated residential areas for maximum impact.

Situate structures with negative happiness effects, like shacks, away from busy or residential areas.

Balancing Resources and Production

Maintain a consistent resource supply to support your city’s growth. Keep a close eye on resource production and consumption to prevent shortages that could hinder development.

Prioritize coal production for winter heating.

Monitor food production, ensuring a diverse mix of vegetables, fish, and meats for a balanced citizen diet.

Organizing Cultural Events: Cultural events, such as perfume competitions, poetry readings, musical gatherings, and scripture recitations, are held to enrich the city’s atmosphere.

If resources like clay or iron are scarce, consider building additional mines or extraction facilities.

Providing a Varied Diet: A wide range of food options is available to ensure the satisfaction and well-being of citizens.

Constructing Entertainment Buildings: A variety of entertainment facilities, including Spice Shops, Inns, Taverns, and Brothels, are built to draw in both residents and tourists.

Boosting Happiness

Besides meeting basic needs, concentrate on enhancing your citizens’ happiness by:

Job Assignments: Manage your workforce efficiently by assigning workers to jobs based on their skills and city needs.

Regularly review the job assignment screen to track worker allocations and make necessary adjustments.

Ensure essential jobs like farming, mining, and construction have sufficient workers.

Note that certain industries, like lumber cabins, might not operate during specific seasons, freeing up workers for other tasks.

Education and Reputation

Focus on academic research, student education, and passing the Imperial Exam to improve your city’s reputation and income. Construct schools and academies to raise the overall education level.

Managing Crime and Defense

As your city expands, crime may become a concern. Build a Prison to curb criminal activity and maintain peace. Defend your city from invasions by constructing City Walls and Archer Towers, and training Militias and Archers.

Financial Management and Policies

Closely monitor your city’s finances and establish a yearly plan. Implement policies to enhance city management efficiency, but be cautious of their potential negative impact on citizens’ lives.

Addressing Disasters and Plagues

The city takes precautions against disasters such as fires and plagues by constructing Fire Towers and hospitals, ensuring it has the necessary resources to deal with crises.

Expanding Your City

Strive constant city growth. Construct additional farmhouses and shacks to house the increasing population.

Trade and Tourism

To boost the city’s income, efforts are made to attract tourists and establish trade routes with neighboring cities. Guest Houses and Lodges are built to house visitors.

Military Aspects

Showcase your city’s military strength by erecting Archer Towers and Drill Squares. Train your army to defend your city against external threats.

Fernando Diaz

Fernando is doing what he always did, sharing his honest opinions about games whenever he can. The difference is now he is writing and not talking about it.
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