Anno 1800 has been on my radar for a while as a fan of city builders, but I've always been put off by the Ubi Store exclusivity and the price tag (and all the DLC). The game's currently on sale for $15, so I decided to pick up just the base game and give it a whirl.

I'm having a pretty good time with it so far, just playing the campaign mode. I like a bit of structure in these more sandboxy games, so having sit quests and missions and a bit of a storyline is really keeping my attention. The game doesn't play much like Cities Skylines or other city builders I've played - instead of being a map painter where you have to manage different zoning types, in Anno you're instead managing logistics and worker types. 

For example, you need to create lumber camps to get raw wood, then sawmills to make the wood into finished timber. Then you need a warehouse to store the excess timber, and workers to work at all 3 of these places. Then workers can be upgraded and specialized to work in locations making higher-quality finished goods.

Keeping this balance and working on keeping the economy thriving is addicting. I'm not sure if I'll purchase the DLC as it seems a bit overwhelming, but I see myself at least finishing the campaign and exploring the sandbox mode a bit.

Verdict: Endless/Timewaster

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