SimCity BuildIt Production Chain Guide
SimCity BuildIt Production Chain Guide
Production is the engine of SimCity BuildIt, and this SimCity BuildIt production chain guide explains how it works from raw material to finished item. The chain has two steps: factories make raw materials, and commercial buildings combine them into crafted items. Those items upgrade homes, fill cargo shipments, complete Contest assignments and sell for Simoleons. If any part of the chain stops, the whole city slows down.
Step one: factories make raw materials
Factories produce raw materials such as metal, wood, plastic, seeds, minerals, chemicals and textiles. Community guides list 11 different raw materials and 12 factories unlockable by levelling up, plus 5 regional factories, one per region. There are 6 factory types, with different pollution radiuses and production slot counts. A factory can produce several materials at once and keeps producing while the game is closed. Tap a factory, drag the material you want onto it, and collect the finished material from the top of the building when it is ready. You can speed up production with SimCash or Factory Speed-Ups, but do not spend SimCash on short timers.
Step two: commercial buildings craft items
Commercial buildings such as stores and markets combine raw materials into crafted items. EA Help gives two simple examples: seeds become tomatoes, and metal becomes nails. In practice the chain goes further — seeds, textiles and spices become flour, flour becomes donuts, and so on. Community guides count 63 items in total: 11 factory items and 52 commercial items, with 22 used in making other items. Tap a commercial building, drag the item you want to craft onto it, and keep it busy. As with factories, an idle commercial building is wasted time.
Keep everything busy, all the time
The core rule of production is to keep factories and shops busy. Experienced guides put it bluntly: if a building shows “ZZZ”, it is losing you money and progress. Before you close the game, queue long items that will finish while you are away. When you return, collect them, queue short items while you are active, and repeat. Match production to your day: short items when you can check in often, long items overnight or during work.
What to make first
Make what your next upgrade needs first, then what cargo and Contest assignments need, then what sells well. Do not make random items and hope they are useful — check the upgrade helmets over homes, the cargo ship order and your current assignments before you queue production. If you are short of a raw material, make that first; a commercial building waiting for metal cannot craft nails. Keep a small stock of the most-used raw materials — metal, wood, plastic, seeds, minerals — so a shop is never waiting on a factory.
Pollution and placement
Factories pollute. Keep them away from residential zones, or happiness and population will suffer. Put factories in an industrial area on the edge of your city, near roads for access but far from homes. Commercial buildings do not pollute in the same way and can sit closer to homes. Check the pollution circle when you place a factory, and move it if homes nearby start complaining.
Regional factories
Each region has its own Regional Factory, unlocked when you open that region. Community guides report 5 regional factories, each with 5 production slots, each costing a reported 15,000 Simoleons to build, and each regional raw material taking 6 minutes to produce. Green Valley’s Green Factory, for example, produces Recycled Fabric. Regional materials are used for regional upgrades and shops, so do not sell them for Simoleons until your regional expansion is complete, according to community advice.
FAQ
How many factories can I have in SimCity BuildIt?
Community guides report a maximum of 12 factories, unlocked by levelling up, plus 5 regional factories.
What is the production chain in SimCity BuildIt?
Factories make raw materials, commercial buildings combine them into crafted items, and those items upgrade homes, fill shipments and sell for Simoleons.
Why is my factory not producing?
It may be idle with nothing queued, out of storage space, or waiting for you to collect finished items. Tap it and queue a material.
Should I speed up production with SimCash?
Usually no, except when it unblocks an upgrade. SimCash is better saved for storage and depot slots.
Do factories keep producing when I close the game?
Yes. Production continues while the game is closed, which is why you should queue long items before logging off.
Start at our homepage — and read our storage guide, because a full store stops production just as surely as an idle factory.
