The SimCity BuildIt best layout keeps polluting buildings on the edge of the map and puts government buildings between them and your housing. Residential zones go in one compact block, with fire, police and health grouped inside it and your biggest specialization buildings in the middle. For Epic buildings, start with the specialization where you own the most 2- to 4-point buildings. For most mayors who just reached level 24, that means Beach, Mountain or Entertainment. Leave Education, Transportation and Gambling for a Double Epic Points weekend.
Below you’ll find the layout rules with the pollution numbers behind them, how Epic Projects work, and a table of Epic Points for every year-round specialization building. Facts were checked on October 30, 2026 against the SimCity BuildIt fan wiki, EA’s help pages and the App Store listing (version 1.83.3, released October 12, 2026, the Haunted Metropolis season).
Table of Contents
Quick answer
- Layout in three bands: factories and dirty utilities on the map edge, then a buffer of government buildings (pollution doesn’t affect them), then one tight residential block.
- Clean replacements: wind, solar and fusion power, the Deluxe Sewage Treatment Plant, the Recycling Center and the Nano-tech Factory have no pollution radius. Swap the dirty versions out as you unlock these.
- Epic Projects: the Department of Epic Projects unlocks at level 16 and is free. Epic Projects themselves start at level 24. An Epic building holds 2,411 Sims instead of 1,836, which is 31% more.
- Tiers: 40 Epic Points for Turtle (bronze), 100 for Llama (silver) and 200 for Cheetah (gold), all within 24 hours.
- Build first: Beach, Mountain or Entertainment. If you own one of each year-round building, Mountain gives 61 total Epic Points, Beach 59 and Entertainment 42. Education gives 20, Gambling 19 and Transportation 17.
SimCity BuildIt best layout: the rules that matter
No single grid suits every map, because expansions, beach and mountain land differ between cities. The ideas that keep coming up in long-running community guides are the same, though, and the game’s own numbers explain why they work.
1. Push pollution to the edges
Residential zones inside a pollution radius complain about the “dirty factory in the neighborhood”, which is one of the warnings EA’s beginner guide tells you to watch for. In his 2018 build log on aplus.rs, Aleksandar Vacić keeps factories as close to the map edges as possible. He puts the 3×2 government buildings in a row between industry and housing, because pollution doesn’t touch them. These are the pollution radii listed on the fan wiki:
| Building | Pollution radius | Clean upgrade |
|---|---|---|
| Small Factory / Basic Factory | 12×12 / 10×10 | Mass Production (8×8, 27,000 pop), High-tech (6×6, 80,000 pop), Nano-tech (none, 150,000 pop, §50,000) |
| Coal / Oil / Nuclear Power Plant | 10×10 / 8×8 / 12×12 | Wind and Deluxe Wind (none), Solar (none, 23,000 pop), Fusion (none, level 24 + 165,000 pop) |
| Small / Basic Sewage Outflow Pipe | 10×10 / 12×12 | Deluxe Sewage Treatment Plant (none, §16,000, level 8) |
| Small Garbage Dump / Garbage Dump | 10×10 / 12×12 | Recycling Center (none, §35,000, level 14) |
| Garbage Incinerator | 16×16 (the largest) | Recycling Center |
Power, water, sewage and waste buildings only need a road connection to your homes, so they can sit anywhere. Put the dirty ones out with the factories.
Polluters on the edge, government buildings as a buffer, emergency services inside the housing block. AI-generated illustration
2. Group fire, police and health inside the housing block
Fire, police and health work differently. They have to be near the residential zones they serve. Since Service 2.0 they also have limited capacity: the update reached every player in version 1.74.1 on February 2, 2026, and every service building can now be upgraded. The fan wiki says this makes layouts “more compact”, because you upgrade one building instead of placing a second. Vacić’s older plan grouped fire, police and a hospital in one 6×6 area that covered a 24×24 grid of homes. The idea still works, but upgrade the buildings as demand grows. The City Report, a permanent feature since version 1.70.1 (October 2025), shows which services fall short.
3. Put the big boost buildings in the middle
Specialization buildings raise the population of residential zones inside their boost area. EA’s guide notes that a bigger blue bar during placement means a bigger boost. Large-area buildings belong at the center of the block, where their whole square covers housing. Two examples: the Football Stadium (24×24, 60%) and the University (22×22, 50%).
A long-standing AppGamer strategy guide gives community-tested caps. Each of Parks, Education and Transportation boosts a zone by up to 100%. Entertainment, Gambling and Landmarks share one 100% cap. So a second stadium over an already-maxed block adds nothing, and a different specialization does. EA hasn’t published these caps, and the guide predates Beach, Mountain and Space, so treat the numbers as a rule of thumb. Clustering one specialization in a sector also raises its Specialization Index in the City Report, which is how newer buildings in that specialization unlock.
4. Keep traffic light and plan rows for Epics
- Roads: heavy (red) traffic makes residential buildings abandon. The Four-Lane Road unlocks at level 9, Six-Lane at 15, Avenue at 20, Boulevard at 27 and Streetcar Avenue at 34. Streetcar Avenues handle any traffic. So do Cobblestone Streets (level 10, §10,000 per tile). Spreading upgrades across the city instead of maxing one street also helps avoid jams.
- Beach and mountain rows: Beach buildings only go on the Beach Boardwalk, and Mountain buildings only on the mountainside. A row of fully upgraded homes along each strip gets those boosts, and those homes can become Beach and Mountain Epics, the two specializations with the most Epic Points.
How SimCity BuildIt Epic buildings work
An Epic Project turns a fully upgraded regular residential zone into an Epic building. According to EA’s Epic Projects help article, Epic buildings hold more Sims and produce Shop Speed-Up Token parts that you collect daily. You can run one project at a time, and a cooldown follows each one. The fan wiki gives the numbers:
- A winged golden hat appears on a fully upgraded residential zone. That zone has to be covered by an Epic-capable specialization: Education, Transportation, Beach, Entertainment, Mountain, Gambling, Landmarks or Space. Parks can’t make Epics.
- Your first project in each specialization costs §1,000. Later projects in that specialization cost more. Moving the hat to another zone costs Simoleons too: the price rises by §120 per move for the first 12 moves and by §80 after that, then resets after the project.
- During the project, buildings of the chosen specialization show Epic tasks. Each task asks for 1 to 5 of one item (no special or OMEGA items) and pays that building’s Epic Points.
- After a project ends, that city or region waits 24 hours before the next one. Each region has its own exclusive Epic building, with a 1 in 13 chance to appear. There are 89 Epic buildings in total, and 5 of them are regional.
| Tier | Epic Points needed | Building produces |
|---|---|---|
| Turtle (bronze) | 40 | Shop Speed-Up 2x token parts |
| Llama (silver) | 100 | Shop Speed-Up 4x token parts |
| Cheetah (gold) | 200 (ends the project early) | Shop Speed-Up 12x token parts |
The tier changes what the building produces, not how it looks. Old guides quote 10, 80 and 160 points; the wiki says those thresholds applied before 2019.
Which Epic buildings to build first
Here’s the math that decides it. A Cheetah needs 200 points in 24 hours. If your tasks average 1 point, that’s 200 deliveries; at 3 points it’s about 67. A 2016 community FAQ on EA’s forums says only 8 tasks can be active at once, and a task stays on its building until you finish it. Low-point buildings therefore tie up task slots. The table adds up the Epic Points of every year-round building in each specialization, using the wiki’s per-building values (Hot Spots and limited-time buildings not included):
| Specialization | Unlocks at level | Year-round buildings | Points each | Total if you own one of each | Highest-point buildings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mountain | 23 | 25 | 1-4 | 61 | Waterfall Castle (4); City Name Sign, Ski Resort, Castle, Mountain Palace, Observatory (3) |
| Landmarks | 30 | 23 (+5 Legendary skyscrapers at 0) | 1-4 | 60 | OMEGA Tower (4); Willis Tower, Tokyo Tower, Statue of Liberty and most others (3) |
| Beach | 15 | 26 | 1-4 | 59 | Beach Delta (4, level 17); Yacht Club, Rowing Center, Aquarium, Merman Statue, Lighthouse of SimCity (3) |
| Entertainment | 20 | 18 | 1-4 | 42 | Football Stadium (4); Oslo and Sydney Opera House, Ferris Wheel, Soccer Stadium, Sims’ Night Club (3) |
| Space | 40 | 9 | 1-5 | 23 | Mission Control Center (5, level 60 + 1.25M pop), Launch Pad (4) |
| Education | 10 | 10 | 1-4 | 20 | OMEGA University (4, level 30); University, Athletic Field, Rowing Center (3) |
| Gambling | 25 | 11 | 1-3 | 19 | Snake Eyes, House of Spades, OMEGA (3) |
| Transportation | 10 | 8 | 1-4 | 17 | Alpha Taxi Station (4); Heliport, OMEGA Tube Terminal (3) |
Turtle, Llama and Cheetah Epic Projects need 40, 100 and 200 Epic Points. AI-generated illustration
A suggested order, based on those numbers:
- Beach or Mountain first. They have the deepest pools of 2- and 3-point buildings, and both are open by level 24. You need homes on the boardwalk or mountainside rows for the hat to land there.
- Entertainment as the inland pick. Most of its buildings pay 2 or 3 points, and the same stadiums are your biggest population boosts anyway.
- Landmarks from level 30. Its year-round list is almost all 3-point buildings, so a city full of Landmarks makes Cheetah runs much easier.
- Education, Transportation and Gambling later. Their basic buildings mostly pay 1 point. They get much better with upgraded Hot Spots or on their Double Epic Points weekend.
Also worth checking before you start: does the zone you picked sit in range of the specialization you want? Pay to move the hat if not. And stock up on metal, wood, seeds and other basic items before you press start.
Hot Spots and the Roaring Skyscraper
Hot Spots are upgradable specialization buildings bought with regional currency. Per EA, they appear once any region reaches 1,000 population. Their Epic Points rise with level, from 1 at level 1 to 5 at level 10. The boost grows from 15% to 80% and the area from 12×12 to 26×26 (2×2 size). Upgrading two or three of them in one specialization changes which Epics are worth running.
The Roaring Skyscraper, an Entertainment Hot Spot from Mayor’s Pass Season 71 (Roaring Twenties), works the same way over 15 levels. It reaches 5 Epic Points, a 30×30 area and a 60% boost at level 15, upgraded with Jazz Coins. It was free from July 22 to August 19, 2026, and returned in a building menu sale for 210 SimCash from August 31 to September 5. It isn’t on sale now: the wiki’s current sale is the Ghost Portal (Transportation, 450 SimCash, October 26-31). If you got the skyscraper, it’s one of the best single Entertainment Epic buildings you can own.
Time your Epics with Double Epic Points weekends
During an Epic Week or Weekend, one specialization’s tasks pay double points. The wiki’s log shows a roughly two-week rotation in 2026:
| Dates (2026) | Double points for |
|---|---|
| July 24-27 | Transportation |
| August 7-10 | Beach |
| August 21-24 | Entertainment |
| September 4-7 | Mountain |
| September 18-21 | Gambling |
| October 2-5 | Landmarks |
| October 16-19 | Education |
In both April and July, Transportation came two weeks after Education. If that pattern holds, the next weekend would be Transportation around October 30 to November 2. EA hasn’t announced it, so check the in-game calendar. Last year, an all-specializations Epic event ran from November 28 to December 2, 2025.
Building other cities too? See our Pocket City 2 Intellectual Property guide, the TheoTown airport and culture build order, our list of the best tycoon games on mobile, city builder games for Android and iOS and games like Cities: Skylines on mobile.
FAQ
What level do you unlock Epic Projects in SimCity BuildIt?
Level 24. The Department of Epic Projects unlocks at level 16 in the Government tab and is free, but projects only start at 24. You also need a fully upgraded regular residential zone covered by an Epic-capable specialization.
How many Epic buildings are there?
The fan wiki counts 89 Epic buildings, 5 of them regional. Each region has one exclusive Epic building with a 1 in 13 chance to appear there.
Can you change an Epic Project’s specialization?
Yes, for a Simoleon fee, as long as another Epic-capable specialization covers that zone. If none does, move the hat to a different fully upgraded zone instead.
Is there a SimCity BuildIt money cheat?
EA offers no cheat codes. Simoleons come from taxes, which more population raises, and from the four trading routes in EA’s guide: selling in the Trade Depot, buying in the Global Trade HQ, accepting deals that pop up on the map and completing cargo shipments. Epic buildings help too, because each one adds 575 Sims to a maxed zone.
Sources: SimCity BuildIt Wiki (Fandom) pages Epic Projects, Epic Projects Events, Hot Spots, Education, Transportation, Beach, Entertainment, Mountain, Gambling, Landmarks, Space, Parks, Power, Sewage, Waste Management, Industrial Buildings, Services, Roads, Government, Level Up Table, City Report, Roaring Skyscraper and Building Menu Sales (read October 30, 2026); EA Help: SimCity BuildIt beginner guide and EA Help: Epic Projects (archived copies; help.ea.com did not respond); EA Forums Epic Project FAQ (2016); SimCity BuildIt on the App Store; aplus.rs initial build and layout; AppGamer services guide; AllClash best layouts (2019).
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Featured image: AI-generated illustration
