Single-player games like The First Explorers®
Below are 8 single-player Steam games similar to The First Explorers®, ranked by player overlap. Every pick carries Steam's Single-player category, so multiplayer-only titles or always-online games don't sneak in. imho.run pulls the category data from Steam directly — Single-player here matches what the store labels.
Want the full alternatives list (paid + free + Steam Deck + cheaper picks)? See the parent games like The First Explorers® page.
Ranked picks
- 1

Anno 117: Pax Romana
Single-player alternative to The First Explorers® — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Strategy and Simulation with The First Explorers®.
Shape the Roman Empire in this genre-defining strategic builder game. Build cities while expanding your influence through Roman provinces. Govern using your economic prowess, diplomatic skills, or military might.
- 2

Anno 1800
Single-player alternative to The First Explorers® — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Strategy and Simulation with The First Explorers®.
Anno 1800™ – Lead the Industrial Revolution! Welcome to the dawn of the Industrial Age. The path you choose will define your world. Are you an innovator or an exploiter? A conqueror or a liberator? How the world remembers your name is up to you.
- 3

Stronghold: Warlords
Single-player alternative to The First Explorers® — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Strategy and Simulation with The First Explorers®.
Besiege Great Khans, Imperial warlords and Shōgun commanders in Stronghold: Warlords, the latest 'castle sim' from Firefly Studios. Command AI warlords across the battlefield as you build a castle economy and new gunpowder-fuelled siege engines!
- 4

Northgard: Definitive Edition
Single-player alternative to The First Explorers® — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Strategy and Simulation with The First Explorers®.
Northgard: Definitive Edition is a critically acclaimed real-time strategy game based on Norse mythology. Lead your clan, uncover the secrets of a mysterious newfound continent and defeat your enemies to conquer the Throne!
- 5

Stronghold: Definitive Edition
Single-player alternative to The First Explorers® — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Strategy and Simulation with The First Explorers®.
Greetings sire! Your stronghold awaits you. Build a castle economy, besiege unforgettable villains and return to the 'castle sim' that started it all. Experience this classic RTS with upgraded visuals, modernised gameplay, Steam multiplayer and a new campaign.
- 6

Pioneers of Pagonia
Single-player alternative to The First Explorers® — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Strategy and Simulation with The First Explorers®.
Rebuild hope in a world that was lost in the fog. Lead your Pioneers across the isles of Pagonia, unite scattered tribes, raise thriving communities and discover the history of your people as you reclaim your world in the new story campaign.
- 7

Offworld Trading Company
Single-player alternative to The First Explorers® — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Strategy and Simulation with The First Explorers®.
Mars has been colonized, and Earth's corporate titans fight to dominate this new market. Competition is fierce in this fast-paced economic RTS from Civilization IV Lead Designer, Soren Johnson.
- 8

Railway Empire 2
Single-player alternative to The First Explorers® — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Strategy and Simulation with The First Explorers®.
Don the coat of a clever entrepreneur, take over a small railway company in the early 1800s and turn your steam engines into the workhorses of the economy. Grow your company into the largest railway company of the continent and outsmart your competitors.