The premise is entirely typical: the player has just bought a city, and must transform it into an actual functioning metropolis, economy and all. In order to do so, they must balance population and happiness, as with Social City, as well as ecology, power, production, and roadways.

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Every building constructed requires all of those resources, save the last two. The first are simple enough: players build houses to periodically increase population, and entertainment facilities keep the plebs happy so that more keep coming. However, ecology and power are a bit more unusual.

Power is provided by a Power Station building that produces a set amount of electricity. The management of it is not extensive, but players must periodically construct more stations in order to grow their city bigger. More buildings equals greater power requirements. The same goes for Ecology, with each building requiring a certain level of greenery to be present before it can be constructed. Consider it carbon offsets.

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So what about money in Big Business? Within the game, there are a number of production buildings for money. From farms to oil refineries, players start out contracting for work. This means that players spend a little coin to produce some product over a set amount of time. The longer the time, the greater the end value.

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Here's where things get fun. Once any given good is complete, it can either be shipped off to the store to be sold directly, or taken to yet another production facility and refined further. As a basic example, a farm can produce grain which can either be sold directly, or transported to a milling plant to be turned in to either flour or millet, thus increasing its value. In time, players will have materials being produced and shipped all around town, crafting an industrial loop as they attempt to create the most efficient form of business within their city.