From humble sandcastles to the pyramids of Egypt, colourful plastic blocks to magnificent metropoles – humanity sure loves to build. It’s no wonder then that some of the most popular games on the App Store involve base building, where you get to build mighty bases, help them prosper and defend your creations from those who want to tear them down. Here are our favourites:

One of the genre’s pioneers, Clash of Clans has been going strong ever since its debut in 2012. In this colourful fantasy world, you’ll build a village of your own, protect it from those who want to plunder your gold and elixir, then send your army to loot others in return.

Aspiring builders will find plenty to tinker with, optimising your base’s layout and defences so that attackers’ efforts will be in vain. And then you’ll get to do the opposite, exploiting other bases’ weaknesses so that your army can storm in. In the Builder Base mode, combat elements become more important as you engage in real-time one-on-one battles with other players.

History books may not record that time Cao Cao teamed up with Charlemagne and Mehmed II to take on barbarian hordes, but you can be sure it happened in Rise of Kingdoms. Pick a civilisation such as the Japanese or Germans, and start building your own kingdom to make a mark on history.

To grow and prosper, you’ll need to harvest resources, research technology, upgrade buildings and train troops. But above all, you’ll have to enlist the help of famous commanders across history. Cleopatra can help you grow the economy, Richard the Lionheart will boost the strength of your legions and Yi Seong-Gye can devastate enemy forces with his legendary archery skills.

Humanity is facing imminent danger from the zombie apocalypse, and your settlement is constantly besieged by the hordes. But from that perilous start, you’ll start to push against the (literal) darkness, build a thriving town and establish connection with the wider world.

Centered around a giant watchtower that provides light during treacherous nights, your town will grow steadily by careful management of skilled labour. Meanwhile, your hardy heroes will lead the charge in quest battles against all sorts of bizarre zombies, or lead your contingents to harvest resources and fight rival settlements. It’s all up to you and fellow players to help make humanity the dominant species again.

Starting out with a solo hero, you’ll soon assemble a hero party to enter the wilderness, defeat the monsters and bring valuable loot back home. And from a fledgling village, you’ll build a formidable kingdom with magnificent buildings and robust armies.

This RPG-strategy hybrid comes with a varied roster of heroes and a massive adventure map with increasingly difficult monsters. And thanks to the game’s regular updates of exciting events, aspiring kings and queens will always have something new to look forward to every month.

The world is covered in snow and ice after a climate catastrophe, and now your settlement has to adapt to a new way of life. Starting out as a few survivors in tents huddling around a campfire, soon you’ll have a growing town centered around a steady furnace.

As you recruit mighty commanders and train an army equipped for the post-apocalyptic era, the world begins to open up for exploration. And with a steady stream of thematic events all year round, there’s always more to discover and loads of loot to be found.