Games Like Dinky Guardians

In Autonauts you must build, create, and automate. Start by establishing a colony, crafting bots and teaching them via Scratch-style programming to build an ever evolving autonomous paradise of agriculture, industry and enlightenment.

Why similar: Automation 29.4%, Colony Sim 21%, Base Building 12.9%, Crafting 9.3%, Building 7.1%

Why You'll Like It: It shares the same cute, colorful aesthetic while focusing heavily on programming worker units to automate your colony.

Build a new home for your team of robots as they begin a new life for themselves on a distant planet where they can fulfil their ultimate dream: to be human.

Why similar: Colony Sim 24.2%, Automation 21.1%, Base Building 10.7%, Building 10.3%, Management 8.9%

Why You'll Like It: This game mirrors the settlement-building and resource-management loop of Dinky Guardians in a charming, stylized world.

Explore endless Universe and create the most efficient constellation of colonies. Build conveyor systems to automate production. Take care of Astronauts and their needs! Establish new colonies as part of intergalactic simulation.

Why similar: Colony Sim 23%, Automation 22.1%, Base Building 16.2%, Resource Management 9.9%, Building 8.4%

Why You'll Like It: Set in space, this game focuses on building and automating modular bases to support a growing population.

Create, automate and defend an impenetrable base. Assemble and command a Bot army to combat an entire Piratebot invasion. Build, program and battle your way through five different zones.

Why similar: Automation 27.6%, Colony Sim 21.7%, Crafting 14.9%, Building 10.5%, Management 7.5%

Why You'll Like It: It builds upon the automation mechanics of the original with added combat and defense elements similar to the guardian aspect of the seed game.

Build, automate, and optimize a giant factory on 3D terrain using conveyor belts, trains, chutes, pipes, and airships. Sell your goods to nearby villages to expand their borders, increase happiness, and unlock even better technology!

Why similar: Automation 22.6%, Colony Sim 19.8%, Base Building 13.8%, Crafting 11.1%, Resource Management 10.3%

Why You'll Like It: This title perfectly blends colony management with complex logistics and automation chains in a vibrant, top-down environment.

Become the hive mind of a robot ant colony in Microtopia! Use pheromone trails to create, automate and optimize supply chains for your ants to follow. Collect resources, produce goods, feed your queen, grow your colony and fly out to expand the species!

Why similar: Colony Sim 23.5%, Automation 20.4%, Base Building 12%, Crafting 10.7%, Resource Management 9.7%

Why You'll Like It: This colony sim emphasizes procedural generation and automation, making it a strong thematic match for Dinky Guardians.

Build, manage and grow a thriving colony in Kubifaktorium. The game features different biomes to explore, plenty of resources to exploit, complex machinery to build and interesting production chains to master.

Why similar: Colony Sim 23.8%, Automation 22.2%, Crafting 11.1%, Base Building 10.9%, Building 10%

Why You'll Like It: It features a voxel-based aesthetic and focuses on building, crafting, and automating production lines for your colony.

Eden Crafters is a solo or co-op open-world survival, crafting, and factory-building game where you transform a hostile planet into a habitable haven for humanity. Build, automate, and terraform. Control the climate, create a breathable atmosphere, and turn toxic lakes into water: shape a new world!

Why similar: Automation 22.5%, Base Building 13.4%, Colony Sim 13.3%, Crafting 11.9%, Building 8.6%

Why You'll Like It: It combines open-world survival crafting with extensive automation systems for base building.

Oxygen Not Included is a space-colony simulation game. Deep inside an alien space rock your industrious crew will need to master science, overcome strange new lifeforms, and harness incredible space tech to survive, and possibly, thrive.

Why similar: Colony Sim 37.2%, Base Building 19.7%, Resource Management 11.4%, Survival 9.9%, Building 9.2%

Why You'll Like It: It is the gold standard for deep colony simulation, offering intricate automation and resource management challenges.

Manage your workers, stations, machines and create awesome stuff as your little big workshop grows into your dream factory!

Why similar: Automation 23.1%, Management 15.5%, Simulation 14.4%, Building 14.2%, Resource Management 13.5%

Why You'll Like It: It focuses on managing a production facility with a cute, toy-like aesthetic that feels very similar to Dinky Guardians.

Dawn Apart is a space colony and factory sim with fully destructible environments. Mine, automate, and defend your settlers, or lead a rebellion against the very corporation pulling your strings…

Why similar: Colony Sim 30.4%, Automation 25.7%, Base Building 16.3%, Crafting 12.5%, Resource Management 4.1%

Why You'll Like It: A colony-sim that integrates automation and resource management with a focus on building and strategy.

Good Company is an in-depth management sim about building a trail-blazing tech corporation. Assemble complex production lines, manage employee logistics, and sell high-quality products on the market to become the best company in the whole county!

Why similar: Automation 19.8%, Base Building 12.2%, Co-op 10.2%, Building 9.9%, Resource Management 9.7%

Why You'll Like It: This management game tasks you with building a company and automating production lines to meet market demands.

Build the most efficient intergalactic factory in space simulation strategy game Dyson Sphere Program! Harness the power of stars, collect resources, plan and design production lines and develop your interstellar factory from a small space workshop to a galaxy-wide industrial empire.

Why similar: Automation 36.2%, Base Building 21.4%, Building 13%, Resource Management 12.5%, Management 9.6%

Why You'll Like It: While grander in scale, it offers the ultimate automation experience for players who enjoy optimizing production chains.

Command a swarm of intelligent robots in their quest to save the world. Mine resources, manage, and defend multiple bases. Go on expeditions, fight in auto-battles, research new technologies, and create your army of golems to bring back the light.

Why similar: Colony Sim 18.5%, Automation 18.5%, Base Building 15.3%, Crafting 11%, Resource Management 10.9%

Why You'll Like It: It focuses on base building and resource management with a strong emphasis on strategy and tower defense.

Humans are long gone. In a world struck by droughts and toxic waste, will your lumberpunk beavers do any better? A sandbox city-building game featuring ingenious animals, vertical architecture, water physics, and terraforming. Contains high amounts of wood.

Why similar: Colony Sim 26.4%, Automation 20.8%, Base Building 12.8%, Building 10.2%, Management 9.3%

Why You'll Like It: This colony sim features unique water-management and building mechanics that require careful planning and automation.

You and allies, avian inhabitants of Sanctree City, build structures and production lines on the tree, crafting weapons to fend off subterranean insects. Defense is just the start—dig deeper, destroy nests, fortify new defenses against escalating threats for an impregnable stronghold.

Why similar: Colony Sim 21.6%, Automation 17.4%, Base Building 14.6%, Resource Management 9.2%, Building 9.1%

Why You'll Like It: This game features base-building and online co-op, making it a great choice for those who enjoy the cooperative aspect of Dinky Guardians.

Tower Defense meets Base Management. Strategically place your defenses. Craft wacky ammunition like fiery peppers and boomerang bananas. Discover amazing weapons and automate your economy while defending against waves of enemies. Can you handle the chaos?

Why similar: Automation 25.7%, Base Building 14.5%, Crafting 12.5%, Co-op 12%, Management 10.8%

Why You'll Like It: It combines automation and tower defense in a co-op setting, mirroring the guardian and management themes.

A fantasy village builder focusing on creative building, colonist psychology and base defense. Handle resources, farming, production, tools, diplomacy, families, trading, defense, and research, as well as the wishes, expectations, thoughts, and equipment of every villager.

Why similar: Colony Sim 40.8%, Base Building 16.1%, Building 10.2%, Management 6.5%, Survival 6.4%

Why You'll Like It: It offers a blend of colony simulation and base building with a focus on managing the needs of your settlers.

Factorio is a game about building and creating automated factories to produce items of increasing complexity, within an infinite 2D world. Use your imagination to design your factory, combine simple elements into ingenious structures, and finally protect it from the creatures who don't really like you.

Why similar: Automation 31.6%, Base Building 18.2%, Resource Management 12.1%, Crafting 10.4%, Management 5.5%

Why You'll Like It: The definitive automation game, perfect for players who want to push their logistics and base-building skills to the limit.

Stationeers puts you in control of the construction and management of a space station to run by yourself or online with your friends. Complex atmospheric, electrical, manufacturing, agriculture, and gravitational systems require your thought and management at all times!

Why similar: Colony Sim 19.5%, Automation 17.6%, Base Building 11.3%, Crafting 9.7%, Building 8.4%

Why You'll Like It: This game provides a complex, physics-based approach to base building and automation in a space setting.

Design your dream space station in Space Architect! Master the power of automation or 'hire' an army of crewmates to handle your ever-growing production. Mine asteroids, fabricate goods, and engage in interstellar trade to pay off the menacing Big Evil Corp. Will you thrive in the vastness of space?

Why similar: Colony Sim 24.3%, Automation 19.5%, Base Building 13.3%, Management 9.4%, Building 9.1%

Why You'll Like It: A top-down colony sim that focuses on base building and management in a space environment.

Clanfolk is a colony sim set in the Scottish Highlands. Harness your environment to survive - fish, gather, hunt, and farm as you prepare for the winter. Build an inn, trade with other clans, have children and marry them off - live life and prosper across the generations.

Why similar: Colony Sim 45.9%, Crafting 23.5%, Building 19.4%, Simulation 9.9%, Singleplayer 1.4%

Why You'll Like It: A colony-sim that emphasizes survival and management, providing a more grounded but equally engaging building experience.

A colony building game with an emphasis on unexpected events, online co-op, and managing a unique community. Build your colony, feed your colonists, research technologies, craft advanced weapons, explore the world, fight enemies and defend your property.

Why similar: Colony Sim 26.5%, Base Building 14.3%, Crafting 11%, Building 9.8%, Management 8.1%

Why You'll Like It: This early-access title offers a classic colony-sim experience with a focus on survival and base construction.

Hydroneer is a mining and base building sandbox. Dig for gold and other resources to turn a profit and enhance your mining operation. Build a base of operations, forge weapons, go fishing, and dig deep!

Why similar: Automation 26.4%, Base Building 17.7%, Co-op 13.4%, Building 11%, Resource Management 10%

Why You'll Like It: It features a unique mix of mining, crafting, and automation that rewards players for building efficient systems.

shapez is an easy-going, minimalistic factory building game about the automation of shapes through extraction and satisfying production lines. Adapt to increasingly complex shapes and grow your factory across an infinitely expanding map. Your only limitation is your creativity!

Why similar: Automation 32.2%, Base Building 17.5%, Crafting 14%, Resource Management 13.2%, Building 8.8%

Why You'll Like It: A pure automation experience that strips away the colony-sim elements to focus entirely on building efficient production factories.

Space for Sale is an interplanetary, top-down Space Realty management game with a focus on problem-solving and exploration. Played either solo or with a friend, it's up to you to transform wild, uninhabited lands into bustling communities!

Why similar: Colony Sim 45.1%, Building 15.8%, Management 10.4%, Simulation 10.2%, Colorful 6.8%

Why You'll Like It: It provides a sandbox colony-sim experience with a focus on building and managing settlements in space.

Common’hood is a community building and economy management game with highly customizable base building tools. Scavenge for materials, grow your own food, research new technology, craft new tools, build a home, make friends. Form your community and take it from surviving to thriving!

Why similar: Colony Sim 19.2%, Base Building 12.4%, Automation 12%, Crafting 11.6%, Building 10.4%

Why You'll Like It: It emphasizes building and crafting within a community-focused simulation, sharing the management feel of the seed game.

Build a civilization of real people, working together to advance society and stop a meteor, all without destroying the ecosystem in the process.

Why similar: Base Building 26.5%, Crafting 24%, Resource Management 20.2%, Survival 12.5%, Multiplayer 8.6%

Why You'll Like It: A resource-management game that encourages co-op play and long-term planning to build a sustainable civilization.

Take the helm as a new Station Commander and exploit an alien star system in this stunning space-station factory automation game. Amass resources and construct starships using increasingly advanced manufacturing and expand your station in a hostile universe.

Why similar: Automation 26.9%, Base Building 16.4%, Co-op 12.4%, Crafting 11.8%, Management 9.5%

Craftopia is the brand new multiplayer survival action game made in Japan. We combined many features we find enjoyable, such as hunting, farming, hack-and-slash, building, automation to develop this game.

Why similar: Crafting 29.2%, Survival 16.6%, Building 13.7%, Automation 13.4%, Co-op 9%

Why You'll Like It: It combines automation with open-world survival and crafting, offering a wide variety of activities for the player.

Build a space station for 15 alien races! 👽 Inspect IDs, catch criminals, and manage a chaotic galactic hub. A vibrant mix of colony sim & document-checking action. Can you build the ultimate hotel?

Why similar: Colony Sim 31.2%, Base Building 15.3%, Resource Management 15%, Management 12.3%, Survival 7.1%

Create an automated system that terraforms a planet with an army of drones. Craft and build bases, set up a weather monitoring system, prepare to survive different types of storms, and take control of the climate and biomes! Play alone or up to 4 player co-op.

Why similar: Automation 22.9%, Base Building 13.9%, Crafting 11.8%, Co-op 11.5%, Building 7.6%

A condensed incremental experience, where you build a colony to collect and merge bigger and bigger fruits. Combine game-changing technologies and special upgrades to find the best synergies and take your cash flow to another dimension.

Why similar: Automation 29.9%, Colony Sim 27%, Management 10.9%, Building 10.9%, Resource Management 7.6%

Desynced is a sci-fi strategy game with fully customizable units and behaviors. Gather, build, research, and explore the unknown. Alone or with friends, unveil the mystery of an AI on the edge of self-awareness and uncover the hidden truth in this blend of strategy, automation, and exploration.

Why similar: Automation 24%, Base Building 15%, Building 10.4%, Resource Management 9.6%, Management 9.4%

Build. Automate. Defend.

Why similar: Automation 27.3%, Base Building 17.9%, Resource Management 12.7%, Management 10.8%, Online Co-Op 8.9%

In a nuclear apocalypse, you have to use your engineering skills to save as many survivors as possible. Defending, mining, crafting, creating production lines, and building an underground city for the survivors is your goal in this 2d side-scrolling automation game.

Why similar: Colony Sim 21.5%, Automation 16.1%, Base Building 9.8%, Crafting 9.2%, Building 8.1%

Color Factory is a relaxing factory-building game where strategy meets automation. Start with basic colors, refine them into vivid shades, and craft canvases of all sizes. Optimize your machines, scale operations at your own pace, and master automation to build a masterpiece of efficiency.

Why similar: Automation 39.9%, Crafting 19%, Base Building 17.8%, Simulation 10.5%, Colorful 5.1%

Become the hive mind of a robot ant colony in this free version of Microtopia! Use pheromone trails to create, automate and optimize supply chains for your ants to follow. Collect resources, produce goods, feed your queen, grow your colony and fly out to expand the species!

Why similar: Colony Sim 22.6%, Automation 20.1%, Base Building 12.4%, Crafting 10.8%, Resource Management 9.5%

A 2D automation sandbox adventure. Build an automated factory with Mana-powered machines, progress through an expansive tech tree, explore a vast and wonderful world, upgrade yourself with ancient technologies, and defend it all from invasions.

Why similar: Automation 21.5%, Base Building 13.5%, Crafting 12.2%, Resource Management 10.5%, Building 10.4%

Curate and manage incredible museums! Explore to discover amazing artifacts. Design and refine the layout, keep staff happy, guests entertained, donations plentiful… and children off the exhibits

Why similar: Building 33.9%, Management 23.7%, Simulation 19.1%, Cartoony 6.8%, Comedy 6.1%

Farm, Build, Defend, in the Galaxy's only Arcade-Tower-Defense.

Why similar: Base Building 41.1%, Co-op 15.2%, Survival 10.7%, Cartoony 9.3%, Action 6.1%

In Manic Mechanics, up to four players pull on their overalls and head to the auto-obsessed Octane Isle, looking to make a name for themselves as travelling mechanics. Whether played solo or with friends, co-op or versus, Manic Mechanics has plenty of comedic chaos to go around!

Why similar: Co-op 34.2%, Multiplayer 13.5%, Simulation 12.6%, Colorful 12.1%, Comedy 8.2%

Grab your hammers and start to craft in this co-op Tavern Defense for one to four players. As a team of Dwarves, you must gather supplies and build towers to protect your beloved brewery. Learn to cooperate to achieve victory in this chaotic multiplayer game!

Why similar: Co-op 38.7%, Online Co-Op 18.3%, Multiplayer 10.7%, Funny 7.2%, Action 6.7%

Build bases, lead an army of robots, and squash brains in this radical hybrid between RTS and third-person shooter. Join a duo of quirky heroes on a mission to save Earth, smash an evil alien corporation, and complete their comic book collection.

Why similar: Base Building 29.6%, Co-op 26.4%, Online Co-Op 15.9%, Multiplayer 11.4%, Comedy 5.7%

Start small, team up with friends, and automate production with conveyor belts, pipes, and magical devices. Stock your shop with potions, jewelry, and relics, complete commissions, and build an alchemy empire! Alchemy Factory 1.0 is out now with the Wagon Logistics System and revamped shopkeeping.

Why similar: Automation 32.5%, Base Building 13.3%, Crafting 12.2%, Building 12.2%, Resource Management 7%

Cosmo’s Quickstop simulates the fast-paced thrill of managing a gas station… IN SPACE! Upgrade your services, please alien customers, and complete your daily chores through simple minigames that add up to a hilariously frantic experience with solo or couch co-op play.

Why similar: Management 31.1%, Co-op 23.3%, Simulation 12%, Colorful 11%, Funny 6.4%

Welcome to Dinotica! Stomp into a mysterious and dangerous world filled with action, adventure, and companionship! Together, you'll fight, build, farm, and more as you work toward creating a unique home that is truly your own.

Why similar: Base Building 32.9%, Crafting 29.9%, Co-op 22.4%, Simulation 6.1%, Multiplayer 5.4%

A city-building game where you build a penguin settlement and satisfy the various needs of your penguins while dealing with seals and killer whales. Enjoy the growth of your settlement, become the king, and lead the United Penguin Kingdom.

Why similar: Colony Sim 23.9%, Resource Management 15.8%, Management 15.4%, Survival 12.3%, Building 10.6%

Builderment is a casual factory builder, where you are sent to far away planets to keep Earth going with fresh resources. Establish your base, then mine, build, transport, and ultimately design an automated operation that will save your home one shipment at a time!

Why similar: Automation 30.9%, Base Building 18.4%, Crafting 15.9%, Resource Management 13.2%, Building 11.3%

Team up with friends and dive into adventure! Rescue dwellers, let them work for you so they farm resources and protect you from enemies. Upgrade your equipment, explore new lands, complete quests and fight evil with glory!

Why similar: Colony Sim 40.1%, Crafting 22.8%, Online Co-Op 13.5%, Survival 10.8%, Colorful 8%

Step into the role of a hands-on mayor and build your town from the ground up. Plan neighborhoods, automate logistics, and grow your community—all while juggling workers, infrastructure, and day-to-day chaos to create your dream town. Play solo for total control, or bring friends for co-op mayhem.

Why similar: Automation 24.9%, Building 20.7%, Management 18.8%, Co-op 13%, Simulation 10.4%

Mob factory is an tower defense and automation game for the lazy adventurer. Smelt down enemy loot into turrets & factories to automate an ever expanding dungeon from the comfort of your tower.

Why similar: Automation 32.8%, Base Building 16.6%, Resource Management 13.6%, Crafting 12.1%, Building 8.4%

Oddsparks is a blend of automation and real-time strategy for both the die-hard fans of the automation genre and the automation-curious. Explore a strange fantasy world, uncover the mysteries of the past, automate your workshops, and go on adventures with your odd & adorable Sparks!

Why similar: Automation 26.5%, Building 19.9%, Base Building 15%, Co-op 14.2%, Crafting 11.8%

Rebots is a first-person automation game with an expansive universe to explore. Using intelligent(ish) rebots, you can gather resources, terraform planets, and scan all of the things. Traverse the galaxy in the name of space capitalism!

Why similar: Automation 24.5%, Colony Sim 21.8%, Base Building 13.9%, Crafting 13.1%, Resource Management 11.7%

Control two characters simultaneously! Survive, gather, collect upgrades, fight all sizes of one-eyed Martians, build defensible outposts and conquer Mars, in this glorious mix between roguelite and tower defense.

Why similar: Base Building 21.8%, Building 15.7%, Resource Management 15.4%, Management 14.2%, Survival 12%

Build a formidable factory and go dungeoning alone or with friends. Solve logic puzzles and automate resource collection and crafting, or venture into dungeons filled with dangers and rewards. Find your own ideal gameplay balance, as any unique path will advance the story!

Why similar: Automation 23.1%, Base Building 13.7%, Crafting 12.4%, Co-op 11.1%, Resource Management 10%

Build a living factory and automate the Swarm. Harvest resources, construct mega factories, and grow a colony of specialized biomechanical bugs. Balance growth, efficiency, and creep spread before hostile robots squish you for trying to consume their world.

Why similar: Automation 29.7%, Base Building 15.1%, Crafting 10.9%, Resource Management 9.9%, Building 9.1%

Land on a planet, pick up some rocks, leave before the solar system explodes. Oh, and don't die in the nightly robot attacks! Freaking Meatbags is a humorous real-time strategy game that's all about building a base, mixing meatbag DNA, then convincing those dolts to help you gather resources.

Why similar: Colony Sim 31.9%, Base Building 16.3%, Resource Management 13.8%, Building 12.8%, Survival 10.8%

Build and manage a massive industrial network of factories, mines, and farms. Employ a fleet of trains, trucks, and robotic drones. In the age of automation, efficiency is survival!

Why similar: Automation 31.2%, Base Building 17.8%, Building 11%, Resource Management 10.6%, Crafting 9%