Summary
While much ofAnno 1800’s appeal lies in its aesthetic beauty, there comes a time when utility and functionality must take precedence in order to sustain a vital colony. One way in which players can do this is through the use of City Layouts. These pre-made templates providea valuable blueprint of different building types, each of which has its own way of channeling resources and workers. While the choice of layout is largely dependent upon the terrain of the surrounding environment, each build can be modified in order to accommodate all kinds of different purposes and needs.
Each city layout will cater to different needs depending on what the player is looking for. However, there are a few generally solid Layouts that can provide a great example for players to work from. Using Layouts can be particularly beneficial when claiming new islands and quickly establishing functioning, autonomous settlementswithout the need to micromanageevery minor construction.
Updated on Jul 17, 2025, by Andrew McLarney:Anno 1800 has seen many updates and DLCs since it was first released. An enthusiastic community of players has been the backbone of its longevity, however, and many have come up with ideal layouts for maximizing efficiency as well as helping out newer players who may need some assistance when it comes to designing production chains. Examples of each layout, along with hundreds more, can be found on theAnno 1800 Wiki page.
8Tiny City Layout
Ideal For Smaller Islands & Farming Settlements With Limited Space
The Tiny City Layout is a basic city design with a Marketplace, Pub, and Firehouse at the center. Surrounding these key buildings are several districts of Farmer Homes. This helps players ensure that any resources can be produced from the surrounding environment where necessary. With such a compact design, the layout can be used on most islands, regardless of their size, which makes it a great starting choice for most players.
From this base, players can transform the settlement any way they wish.With solid foundations in farming, the populace is sure to be sustained and happy, at least before the pursuit of further resources takes priority. If the terrain permits it, players can use this starting base to expand outward, or alternatively, they can import this layout as a mini district and attach it to larger settlements.
7All-In-One Layout
A Versatile But Demanding Basic City Layout
This vanilla layout can be found under the Stamps tab by clicking the small bank icon. This rather large layout requires a lot of space but provides everything needed for a basic city, which can then be further developed in a variety of directions.
The layout consists of a Bank, two Oil Power Plants, four Churches, four Schools, and a variety of Marketplaces, Pubs, and Members Clubs. As a result, this layout is very demanding when it comes to resources, and will requirea lot of resource productionin order to sustain it. Additionally, some buildings may not be unlocked initially. In this case, they will remain as blueprints until the requirements to unlock them have been met. One added bonus of this layout is the inclusion of space for railway tracks, which allows players to link the city to smaller settlements if necessary.
6New World City Layout
Ideal Small City Layout For Colonies In The New World
The New World City layout, which can be downloaded from AnnoStamps, is a medium-sized Layout that is ideal for a starting base on larger New World islands. The layout includes a range of useful and well-positioned buildings, including several Chapels, a Marketplace, Fire Stations, and also Police Stations at either end of the city. This ensures that the basic needs of the town are met before luxuries and production-specific buildings are added.
The placement of the houses and roadways ensures that efficiency remains at the forefront of settlements. This layout can be very useful since it is relatively compact considering its population, especially given that most New World islands have difficult and uneven terrain.
5Jubilee Diamond Artisan Town
Designed To Get The Best Out Of The Artisan Tier
The next population tier up from Workers is the Artisan class. While slightly more demanding than workers, the Artisans are some of the most productive pops when it comes to manufacturing high quality goods. The Jubilee Diamond Artisan Town is built around the premise of serving the Artisans and meeting their needs.
The diamond shape enables the vast majority of houses to bewithin range of essential services, like the School and Church. Meanwhile a single Fire Station, Police Station, and Hospital are enough to cover this large mass of people, making it both efficient and safe for all the residents.
4Easy Engineers
Meets The Needs Of All Engineers And Ensures Production Efficiency
The next tier up from Artisans is the industrious Engineers. These residents will require several marketplace products in addition to a University, and their luxury needs include a Variety Theater and a Bank. The Easy Engineers layout seeks to meet all these needs at once.
The layout occupies a total of 4044 tiles, providing coverage of essential services to all houses, as well asstreamlined pathways for transportation and access. Overall, this layout will foster a very productive community of Engineers, all the while meeting their needs and enabling them to be upgraded if necessary.
3Intense Investors
Centered Around Wealth Generation And Growing The Economy At Higher Tiers
Intense Investors is a simple but highly effective Town Hall grid built for the purposes of cramming in as many Investor Residence buildings as possible while modifying them with Town Hall items. In total, the layout ensures that over 100 residences are covered by the effects of the Town Hall and Post Office.
Since the Investors population tier will require lots of luxury goods to have their needs met, this layout is by no means self-sufficient. In order to successfully build a community of Investors, players will need to have colonies established and producing goods inboth the Old World and New World.
2King William Island Layout
Purpose-Built Design For King William Island (DLC Required)
For players who haveThe PassageDLC, based on the ill-fated Franklin expedition to the Arctic, new maps will become available. One of these new maps is King William Island, where the crews of the Erebus and the Terror arebelieved to have perished. This layout makes full use of both the land and the shore to maximize productivity on the island.
Since this layout is specifically designed to fit the shape of King William Island, it is unlikely that it would work elsewhere. The design is mainly centered around a giant Airship Hangar, which can be useful for transportation. A variety of Whaling Stations will help to produce a steady supply of Whale Oil, while a close-knit community of houses in the center ensures that nobody is too far away from their workstation.
1World’s Fair City Layout
Marvelous City Design Showcasing Power And Prestige
This massive layout takes up a lot of room and is only likely to work on the largest islands in the game. Providing up to 1090 homes, this layout is a pre-built metropolis. It offersplenty of variability and customization optionswhen it comes to the management of specific districts. This can be a great starting point for players looking to build extravagant designs on an unlimited budget.
At its center, the layout includes a World’s Fair. One of its best features is the range of coverage provided by its 13 Town Halls, which manage to encapsulate all the houses within their sphere of influence. The layout also includes other basic building types to ensure a well-functioning city from the get-go.
