Yeah I'd defiantly go with Zeus/Pharaoh/Caesar III
Has no-one said Settlers yet though? I remember the (sadly missing from GOG) first one being good and pretty chilled on my old Amiga
And have any Pharaoh/Zeus veterans given Children of the Nile a go? How does it compare - worthy successor or dumbed down for the masses?

Settlers 2 and 6 are my choices for the series. Children of the Nile is decent, but it just does not feel the same. Definitely not dumbed down. Just seems to lack the usual Impression Games flavor, despite the fact that Tilted Mill had a lot of ex-Impression Games employees. I'd say that it deserves a go anyway. Did not play the enhanced edition with the Alexandria expansion.

Cheers +1'd

Zeus/Pharaoh for me, Always like the greek / egyptian eras, Caesar III comes close but not as much as the other 2.

King of Dragon Pass is an interesting managerial sim, nice storytelling and choice/consequence aspects.

Zeus is my city builder of comfort. Whenever I install a new city sim (for instance banished yesterday) melancholy hits me and I end up installing Zeus again. It's a combination of great gameplay, awesome mythology and optional combat that wins me every time.

In close second it would be Settlers 3, It was my first strategy game, a demo with 1 tutorial and 1 scenario map from a pc gaming magazine. I played that scenario map countless times since I couldn't afford buying it, and when I had the money I couldn't find the game anywhere. A few years later I found GOG while searching for this game. (I feel like I'm very subjective about this game, but I really enjoy it!)

So why is 2K preferable to 4 Deluxe?

I know not a lot about builder games, only played a few but I was considering adding something to my shelf and had it narrowed down to Pharaoh + Cleopatra or Banished, I wishlisted Pharaoh + Cleopatra so will be keeping an eye out for that one during the next promo.

I don't know if it is anymore. I will say that for several reasons 4 Deluxe is WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY more forgiving which for me is great because while I love gaming, I kind of suck at it! :P 4 has a difficulty setting, better advice (more direct) from your staff, and with the add-on you can always make fast cash, fast rep, or more important unlock buildings that normally would take an eon to get to. Of course more than that, in #4 you can build water pumps ANYWHERE! :D

Mind you, those are all of the same reasons that a lot of gamers will say that #4 sucks.

I'm pretty average at games, but for a builder game I think relaxing is good so something relatively easy is a good choice :)

I think it's Zeus: Master of Olympus. I like all Sierra Games but this one is my favourite. Perhaps because I've spent my summer in Greece, visiting the whole country and played it a lot after my holidays :)

Either Caesar 3 or Pharoah. Pharaoh is my favorite, and I love how playing Caesar 3 reminds me off the Asterix books I used to read as a kid (in fact, I still read them from time to time as well as the Tintin books). One awesome Asterix book in particular : Asterix and the Laurel Wreath.

Rollercoaster tycoon is a strong contender as well.

That was a good necro considering a bundle with 4 classic city builders is currently on sale:

http://www.gog.com/promo/big_winter_city_builder_bundle_061214

My favorite out of these is Caesar 3 for nostalgic reasons and due to the setting but I recommend starting with Zeus, unless anyone is put off by the cartoony graphics in which case I recommend starting with Pharaoh.

My favorite is Sim City 2000. I'm not a huge fan of the genre but I'm having a real hard time resisting this city builder bundle.

I cant go past the classic Sim City series as my favorite games in the genere.
Played a mountain of Sim City 2000 back in the day, just love Sim City 3000 as well and really should play Sim City 4 at some point.

I would add my voice to Zeus & Poseidon. Of course I have not played the other ones of the series yet, but I loved that one.