1849 fills a not too simple, yet not so complex as to be overwhelming gap in the simulation genre that hasn't had an outstanding game for awhile. Be prepared to lose hours of your life becoming a well known tycoon in California.
From SomaSim comes a simulation game based around the California Gold Rush and Nevada's subsequent Comstock Silver Rush.
City-building games come in all sorts of flavors, from those based on animated shows like The Simpsons to what purist fans think of as the sort that sets the bar for the genre, Sim City. 1849 is not one of those games.
Jasmine Gipson of The Koalition writes:
The year is 1849 and people have traveled far and wide to try their hand at striking it rich in the wilds of California. In the game 1849, you are free to play in story mode in which you follow along through various locations and times in California's history trying to successfully complete various tasks with varying difficulties put forth for you to complete.