Anno 117 is designed as a medium- to long-term project rather than a quick fling. Finishing one sibling’s campaign and building a mature, multi-island province will comfortably fill 30–50 hours for a busy adult, though you’ll feel meaningful progress well before that. Individual sessions work nicely in 60–90 minute chunks: long enough to stabilize a new island, place a major building, or push a population tier. There are no hard missions or matches, so stopping is up to your self-control and chosen milestones. On the plus side, it’s extremely schedule-friendly. You can pause anytime, save almost anywhere, and even move progress between platforms, so interruptions from kids, partners, or work are easy to handle. Where it’s less forgiving is coming back after weeks away: large saves full of routes and overlapping bonuses take time to mentally reload. The game is primarily solo, with optional co-op and PvP, so you’re rarely bound by other people’s schedules unless you choose to be.

Moment to moment, Anno 117 leans hard into thinking rather than twitch reactions. Most of your attention goes to reading overlays, spotting shortages, planning districts, and coordinating trade between islands, all at a pace you largely control. Active pause and multiple speed settings mean you can stop time to think through problems or run the simulation slowly while you scan for issues. This makes it very friendly if you like to ponder your moves, but it still expects you to pay decent attention to information density: icons, graphs, and needs bars scattered around the interface. The game sits in a sweet spot for many adults: engaged but not frantic. You probably won’t want to play complex podcasts in the background during your first 10–15 hours, but once you understand the systems, it’s perfectly fine to listen to music, chat, or glance at your phone between adjustments. Reflexes barely matter; the challenge is mental organization and medium-term planning, not hand–eye coordination.

Learning Anno 117 is more like learning a complex board game than a quick arcade title. The campaign is deliberately structured as a long-form tutorial, introducing mechanics over many chapters so you’re not hit with everything at once. Expect around 10–20 hours before you feel truly at ease with population tiers, cross-province logistics, religious bonuses, and research. That’s a real investment, but the game rarely punishes you harshly while you learn; it’s more about iterating and improving. Once the basics click, skill growth feels great. You’ll notice your second or third province runs smoother, reaches higher tiers faster, and looks more intentional. Better layouts cut traffic jams, smarter trade routes prevent shortages, and savvy planning leaves more room for beauty building. Crucially, you don’t need to become a min-maxer to enjoy yourself. The game rewards mastery with efficiency and elegance rather than locking content behind extreme difficulty, which makes it a satisfying long-term companion for players who like gentle, ongoing improvement.

Emotionally, Anno 117 sits closer to a cozy hobby than a heart-pounding thriller. Default setups are forgiving enough that your empire rarely feels on the brink of disaster, especially once you understand basic supply chains. Most evenings are tranquil: you’re nudging production, beautifying districts, and watching citizens stroll through streets, not fighting for survival. When a fire spreads, protests erupt, or an enemy fleet appears, tension does rise, but you can pause and address problems methodically. That keeps adrenaline in check even during busier moments. The main “pressure” comes from self-imposed goals—wanting a clean layout, a balanced budget, or a tidy warehouse screen—rather than from the game constantly punishing mistakes. If you crank up difficulty or add aggressive AI, things can feel significantly harsher, but our target player is unlikely to live there. For most adults playing on normal, it’s a low-stress, gently challenging experience that engages the brain without spiking anxiety, making it suitable even after a tiring workday.