We all long for a place to call our own, somewhere where we can put down roots and alter the space to suit our needs and taste. However, doing that in real life is not only costly, but also involves a rather large amount of time and effort to achieve. Thankfully, there are a lot of indie games that can help.  

Sandbox design games are the perfect way of channeling that need for spatial creativity, minus the roadblocks that often exist in real life. Whether you want to design interior spaces or spend some time achieving levels of organization you could only dream of in real life, there are indie games out there to let you virtually live out your dreams. 

Here are 10 of the best sandbox design games that will let you unleash your creativity or organizational skills in a virtual space. 

Small Spaces

Small Spaces is an interior design game that focuses on, as the name suggests, small spaces. With the increase in tiny apartments and homes on wheels, it makes sense that developer Niklas Tomkowitz has chosen this niche to focus on when creating this gorgeous little indie gem. 

In Small Spaces, you need to fulfill the needs of clients who, at first glance, want a lot of things in such a small area. You need to get creative with your designs, add platforms to create lofts, figure out how to get a full kitchen into an area three tiles wide, and more. With almost photo-realistic graphics, the the ability to enter your creation in first person mode, and a long list of updates on the way, Small Spaces has a bright future. 

Small Spaces was released into early access on May 27, 2025, so you can download and experience the full game now through Steam. 

Dream Garden

There’s something really special about dioramas and the detail that can be created on such a tiny scale, and Dream Garden is an upcoming game that focuses on that fact by allowing you to create small dioramas inside a garden space. 

By adding water, sand, lighting, and various structures to the small area that you have to build on, you can create intricate and detail-packed dioramas that offer something new to see every time you look at them. You can create zen gardens, complete with sand patterns, or use the different elements to create buildings and rivers to draw the eye. 

Dream Garden is still in development by Campfire Studio and is due to be released at some point during 2025. There currently is no demo to play, but you can wishlist and follow the game through Steam and Campfire Studio offer regular updates on social media.

Design & Conjure

Design & Conjure is an interior design game with a cozy, witchy twist. The story is that you’re a witch named Dalia who has recently moved back to her hometown after university, with the hopes of fixing it up. As you design and renovate different rooms within the town, your efforts will improve life for those living there. 

As well as this story-driven main mode, you’ll be able to use every item within Creative Mode to decorate any room you like, giving you full creative freedom without the pressure or expectations of various townsfolk. All of this is set to a gloriously relaxing lo-fi background soundtrack, which does huge things to boost the cozy atmosphere. 

Design & Conjure is still in development by Tiny Kiwi Games, with no determined release date as of yet. However, you can keep up to date by wishlisting and following the game on Steam or following Tiny Kiwi Games on social media.

MakeRoom

MakeRoom is a ridiculously cute design game with a lot of features that make it the perfect escape from the depressing reality of perpetual-rental syndrome. In MakeRoom, you can either design your own diorama rooms using over 1000 objects or complete mini-quests from the residents of MakeRoom Island, unlocking new items as rewards for doing so. 

Everything in MakeRoom is customizable, and you can even combine items to create your own unique furniture pieces. Everything comes with multiple color swatches, and all items can be resized to fit your needs as well. There’s a lot of flexibility on offer with Make Room, and the ability to make something that really captures your taste and personality. 

MakeRoom has been developed by Kenney, and is part of the Wholesome Games community. It’s set to be released on August 7, 2025, so there isn’t long to wait before we can all go and live out our interior design dreams. You can wishlist it now on Steam to be first in line on release day. 

Lonely House

Jumping out of the house now and focusing on exterior design, Lonely House is a gorgeous game in which you have full control over an island of land in the middle of a busy city. On this land, you can create a custom building and then decorate it with a huge number of items. You can add neon lights, HVAC systems, overgrown shrubbery, graffiti, and sidewalk accessories. 

With the soothing tones of lo-fi tunes to accompany this unpressured and unhurried design adventure, you’ll soon find out that even the most run-down buildings have a certain type of charm to offer. Boarded-up windows aren’t so ugly when they’re surrounded by crawling ivy, and neon signs offer a touch of brightness on an otherwise dark crossroads. 

Lonely House is currently in development by Barov Interactive and is set to be released at some point in 2025. However, there is a demo available to download and play if you feel like stretching your design skills.

Unbox the Room

If you enjoy games like Unpacking, then you will absolutely love Unbox the Room, where you play as an interior designer helping people move into new spaces. Everything, including the furniture, is packed up. It’s up to you to unload it from the moving truck and make the new rooms make sense, fulfilling the client’s requests. 

As well as the normal client-based mode, Unbox the Room will also come with a sandbox mode that will allow you to fully stretch your design skills using every item that the game has to offer in various rooms. Whether you want to create a full studio apartment, you have the freedom to do whatever you like. 

Unbox the Room is currently in development by Weird Penguin Games and is set for release at some point in 2025. There’s a demo that you can try right now if you want to enjoy the cozy pixelated atmosphere. 

Tiny Glade

Tiny Glade is perhaps the ultimate diorama-building sandbox game, giving you ultimate control over everything from wall height to shrubbery to windows and more. I could wax lyrical about how much I adore this cozy little game, and if you’re into design games, then this is an absolute staple, complete with sheep and ducks that you can pet.

You can create tiny village homes or expansive castles using the procedural detail generation. Paths automatically turn into bridges over water, and arches automatically appear in the walls when you draw a path underneath them. You don’t need to be an architect to create the most gorgeous and detail-filled dioramas with Tiny Glade, and even mistakes sometimes turn into Bob Ross-style happy little accidents. 

Tiny Glade was released on September 23, 2024, and it’s an absolute must-have for cozy gamers and design lovers. Developed by Pounce Light, the game is still getting regular updates and is an endless joy to experience. There’s also a demo available to try, which is enough to make you fall in love with the tiny, cozy worlds you can create.

Organized Inside

Rather than focusing on design, Organized Inside turns the focus purely on organizing objects within a small space. You’ll need to organize a lot of items in spaces such as the car, a single kitchen work surface, or a cupboard. At first glance, it seems as though not all of the items will fit, but you’ll need to play object Tetris and figure it out. 

Some objects are designed to be placed inside other bigger ones, which helps, but you’ll also open objects and find additional hidden objects inside. Plates can be stacked, and sometimes items need washing before you can put them away, so you’ll need to make sure everything is organized to perfection. 

Meox Studio are currently developing Organized Inside and it doesn’t have a set release date as of yet, but there is a demo available if you’re yearning to organize things into their rightful places. 

Tiny Shop: Make it Cozy

Tiny Shop: Make it Cozy bridges the gap between cozy decorating and shop management, combining the two elements to create something absolutely glorious. After opening up your dream shop, you’ll spend the days selling wares to the locals. When evening comes and you flip the sign on the door to closed, you’ll have a chance to get creative with both the inside and outside of the shop, making it your own. 

The challenge here is staying on trend in terms of both what you sell and how the shop looks. How you decorate will affect how many customers you get, which will then affect how much you have to spend on your creative decorating endeavors. You’ll need to think about seasonal stock, and what type of customers you want to attract. 

Tiny Shop: Make it Cozy is currently in development by Scoreboard Games and is set to release in early 2026, but you can sign up for the playtest via the Steam page. You can also wishlist and follow to get updates as we approach release. 

REKA

At first glance, the addition of REKA on this list might have you frowning and wondering if I’ve lost the plot, but hear me out. While REKA is definitely an adventure and exploration game at heart, a huge draw of the game is the home you can build and furnish on the back of your walking chicken-legged platform, and REKA offers the ultimate cottagecore decorative experience. 

Everywhere you go, you’ll unlock new furniture and decor items by completing quests or opening up chests around the world. You can then bring these home and place them in your house, with no grid in sight to limit your creativity. You can add endless clutter in even the most obscure of places within the house, and if you’re a fan of the witchy vibes on offer, REKA’s decoration system will have you enamored. 

REKA was developed by Emberstorm Entertainment and was released into early access on September 12, 2024. Regular updates are still incoming, with the latest adding gardening and further main story quests, plus even more items to clutter up your house.