Anno 1800 on a Mac with a controller
The Anno 1800 layout is built into InputConfig, free on the Mac App Store. You don't have to make an account, there are no subscriptions, and nothing is locked. Optimized for Apple silicon.
On a Mac: No Mac version. Anno 1800 Console Edition is in the Xbox Cloud Gaming library and plays with a controller in a Mac browser. The PC version is a mouse game; streamed from a Windows PC you own, this layout plays it from a pad.
Yes, Anno 1800 plays on a Mac with a controller in two ways: the Console Edition on Xbox Cloud Gaming reads a pad directly, and the PC version, streamed from a Windows PC you own, plays from a pad with this layout. Anno is a game about placing things, and placing is a pointer and a trigger. A stream carries it perfectly. Nothing in Anno is fast.
On this page: 9 sections
The layout, control by control
How the layout thinks
- Pointer. The left stick moves the pointer at speed 16.
- Pan. The right stick pans with W, A, S and D.
- Click. The right trigger places and selects (left click), the left trigger cancels and rotates (right click).
- Zoom. The bumpers scroll the mouse wheel: the left zooms out, the right zooms in.
- Time. Pause on the bottom face button (Space), speeds one, two and three on the right, left and top (1, 2, 3). Menu on Start (Escape).
Pause and the three speeds sit on the face buttons, because Anno is also a game about waiting. Aim with the left stick, place with the right trigger, rotate with the left.
Tune it
- Build menu. Both stick clicks are empty. Put its key on one.
- Copy tool. Put it on a chord row.
- A slow pointer for the road that has to line up. Duplicate the four left-stick rows, set While also holding to a spare button on the copies, and give them half the speed.
A half-speed pointer is the difference between a straight road and a crooked one.
Pick the right version
- Console Edition. On Xbox Cloud Gaming in a Mac browser, it reads your controller directly. No layout needed, so keep this preset off there.
- PC version. Built around a mouse. Streamed from your own PC, this layout turns the pad into that mouse and the keys.
Running this layout over the Console Edition would double every press.
Anno 1800 controller support: controller or keyboard
Steam's store page lists no controller support for Anno 1800, so it was made for a keyboard and mouse, and that is how it expects to be played. A controller still works: this layout sends the game's keys and mouse movement from the pad, so to the game you are simply typing and pointing. No controller support listed means the layout does the work, not the game.
From Steam's listing, checked in October 2026. Every game's listing is in Mac games with controller support.
If your controller is not working in Anno 1800
When Anno 1800 does not react to your controller on a Mac, climb this ladder, smallest step first:
- Check that the Mac sees the controller. Open the gamepad tester and press a button. If nothing lights up there, the problem is the connection, and a controller that is connected but not working covers that first.
- Press a button after the stream has started. A stream only picks up a controller that is paired with the Mac, and a browser shows a controller to a page only after a button press. Start Anno 1800, then press any button. Streaming from your own PC has its own checks, in how to stream PC games to a Mac with a controller.
- Play it from keys. If Anno 1800 still ignores the pad, activate this layout. It sends the keyboard and mouse controls Anno 1800 already reads. The layout works whether or not Anno 1800 ever sees the controller.
Get it in two clicks
- Get InputConfig free on the Mac App Store, open it, and click Smart Preset Maker on the welcome screen.
- Search for Anno 1800 and pick it. The layout is created as a preset in your sidebar, named and ready.
- Press Activate. Every row can be changed afterwards: the editor's Scan button rebinds any control the moment you touch it.
To check the controller itself first, the gamepad tester shows every button and stick live in your browser.
Anno 1800 controls: every button and the key it sends
The Sends column is Anno 1800's default keyboard and mouse controls, as this layout expects them. If you changed a key in the game's settings, change the same row in InputConfig.
| Controller | Sends | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Left stick left | Mouse motion left (speed 16) | Cursor left |
| Left stick right | Mouse motion right (speed 16) | Cursor right |
| Left stick up | Mouse motion up (speed 16) | Cursor up |
| Left stick down | Mouse motion down (speed 16) | Cursor down |
| Right stick left | A | Pan left (A) |
| Right stick right | D | Pan right (D) |
| Right stick up | W | Pan up (W) |
| Right stick down | S | Pan down (S) |
| Right trigger | Left click | Place / select (left click) |
| Left trigger | Right click | Cancel / rotate (right click) |
| LB / L1 | Scroll down | Zoom out |
| RB / R1 | Scroll up | Zoom in |
| A / Cross | Space | Pause (Space) |
| B / Circle | 1 | Speed 1 |
| X / Square | 2 | Speed 2 |
| Y / Triangle | 3 | Speed 3 |
| Start / Options | Escape | Menu (Esc) |
Button names follow the Xbox / PlayStation pair shown in the editor, so A / Cross is the bottom face button on either pad. On a Switch Pro Controller the bottom button is labeled B; the mapping still fires on position.
Questions
Does Anno 1800 run on a Mac?
Anno 1800 does not run natively on a Mac. Anno 1800 Console Edition plays with a controller on Xbox Cloud Gaming in a Mac browser, and the PC version streams from a Windows PC you own, where this layout plays it from a pad.
Does Anno 1800 have controller support?
The Console Edition does, and it is the version Xbox Cloud Gaming streams to a Mac browser, so a controller works there with no extra app. The PC version is built around a mouse. This layout turns a controller into that mouse and the keys, which is how to play the PC copy from a pad over a stream from your own PC.
Does Anno 1800 have controller support?
Not by itself. Steam lists no controller support for Anno 1800. A controller still works through a layout like this one, which sends the game's keys.
Is Anno 1800 better with a controller or a keyboard?
It was made for a keyboard and mouse: Steam lists no controller support for Anno 1800. A controller still works through this layout, which sends the game's own keys and mouse movement.
Why is my controller not working in Anno 1800 on a Mac?
First check the Mac itself sees the controller, with the gamepad tester. If it does and Anno 1800 still ignores it, activate the Anno 1800 layout in InputConfig, which sends the game's keyboard and mouse controls from the controller.
Can I play Anno 1800 on an M1 Mac or a MacBook Air?
Yes, through a stream. Anno 1800 runs on the other end, on a cloud service or your own PC, so the Mac only plays the video and sends your input. An M1 MacBook Air streams it like any other Mac.
Does Anno 1800 run in CrossOver on a Mac?
I have not tested Anno 1800 in CrossOver. CodeWeavers keeps a compatibility list where players report how each Windows game runs. If it runs and the controller is not seen, this layout plays it from the keys and mouse.
Related
Completely free. You don't have to make an account, there are no subscriptions, and nothing is locked. Optimized for Apple silicon. Open source on GitHub.
Updated