Another day in my little town over in 
I found out that I had broken into the top 200. I'm sure it'll be short-lived as I am not in pursuit of the highest ranks. Heck, I'm not even being efficient with my current build.
Right now, I am trying to increase my education stat to receive some technology cards. With a measly 4% chance at my given level, it'll take a long time before I receive another one. Of course, a bit of luck could make maxing out education a lot easier than buying 100 universities.
By logic, it's easier for me to buy random cards and sell those I don't need and hope to flip them for a profit. That way, I can further fuel my path to my vision. Sounds good, but that'd be assuming everyone wants to buy any card that may or may not help them reach their designs.
Part of the appeal of the game is to design your "city" the way you want. Someone could have an entire city of immigrants or homeless if they so choose. At some point, I want to fill mine with laboratories, for obvious reasons.
The daily rewards, even as I enter the top 200, are still not worth it. They are more like consolation prizes. But hey, we all have spent a lot more money on triple A titles or games that only keep on taking. By comparison, giving you some cents back seems like a nice gesture.
Is it an investment? It's not to me, and I hope it's not for you. There are most likely far easier ways to make money on Hive than going all in on dCity.
Meanwhile, enjoy the biweekly presidential elections. Then, watch the said person tweak the economics to everyone's amusement. It's a DPOS within a DPOS. It's a game most people on the platform could get into with minimal commitment.
Is it the best sim game ever? Not by a long shot. But, it's one of the things you could do on Hive to keep you around.