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Best simulation games on GamesNostalgia

Whether you've always dreamed of building your own virtual city, managing a bustling farm, or even piloting an aircraft, simulation games offer an exciting escape from reality. These immersive experiences not only provide entertainment but also serve as a fertile ground for unleashing your creativity and problem-solving skills. Dive into the world of simulation games and discover a universe where your imagination knows no bounds. From constructing intricate structures to making strategic decisions, these games allow you to shape and mold your own virtual reality.

To be part of this group, it's not enough to have some simulation elements. All games try to simulate reality, at least in part. Here we tried to list titles where the simulation is the game's core.

The first simulation computer game was probably Bruce Artwick's Flight Simulator, the first realistic flight sim, released in 1980 for the Apple II. In 1985, David Crane programmed the first virtual life simulator with Little Computer People, the progenitor of The Sims, a success that Maxis would release 15 years later. But the first hit of Will Wright's company was the city-building simulation game SimCity in 1989, followed by SimAnt and SimLife in 1992, SimHealth in 1994, in many others.

Going back to flight simulators, we must mention F-15 Strike Eagle, one of the first games created by Sid Meier, initially for the Atari 8-bit. But other famous titles of the '80s include F/A-18 Interceptor, Falcon, F-16 Combat Pilot, and F-19 Stealth Fighter. In the '90s, we had F-117A Nighthawk Stealth Fighter 2.0, released in 1993, and the Great War Planes series series created by Damon Slye for Sierra/Dynamix, with Red Baron, Aces of the Pacific, Aces Over Europe and others. Planes are not the only vehicles simulated. In Silent Service, released in 1986, you control a submarine; in Gunship, the AH-64 Apache helicopter.

Moving towards economic simulations, in Chris Sawyer's Transport Tycoon, you need to manage a transport company, while in Railroad Tycoon Deluxe, you build railroads and manage trains.

After the successes of his god-game titles, such as Populous, Bullfrog entered the simulation scene with Theme Park in 1994. Theme Hospital was another big hit, but the most successful title was Sim Theme Park in 1999.

It's not always easy to identify simulation games; sometimes, there is a significant overlap with strategy games, especially in business simulations. City-building games like Caesar might or might not be considered simulations. That's why we suggest checking also business simulation, city building, and construction simulation.

Seven Cities of Gold amigaatari-8-bit

Seven Cities of Gold by Ozark Softscape, is often considered one of the most groundbreaking strategy and exploration games of its era. Designed by Dan Bunten (later Danielle Bunten...

Year: 1986 Genre: Simulation

adventure-strategy age of discovery atari 8-bit business simulation educational history sea trading simulation trading

Theme Hospital dos

Theme Hospital is a business simulator developed by Bullfrog Productions and published by Electronic Arts for the PC in 1997. It's the second game in Bullfrog Productions' Theme series, and was proceeded by Theme Park.

Year: 1997 Genre: Simulation

business simulation city building comedy construction simulation humour management real-time simulation

SimTower: The Vertical Empire windows-3.x

SimTower: The Vertical Empire is a simulation game developed by Japanese company OpenBook and published by Maxis in 1994 for Windows 3.x and Macintosh. The game was initially devel...

Year: 1995 Genre: Simulation

business simulation city building management simulation

SimCity amigasnes

SimCity, one of the most popular videogames of all time, is an open-ended city-building game designed by Will Wright and developed by Maxis. Wright started to create the game in 1985 on a Commodore 64 but never completed it.

Year: 1989 Genre: Simulation

business simulation city building freeware macintosh original game simulation top-down

Sim City 2000 dosamigasnes

SimCity 2000 is the city building game subsequent to SimCity, developed and published by Maxis Software and released in 1993. It made its way onto many platforms following its initial release.

Year: 1993 Genre: Simulation

aga city building construction simulation management real-time sim city simulation

Theme Park dosamiga

Theme Park is a strategy game about running your amusement park, developed by Bullfrog Productions. It was published by Electronic Arts in 1994 for Mac, 3DO, Amiga, and DOS. It was...

Year: 1994 Genre: Simulation

aga business simulation construction simulation humour management real-time simulation

Total Air War windows

Total Air War, released in 1998 by Digital Image Design and published by Infogrames, is one of the most ambitious and immersive flight simulators. Building upon the foundations of ...

Year: 1998 Genre: Simulation

3d 3d acceleration combat flight simulation military simulation

Moonfall amigaatari-stcommodore-64

Moonfall is a space combat and trading sim released in 1991 by 21st Century Entertainment, originally for the Commodore 64. The game was then ported to Amiga and Atari ST. The game...

Year: 1991 Genre: Simulation

3d c64 original game polygons simulation space combat sim space exploration trading

Silent Service II amiga

Silent Service 2 is a submarine simulator created by MicroProse and published initially in 1990 for PC MS-DOS and later for Amiga/Atari ST. The game is the sequel to the well-known...

Year: 1991 Genre: Simulation

first-person historical battle history naval simulation submarine vehicular combat simulator war ww2

Gunship amiga

Gunship is a combat flight simulator created by MicroProse Software and released initially for the Commodore 64 in 1986. Later it was ported to PC, Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum, Atari ST, and other platforms.

Year: 1989 Genre: Simulation

3d c64 original game combat flight simulation commodore 64 first-person helicopter military polygons simulation vehicular combat simulator

F-15 Strike Eagle atari-stcommodore-64nesmsx

F-15 Strike Eagle is a combat flight simulator first released in 1984 by MicroProse for the Atari 8-bit. One year later, it was ported to Commodore 64 and Apple II. The game was de...

Year: 1985 Genre: Simulation

atari 8-bit aviation combat flight simulation flight sim simulation vehicular combat simulator vietnam

DragonStrike amiga

DragonStrike is a fantasy flight simulator created by Strategic Simulations Inc set in the AD&D world of Dragonlance. The game was released for the Amiga, Commodore 64, and MS-DOS in 1990.

Year: 1990 Genre: Simulation

3d d&d dragonlance fantasy first-person flight sim licensed polygons simulation

Skyfox II: The Cygnus Conflict amiga

Skyfox II: The Cygnus Conflict is a 2D sci-fi combat game developed by Dynamix and published by Electronic Arts. You can download it for free from GamesNostalgia. The game was crea...

Year: 1988 Genre: Simulation

aliens c64 original game combat flight simulation first-person simulation space exploration space flight

Sid Meier's Railroad Tycoon amigados

Sid Meier's Railroad Tycoon (or, simply, Railroad Tycoon) is a trains management and business sim created by MPS Labs. It was released by Microprose in 1990 for MS-DOS and Amiga. In 1991 it was ported to Atari ST and Macintosh.

Year: 1990 Genre: Simulation

business simulation freeware management real-time simulation train transport turn-based strategy