Business simulations let you pretend you're a tycoon, raking in money, investing carefully, and watc...

1. Top 10 Business Simulation Games
Business simulations let you pretend you're a tycoon, raking in money, investing carefully, and
watching your empire grow!
There are a lot of business games out there right now, but it is an unforgiving genre, and bad games
usually don't last long. In the last few years, there's been a boom of "tycoon" series games some of
which are those dreaded "time-management" or "click-fest" games. With so many garbage business
games and imitations out there, separating the wheat from the chaff is tough.
What follows are the 10 best business simulation games. They are ranked alphabetically because it is
simply not possible to rank them, in my opinion. All the games on this list are very good, the rest are
a matter of personal preference. They can all be purchased on Amazon.
1. Airline Tycoon

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Airline Tycoon 2 (fair use)
Airline Tycoon might be one of the most controversial games on this list. It wasn't a best-seller, and
hasn't always been seen as a very serious game.
Airline Tycoon is a lighthearted game. You are the owner of one of the four airlines competing with
each other at the same airport, and there's a lot of sabotage and hijinks. Nevertheless it's a
challenging game. It's cartoony, but its core economic system works fine. Airline Tycoon is also fairly
uncomplicated, so good for beginners, and a fun change pace for long-time fans of the genre.

3. The recently released Airline Tycoon II is very good as well.
Airline Tycoon 2: GOLD [Download]
A good sequel, having the same feel as the original, yet with added features.
The Anno series games are about colony- and empire-building. The basic premise involves landing on
an island and effectively managing resources in order to build up a profitable colony. The game
focuses on the colony's economy, and it's very tough to both turn a profit and still make your colony
pretty. There's also a military and combat aspect to the gameplay.
Anno is mortgages an enormous franchise. It includes:
Anno 1602 (1998) Known as 1602 A.D. in the U.S. and Australia.
Anno 1503 or 1503 A.D. (2003) This sequel introduced bigger islands, more complex buildings and
military, and different resources from 1602.
Anno 1701 or 1701 A.D. (2006) This installment is quite different. While the main principles are the
same you have to deal with your country's queen and meddling homeland government. Eventually
you can fight for your colony's independence. Other features include sabotage and natural disasters.
Anno 1404, known in the U.S. as Dawn of Discovery (2009) In this Anno sequel, the quality started to
dwindle, and not much new was added to the game.
Anno 2070 (2011) Is the most recent addition to the franchise, poses new ecological and financial
challenges by being set in the future.
3. Caesar

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Caesar II (fair use)
Caesar is a city building-game set during the Roman Empire. In this game you try to transform your
towns into big cities. Sort of like Sim City, but with more barbarian hordes.
The game's combat system, graphics, and other features have improved in the various sequels:
Caesar II, Caesar III, and Caesar IV. Unlike many other series, in which quality diminishes after too
many sequels, the Caesar franchise has remained consistently good.
4. Capitalism

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Capitalism Plus (fair use)
Capitalism is a hardcore business game, so much so that some call it the most boring business
simulation game. I would argue it's just very good at what it does: simulating business. In
Capitalism, you manufacture and sell products. From farm to supermarket, you have to manage
materials and resources to make products. The game also makes you pay attention to supply and
demand to maximize your profits. If you're not careful in expanding your business, you can end up in
a bubble or a crash.
Capitalism II is just an expansion of the first game, with improved A.I. and a few more things you can
do. Sadly, the Capitalism series hasn't been updated in over a decade.
5. Europa Universalis

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Europa Universalis IV (fair use)
Some wouldn't call Europa Universalis a business game, from a grand perspective it is one, because
it's about running a country. The key aim in this game is not to bankrupt your country, keep inflation
in check, and try to expand your country's territory while keeping good diplomatic relationships with
other empires.

7. Europa Universalis has some interesting sequels, such as:
Europa Universalis II (2001) spans 1419 to 1820.
Europa Universalis III (2007) starts in 1453 and ends in 1789, just before the French Revolution.
Europa Universalis: Rome (2008) takes place during the Roman Republic.
Europa Universalis IV (2013) is the latest installment of the series, and includes the Napoleonic
Wars.
Europa Universalis is extremely challenging. The game's economic system is difficult to master,
especially if you're not used to business games. Still, a great choice for a game-playing
megalomaniac!
The Patrician was rather unknown until its third installment. In this game, you are a businessman in
the Hanseatic League, a commercial confederation from medieval Northern Europe. To succeed, you
trade goods all over Europe, while also trying to gain political power and becoming an Alderman of
the Hanseatic League.
The sequels include:

8. Patrician II (2000) is very similar to the first.
Patrician III: Rise of the Hanse (2003) is much better, with new industries to play with and a
superior the economic game. The pirates are more bothersome and provide a significant challenge.
Patrician IV (2010)
Railroad Tycoon was the first of the "tycoon" games. To play, you transport passengers and goods
while building up your rail empire. The first one was very basic: a flat surface with black rectangles
going over grid-like lines.
Railroad Tycoon II (1998) is a leap in the future, with far more customization available. You can
build railways with height differences, tunnels, bridges--the whole works! There's also a stock
market and good competition, many different scenarios, and nice introductory movies with good
voice acting.
Railroad Tycoon III (2003) is just an improved version of the second game. It has an improved
supply-and-demand engine.
Sid Meier's Railroads! (2006) is the first game since the first to have been made with direct input
from Sid Meier, the series' creator. This installment has full 3D graphics and you can follow your
trains on their routes. Unfortunately the interface is a bit buggy.
8. Roller Coaster Tycoon

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Roller Coaster Tycoon 3: Platinum Edition (fair use)
Rollercoaster Tycoon has no relation to Railroad Tycoon, but rather to the creator Chris Sawyer's
other success, Transport Tycoon. The building interface has a typical grid surface and isometric
style. Gameplay involves building your theme park, enticing people to spend loads of money, and
building even better rides.
Rollercoaster Tycoon 2 (2002) is mostly the same as the first with a few added bells and whistles.
Rollercoaster Tycoon 3 (2004) is rather different from the first two. First, it wasn't bound to an

10. isometric system, you could ride your attractions, make fireworks displays, and customize the
scenery scenery. Subsequent expansion packs let you add swimming pools or animals to the parks
you made.
See all 7 photos
When I first played SimCity it was love at first sight. I saw those little white blocks of cars moving
down the road whenever I closed my eyes. When it was published in 1989, it was one of the best
games available for PC, and still holds up. It was followed by a number of sequels:
SimCity 2000 (1994) is very different from the original, and still considered the best game of the
series. Besides its futuristic name, it had an isometric 3D view, more disasters, and a height map. I
found it just as addictive as the original, if not more.
SimCity 3000 (1999) is, unfortunately, quite badly produced
SimCity 4 (2003) brought mortgages the franchise back to its original glory. This sequel is has 3D
graphics, loads of different kinds of buildings, pretty views, different kinds of transportation, an
editor where you can design your own buildings, and the regional map so multiple cities can interact
with each other.
SimCity Societies (2007) Is a travesty. I don't consider this one to even be part of the SimCity series.
10. Transport Tycoon

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Transport Tycoon (fair use)
Transport Tycoon is a game that I played not only for hours or days, but weeks! Dare I say even
months! It's one of the most addictive business simulation games. Transport Tycoon has been
revamped by its own dedicated fan base over the years thanks to Chris Sawyer, the creator who let
them alter the game.
Transport Tycoon is about being a manager and owner of a transport company. You try to earn as
much money as you can while improving your rail network, which is incredibly fun and addictive.
I'd love to know your opinion!

12. Last updated on October 7, 2014
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