Best Tycoon-esq Games

from Elemental Forums

I really enjoy management games of all types, and am looking for some new options.  I haven't played anything new/new-to-me in a while, so I thought I would toss out my favorites in the hopes that you would say yours.

1.  Roller Coaster Tycoon Series

Building roller coasters is fun in itself, but building them to be money making monstrosities is even better.  Whats better than a powered launch coaster with a 20 second ride time that charges $2 a person?  The same coaster with a photo booth!

2.  Transport Tycoon Deluxe

The best in its class.  Connecting stuff to other stuff with trains and making tons of money.  Nothing has captured the same feel of this original.

3.  Game Dev Story

A really cool Android app game where you run a game development studio.  Not that deep, but still a lot of fun for $2!

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Reply #1 from Sins Forums Top

Railroad Tycoon 3 - Best economics simulator I've ever played. The trains are the biggest part of course, but everything from the stock market to the global economic climate to historical events are present to some extent. In other words is a more recent version of Transport Tycoon.

Reply #2 from Sins Forums Top


I really enjoy management games of all types, and am looking for some new options.  I haven't played anything new/new-to-me in a while, so I thought I would toss out my favorites in the hopes that you would say yours.

1.  Roller Coaster Tycoon Series

Building roller coasters is fun in itself, but building them to be money making monstrosities is even better.  Whats better than a powered launch coaster with a 20 second ride time that charges $2 a person?  The same coaster with a photo booth!

2.  Transport Tycoon Deluxe

The best in its class.  Connecting stuff to other stuff with trains and making tons of money.  Nothing has captured the same feel of this original.

3.  Game Dev Story

A really cool Android app game where you run a game development studio.  Not that deep, but still a lot of fun for $2!

 

1. - now build that same coaster "unfinished"  and see how far you can launch the coaster cars }:)

 

I remember playing Zoo Tycoon and Dinosaur tycoon waaaaay back in the day.  Those where fun times....

 

And don't forget the simcity line!  Plenty of managing in there.

Ashes of the Singularity II
Reply #3 from Elemental Forums Top

For me the best tycoon ever is Transport Tycoon Deluxe. I`ve spend long hours playing this game when i was kid. Never played such good tycoon again. (Maybe TTD remake with multiplayer ;) )

Reply #4 from GalCiv2 Forums Top

Atlantis Underwater Tycoon. Horrible graphics, surprisingly deep mechanics, loads of different directions.

And some kind of mod support, too.

Reply #6 from Elemental Forums Top

I did enjoy Game Dev Story but it feels like its missing too much and it'd have been better as a more deep PC title. I enjoyed Roller Coaster Tycoon and I'm considering getting RCT 3 Platinum version if it's any good (anyone played it?). Sim City, if considered a Tycoon-Game, will probably be my favorite but I also did enjoy Theme Hospital quite a bit.

Any other excellent Tycoon games?

Quoting Thiryn, reply 5
I love Game Dev Story, and there is some sort of space-themed game loosely inspired by it and X-com coming this summer called Star Command.

 

http://www.starcommandgame.com/post/4097716210/what-is-star-command

Oh lord, what have you discovered? *salivating*

Reply #8 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting Ilindil, reply 3
For me the best tycoon ever is Transport Tycoon Deluxe. I`ve spend long hours playing this game when i was kid. Never played such good tycoon again. (Maybe TTD remake with multiplayer )

There is an Open Source TTD upgrade, which lets you play at modern resolutions (as in, way zoomed out), multiplayer, and with new trains and vehicles, as well as some other random improvements.  Go check it out!

 

Quoting GalaxyJoe2010, reply 7
theme hospital was very good.
Tropico is a good series if you like building and city management games

I really enjoyed both of those games as well.  I still need to go back and play some more Tropico, that game has a wonderful sense of the world ending all the time.  Theme Hospital is a bit too old for me to dust off, though.

Reply #10 from Elemental Forums Top

There are some AIs that are pretty good (it will be nearly impossible to beat them). They will just build airports and have so much more money than you before you realize :p

Reply #12 from JoeUser Forums Top

Roller Coaster Tycoon is such a classic.  There have been rumors of a new title, but who knows.

 

Reply #13 from Elemental Forums Top

Did you ever play Theme Park by Bullfrog?  Roller Coaster Tycoon is based on that theme, with perhaps a little more love on the Rollercoaster side.  Though the Rollercoaster design in Theme Park was still quite in depth.

Best regards,
Steven.

Reply #14 from Elemental Forums Top

I would settle for a reworking/updating of any of the following games

Populous II

Dungeon Master (probably dungeon keeper as well)

Atlantis PBEM (with decent modding support/flexible structure and a proper user interface, and AI so you can run as a single player game)

Themepark

Virus - the old Acorn Achemedies game

What I really want is a X3/capitalism II cross over.  You run corporations with trade/logistics the primary focus but with combat/tech development present.  Key point is that the you set up, customise and automate the corportations (could be automated space stations or robots or freighters) - a kind of explore expand exploit exchange 4X game - governments go to war but you sell them the arms to do so.

 

Reply #15 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting RFHolloway, reply 14
I would settle for a reworking/updating of any of the following games
Dungeon Master (probably dungeon keeper as well)

As far as i know, there is Dungeon Keeper remake on the way. It is called "Dungeons"

Quoting RFHolloway, reply 14
I would settle for a reworking/updating of any of the following games
What I really want is a X3/capitalism II cross over.  You run corporations with trade/logistics the primary focus but with combat/tech development present.  Key point is that the you set up, customise and automate the corportations (could be automated space stations or robots or freighters) - a kind of explore expand exploit exchange 4X game - governments go to war but you sell them the arms to do so.

I would be very happy, to see such game some day.

Reply #16 from Elemental Forums Top

Huge thumbs up for Transport Tycoon.

Damn that game was fun. :grin:

Reply #17 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting RFHolloway, reply 14

What I really want is a X3/capitalism II cross over.  You run corporations with trade/logistics the primary focus but with combat/tech development present.  Key point is that the you set up, customise and automate the corportations (could be automated space stations or robots or freighters) - a kind of explore expand exploit exchange 4X game - governments go to war but you sell them the arms to do so.

 

That would be pretty sweet. A straight up Capitalism 3 would be awesome too. That was such a great series.

Reply #18 from Elemental Forums Top

I also enjoyed most of these games, but also found chris sawyers locomotion to be quite enjoyable, and somewhat similar to the transport tycoon deluxe but with better graphices and tile based track and station building.

harpo

 

Reply #19 from Elemental Forums Top

How can you guys mention tycoon games without mentioning the original Railroad Tycoon?? :omg:

And I'll agree with the Tropico bit... it was a good one.

Reply #20 from Elemental Forums Top

Anno 1404 is incredible. Wait until you see Anno 2070!

Reply #21 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting MartialDoc, reply 19
How can you guys mention tycoon games without mentioning the original Railroad Tycoon??

And I'll agree with the Tropico bit... it was a good one.

 

Railroad Tycoon was super fun as well.

The good old days. ^^

 

Reply #22 from Elemental Forums Top

 

  So of my favorites that haven't been mentioned yet:

1. Dungeon Keeper 2

2. Emporer: Rise of the Middle Kingdom

3. Monopoly Tycoon (one of my favorite multiplayer games because you could be so mean to other players in the auctions).

Reply #23 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting Derek, reply 22
 

  So of my favorites that haven't been mentioned yet:

1. Dungeon Keeper 2

2. Emporer: Rise of the Middle Kingdom

3. Monopoly Tycoon (one of my favorite multiplayer games because you could be so mean to other players in the auctions).

 

Oooh..good call! That game is still awesome after all these years.

My favourite city builder of all time.

 

I especially loved the Chinese New Year parades with the Chinese dragons parading through your streets. Lol.

 

 

 

Reply #24 from Sins Forums Top

Transport Tycoon has always been my favorite, I played it so much... Never found any other game captivating me like transport tycoon did.

Though I'm not sure I would play any other -Tycoon game ever again because they make everything too realistic nowadays and make stuff not fun at all anymore.

Oh I suppose I could mention themepark, themehospital and populous too since loved those !

Reply #25 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting Derek, reply 22
 

  So of my favorites that haven't been mentioned yet:

1. Dungeon Keeper 2

Oh yes, that was a good one!  Never considered it a tycoon game but I guess it does have similarities.

I remember loving to get those mistresses leveled up as they'd be a great attack force once you got a group of them with their lightning spells going off.  Plus they sure did love that torture chamber :P