Best Free Simulation Games

Best Free Construction or Management – City Building Game

With a top-down perspective, the main role of the gamers is to plan and manage a city, and is held responsible for it’s growth. Players lay down roads and zone residential, commercial, and industrial areas as well as assign salaries, work priorities and everything else that accounts for the development of the city.

• LinCity-NG [ Site | Download ] LinCity-NG is a city simulation game. The player can develop a city by buying appropriate buildings, services and infrastructure. It is a polished and improved version of the classic LinCity game. In the game, you are required to build and maintain a city. The simulation considers population, employment, basic water management and ecology, goods, raw materials, services, energy and other constraints such as finance, pollution and transports. You can win the game either by building a sustainable economy or by evacuating all citizens with spaceships.
• OpenCity [ Site | Download ] OpenCity is a full 3D city simulator game project. In the game, the player builds a city by marking land as commercial, industrial or residential zones. Those zones depend on each other to grow. The player is also required to supply the city with power and connect the different zones by building roads.
• Unknown Horizons [ Site | Download ] Unknown Horizons is a 2D realtime strategy simulation with an emphasis on economy and city building. Expand your small settlement to a strong and wealthy colony, collect taxes and supply your inhabitants with valuable goods. Increase your power with a well balanced economy and with strategic trade and diplomacy. Find new islands, trade routes and resource deposits to raise your city’s wealth and extend your reach. Painfully trouble your enemies with strategic pinpricks and take advantage of all their little mistakes to solidify your position.

Best Free Construction or Management – Business or Tycoon Game

In these type of games, the main focus is on management and economic processes in the form of business. Players must balance the use of limited resources to build or expand some kind of business.

• OpenTTD [ Site | Download ] OpenTTD is an open source simulation game based upon the popular MicroProse game “Transport Tycoon Deluxe”, written by Chris Sawyer. It attempts to mimic the original game as closely as possible while extending it with new features, enhancing the game experience dramatically. In game the player aims to earn money through transportation of passengers and freight by land, water and air. The game has bigger maps, stable multiplayer mode for up to 255 players both co-operative and competitive, custom AI, downloadable customizations, reworked airport system, improved teraforming etc.
• Ore No Ryomi 2 [ Site | Download ] Ore No Ryori 2 is a superb sequel to a great PC remake of a Sony Playstation game, Ore no Ryouri. In game you must buy foods for your restaurant, prepare customers’ orders correctly, and serve them to customers perfectly before they get annoyed and leave. There are over 70 recipes you can cook, including beers, soups, steaks, sandwiches, nachos, and pizzas to name but a few. At times you will be robbed and you must chase down the criminal in order to retrieve some money. After the restaurant closes for the day you put on the manager’s hat and can purchase menu items or upgrades for your restaurant.
• Simutrans [ Site | Download | Graphics Pack ] Simutrans is an open-source transportation simulation game. Your goal is to establish a successful transport company and build the necessary infrastructure to transport passengers, mail and goods between cities, factories and touristic attractions by land, air and water. In Simutrans you have multiple choices from the start to the end. There are Lots of graphics packages to choose from as well as vehicles and cargo. The game offers extensive customization, you can build and create your own world. Simutrans also lets you play multiplayer.
• Other great games in this category:

• • Chart Wars 3: The game puts you in charge of your very own record company, your task is to manage a label, attract bands and manage the lives of the band members and competing with intelligent computer opponents. [ Site | Download ]

Best Free Construction or Management – Life (Sims) Game

Life sims can either be simulation of day-to-day living of individuals and their relationships, or it can be simulation of an ecosystem and it’s life-forms. Characters can drift endlessly or embark on solid life paths. These type of games are meant for pure entertainment.

• Cart Life [ Site | Download ] Cart Life is a simulator game which showcases the lives of street vendors in a small city which is located in western United States. Each of the playable characters has specific goals, and special traits, but also unique addictions which the player must accommodate in order to succeed within the game. Permits are required, but expensive. Is it worth risking a fine without operating one? The player also needs to accommodate their customers by paying attention to different tastes, buying habits and level of patience. Most customers will tip well when their order is filled quickly and accurately, so do your best.
• Another Day In the Life of Bob [ Site | Download ] A life simulation game and a sequel to A Day In the Life of Bob, set in a psychedelic land. The game is open to numerous possibilities, and there is no defined way to win. It could potentially go on forever! Another Day In the Life of Bob is Inspired by games such as Stick RPG and Jones in the Fast Lane. and is a first-person simulation/exploration game with a colorful theme and an expansive playground full of surprises. With the exception of the room backgrounds and sound effects, everything in the game is homemade from scratch.
• Evolites [ Site | Download ] Evolites is a simple life simulation where you indirectly control the fates of a countless number of tiny, unique creatures, known as Evolites. As the Evolites evolve naturally, various tools are at your disposal to save, destroy, create, and interact with them. You may let things run their course, or you may directly intervene, and make sure that only your chosen strain of Evolites survives! Partially inspired by the opening sequence of the upcoming game Spore, Evolites was created to interest, entertain, and relax all types of gamers, casual and up.

Best Free Vehicle – Flight Game

Flight Games includes (i) Flight Sim which artificially re-creates aircraft & space flight and have no particular objective. The category also includes (ii) Action Flight games that has a solid campaign with a neat story and narrative.

• Wing Commander Saga: The Darkest Dawn [ Site | Download | Patch ] In game, you assume the role of 2nd Lieutenant David Markham. Fly patrols, work with your wingmen, and struggle to survive as the final battles for the fate of humanity begin to unfold. The Saga Prologue sets up the tone and the story for the epic struggle and apocalyptic finale you will experience in the full release of Wing Commander Saga. The game features breath taking, high detail models, dozens of believable characters, bountiful mission variety, complex and compelling storyline and complete voice acting by the original cast.
• Battlestar Galactica: Beyond the Red Line [ Site | Download | Patch ] Drafted and pressed into service, your only hope of survival is to fall in line and train to join the ranks of the elite Viper pilots of Battlestar Pegasus. Get a taste of the action that awaits you in the upcoming main campaign with intense single- and multiplayer missions. Will you become one of Pegasus elite, or will you give your life in the vast, cold battleground of deep space? A three mission single player campaign depicting never-before-seen events, interwoven with and true to the series storyline. The game features original characters and voice acting.
• Flight Gear [ Site | Downloads ] Flight Gear is an open-source flight simulator. The goal of the Flight Gear project is to create a sophisticated and open flight simulator framework for use in research or academic environments, pilot training, as an industry engineering tool, for DIY-ers to pursue their favorite interesting flight simulation idea, and last but certainly not least as a fun, realistic, and challenging desktop flight simulator. With Flight Gear it is possible to choose between three primary Flight Dynamics Models. The game has an extensive an accurate world scenery data base and sky model.
• Other great games in this category:

• • Orbiter: A free and realistic flight simulator that gives you an idea what space flight really feels like – today and in the not so distant future. [ Site | Download ]
  • Babylon 5: I’ve found Her: IFH is the computer game project maintained by Space Dream Factory, based upon the popular Sci-Fi TV show Babylon 5. [ Site | Download ]
  • Star Wrath 4: Reviction: The game includes a diverse single player campaign of over 25 missions, random instant action, and built-in mission editing. Also includes 4 multiplayer modes. [ Site | Download ]
  • Wing Commander – Privateer Gemini Gold: A remake of the 1993 hit game, with a new graphic engine and real 3D space flight. [ Site | Download ]
  • No Gravity (Space Girl): A fantastic and futuristic universe made of five intergalactic worlds. An arcade type game with great playability, where it is easy to plunge into space battles against space fighters, space stations and more ! [ Site | Download ]

Best Free Vehicle – Racing Game

This genre encompasses all games in which either driving a vehicle or participating in a race (often both) is a primary gameplay element. Many such games revolve around racing, i.e. trying to move faster than an opponent to reach a specified goal or beat a specified time etc.

• Trackmania Nations Forever [ Site | Download ] First and foremost, you simply drive on fun tracks boosting ramps, wallrides, loopings and gigantic jumps. Then you can make much more out of it: improve your driving skills and become a world champion, achieve world records, build tracks, edit videos and easily share all that with everyone. It fuels 7 different racing environments; hundreds of thousands of tracks and millions of players to compete with. You can download the car you are dreaming of, paint it, drive it through insane tracks made of loopings, ramps and off roads. It is all about you, your driving skills and the track in front of you.
• TORCS [ Site | Download ] TORCS is a highly portable multi platform open car racing simulation. It features many different cars, tracks, and opponents to race against. It is also possible to drive with the mouse or the keyboard. Graphic features lighting, smoke, skid marks and glowing brake disks. The simulation features a simple damage model, collisions, tire and wheel properties, aerodynamics and much more. The game play allows different types of races from the simple practice session up to the championship. Enjoy racing against your friends in the split screen mode with up to four human players.
• VDrift [ Site | Download ] VDrift is a cross-platform, open source driving simulation made with drift racing in mind. This game is in the early stages of development but is already very playable. Currently the game features over 45 tracks based on famous real-world tracks, over 45 cars based on real-world vehicles, very realistic, simulation-grade driving physics, fully modeled tracks, scenery and terrain, basic replay system and much more. The game features enjoyable and challenging gameplay accurately simulating vehicle physics in rich and immersive racing environments.
• Other great games in this category:

• • Generally: A freeware arcade racing game that is played from a top-down perspective, that features 1-6 players, 12 cars, 36 tracks and thousands of mods. [ Site | Download ]
  • Speed Dreams : an Open Motorsport Sim: A fork of the open racing car simulator Torcs, aiming to implement exciting new features, cars, tracks and AI opponents to make a more enjoyable game for the player, as well as constantly improving visual and physics realism. [ Site | Download ]
  • SuperTuxKart: A 3d kart racing game where you can play with up to 4 friends on one PC, racing against each other or just try to beat the computer. [ Site | Download ]
  • Ultimate Stunts: A remake of the famous DOS-game stunts. Racing involves some really spectacular stunts, like loopings, corkscrews, bridges to jump over, etc., and you can design your own tracks! [ Site | Download ]
  • ManiaDrive: A free clone of Trackmania and is an arcade car game on acrobatic tracks, with a quick and nervous gameplay), and features a network mode, as the original. [ Site | Download ]
  • Dolphinity Racer: A free car simulator project, using high-end car physics to achieve a realistic feeling and an excellent render engine for graphical realism. [ Site | Download ]

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