Management game recommendation
Discussion
I'll have a few evenings at home this week and for the first time in a long time there's no DIY, campervan how housework jobs to do. I'm really tempted to fire up the gaming PC and get into a new game.
In the past I've loved Age of Empires and Civilization but also the more comedic and less fighty stuff like theme park, theme hospital and holiday island. The latter stuff is what I fancy and would love some ideas from anyone current around what's good.
For info, as far as modern games go I have Civ 6, Factorio, Age of Empires definitive edition, Two Point 0 hospital and satisfactory. Anything else anyone has played they could recommend? I'm tempted by Planet Coaster but it seems quite expensive for a 5 year old game, anyone tried this?
In the past I've loved Age of Empires and Civilization but also the more comedic and less fighty stuff like theme park, theme hospital and holiday island. The latter stuff is what I fancy and would love some ideas from anyone current around what's good.
For info, as far as modern games go I have Civ 6, Factorio, Age of Empires definitive edition, Two Point 0 hospital and satisfactory. Anything else anyone has played they could recommend? I'm tempted by Planet Coaster but it seems quite expensive for a 5 year old game, anyone tried this?
I have sunk a lot of hours into Cities Skylines, it’s definitely worth a look especially as it’s on offer pretty often on Steam. Take a look at some of the mods available as well, particularly the traffic manager TM:PE as this makes things like junctions a lot better.
Another one to consider given you mentioned Planet Coaster could be Parkitect. It’s basically a remake of the original Rollercoaster Tycoon games with much more modern graphics and new features. Again this seems to be on offer pretty often. Definitely one of my favourite modern strategy games and more “cartoonish”.
Another one to consider given you mentioned Planet Coaster could be Parkitect. It’s basically a remake of the original Rollercoaster Tycoon games with much more modern graphics and new features. Again this seems to be on offer pretty often. Definitely one of my favourite modern strategy games and more “cartoonish”.
sebdangerfield said:
I'll have a few evenings at home this week and for the first time in a long time there's no DIY, campervan how housework jobs to do. I'm really tempted to fire up the gaming PC and get into a new game.
In the past I've loved Age of Empires and Civilization but also the more comedic and less fighty stuff like theme park, theme hospital and holiday island. The latter stuff is what I fancy and would love some ideas from anyone current around what's good.
For info, as far as modern games go I have Civ 6, Factorio, Age of Empires definitive edition, Two Point 0 hospital and satisfactory. Anything else anyone has played they could recommend? I'm tempted by Planet Coaster but it seems quite expensive for a 5 year old game, anyone tried this?
Planet coaster is £6.49 on G2a.com so a good price to buy even if you don't get on with it. Motorsport manager is a decent shout. Also Mindustry, Prison Architect, Production line and Sim Airport are others i'd suggest, In the past I've loved Age of Empires and Civilization but also the more comedic and less fighty stuff like theme park, theme hospital and holiday island. The latter stuff is what I fancy and would love some ideas from anyone current around what's good.
For info, as far as modern games go I have Civ 6, Factorio, Age of Empires definitive edition, Two Point 0 hospital and satisfactory. Anything else anyone has played they could recommend? I'm tempted by Planet Coaster but it seems quite expensive for a 5 year old game, anyone tried this?
A few which spring to mind from me:
Banished - a city building game, has a "Colonial America" feel to it, you start with a small group of citizens and start building a remote village/town. There's no combat involved, the challenge focuses on dealing with harsh weather conditions (for example, an early winter results in a lower crop yield), feeding your town, keeping them happy and eventually dealing with an aging population. The only downside is there isn't a real end-goal, so the late game can feel a little flat.
Tropico - assume the role of "El Presidente" in a fictional tropical island and guide it through from the colonial era to the modern age without being overthrown
Jurassic World Evolution - build your own park, research dinosaurs, etc. Can get a bit samey, but it's fun to drive or fly around your own park, and the sandbox mode is fun if you enjoy building without restrictions.
Banished - a city building game, has a "Colonial America" feel to it, you start with a small group of citizens and start building a remote village/town. There's no combat involved, the challenge focuses on dealing with harsh weather conditions (for example, an early winter results in a lower crop yield), feeding your town, keeping them happy and eventually dealing with an aging population. The only downside is there isn't a real end-goal, so the late game can feel a little flat.
Tropico - assume the role of "El Presidente" in a fictional tropical island and guide it through from the colonial era to the modern age without being overthrown
Jurassic World Evolution - build your own park, research dinosaurs, etc. Can get a bit samey, but it's fun to drive or fly around your own park, and the sandbox mode is fun if you enjoy building without restrictions.
Tropico! I used to love that back in the day, must have been the original or Tropico 2 looking online at the artwork.
I saw the medieval game on Steam and that does look interesting but as it's in early access I'll wait. I ended up with Planet Coaster and it's absolutely great, exactly what I was looking for. I've been really into Civ 6 recently and it's brilliant but I wanted a change from serious to the silly and cartoony. Planet Coaster is the right mix of daft with good gameplay. I feel a bit daft buying from Steam though as it was quite expensive, but I'm enjoying it.
I've really enjoyed looking into the management games that other people are playing, thanks for sharing.
I saw the medieval game on Steam and that does look interesting but as it's in early access I'll wait. I ended up with Planet Coaster and it's absolutely great, exactly what I was looking for. I've been really into Civ 6 recently and it's brilliant but I wanted a change from serious to the silly and cartoony. Planet Coaster is the right mix of daft with good gameplay. I feel a bit daft buying from Steam though as it was quite expensive, but I'm enjoying it.
I've really enjoyed looking into the management games that other people are playing, thanks for sharing.
Zetec-S said:
A few which spring to mind from me:
Banished - a city building game, has a "Colonial America" feel to it, you start with a small group of citizens and start building a remote village/town. There's no combat involved, the challenge focuses on dealing with harsh weather conditions (for example, an early winter results in a lower crop yield), feeding your town, keeping them happy and eventually dealing with an aging population. The only downside is there isn't a real end-goal, so the late game can feel a little flat.
That's brought back painful memories! Nicely keeping everyone fed, not issues at all, then BAM! Everyone suddenly starves or runs out of firewood and you have to reload from hours ago. In fact I may fire it up "and not expand too quickly this time..."Banished - a city building game, has a "Colonial America" feel to it, you start with a small group of citizens and start building a remote village/town. There's no combat involved, the challenge focuses on dealing with harsh weather conditions (for example, an early winter results in a lower crop yield), feeding your town, keeping them happy and eventually dealing with an aging population. The only downside is there isn't a real end-goal, so the late game can feel a little flat.
edit - I may be thinking of Life is Feudal: Forest Village, looking at the screenshots I can't remember which one I used to get annoyed at! They're both fine to play, but one is much more brutal than the other.
Zetec-S said:
Tropico - assume the role of "El Presidente" in a fictional tropical island and guide it through from the colonial era to the modern age without being overthrown
Great game, this is much more fun and forgiving!Edited by FunkyNige on Wednesday 28th July 11:38
Bit of an outside contender, but Automation is a really good car company management sim.
It includes a decently implemented car / engine building system too, the design isn't important for the 'career' mode but is fun once you get to grips with the UI.
The scenarios are quite good too, build a car / engine that meets this list of requirements and then you're rated by how well it performs in the criteria specified etc.
I haven't played it for a bit, and it took a while to get the hang of how to build up stock of a model and price them well etc. to keep the company afloat whilst you make big manufacturing changes (like moving to a larger factory or re-tooling for a new model) but it is very well done anyway for a quite indie game.
There's also the ability now to export the cars and drive them in Beam.NG which is a very physicsy driving sim, but now we're really getting off piste
It includes a decently implemented car / engine building system too, the design isn't important for the 'career' mode but is fun once you get to grips with the UI.
The scenarios are quite good too, build a car / engine that meets this list of requirements and then you're rated by how well it performs in the criteria specified etc.
I haven't played it for a bit, and it took a while to get the hang of how to build up stock of a model and price them well etc. to keep the company afloat whilst you make big manufacturing changes (like moving to a larger factory or re-tooling for a new model) but it is very well done anyway for a quite indie game.
There's also the ability now to export the cars and drive them in Beam.NG which is a very physicsy driving sim, but now we're really getting off piste
Zetec-S said:
snip Tropico - assume the role of "El Presidente" in a fictional tropical island and guide it through from the colonial era to the modern age without being overthrown endsnip
Reminds me of a game I used to play on a Commodore Pet - I think it was called "El Presidente". Completely text based, you had to allocate your budget every year - keep food production up and keep the peasants happy. I loved it. I think I used to have to type the code in by hand before I played it (it wasn't my computer). endsnipGassing Station | Video Games | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff