Airport Simulator
Ranked 2 of 14 simulation games by recommenders
Addictive air traffic game people find fun, with no instructions needed. Common caveat: clicking planes gets awkward as congestion builds, especially on phones.
Addictive air traffic game people find fun, with no instructions needed. Common caveat: clicking planes gets awkward as congestion builds, especially on phones.
49 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 41
- criticize it
- 8
- approval share
- 84%
Recommended in 1 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 41 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 5.1 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 1 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Fun and enjoyable to play
“Very fun. My only gripe is that you should be able to overfly taxiing aircraft, without crashing.”
Comment from 20 Jul 2026 in “Airport Simulator” “Fun, and good art style. I found the controls a bit frustrating in general, though.”
Comment from 20 Jul 2026 in “Airport Simulator” “Nice and fun, but I'd like that the fame enforces a minimal turning radius.”
Comment from 20 Jul 2026 in “Airport Simulator” - Comment from 20 Jul 2026 in “Airport Simulator”
- Comment from 20 Jul 2026 in “Airport Simulator”
- Comment from 20 Jul 2026 in “Airport Simulator”
- Comment from 20 Jul 2026 in “Airport Simulator”
- Comment from 20 Jul 2026 in “Airport Simulator”
- Comment from 20 Jul 2026 in “Airport Simulator”
- Comment from 20 Jul 2026 in “Airport Simulator”
- Comment from 20 Jul 2026 in “Airport Simulator”
Addictive and hard to put down
“This is an amazing game that I'm still playing after a week”
Comment from 28 Jul 2026 in “Airport Simulator” “very sticky game, love it!”
Comment from 20 Jul 2026 in “Airport Simulator” “Addictive! Made it to #16”
Comment from 20 Jul 2026 in “Airport Simulator” Easy to learn without instructions
“Such a neat little package - I love that there are no instructions.”
Comment from 20 Jul 2026 in “Airport Simulator” “it was really fun once I realized that I have to drag the airplanes”
Comment from 20 Jul 2026 in “Airport Simulator” “Fun how quickly i developed my own rules.”
Comment from 20 Jul 2026 in “Airport Simulator” Appealing art and airport style
“Fun, and good art style. I found the controls a bit frustrating in general, though.”
Comment from 20 Jul 2026 in “Airport Simulator” “I love the airport style, bilingual interface.”
Comment from 20 Jul 2026 in “Airport Simulator”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Clicking and touch controls are awkward
“Fun, and good art style. I found the controls a bit frustrating in general, though.”
Comment from 20 Jul 2026 in “Airport Simulator” “The touch controls, at least on iOS, leave a lot to be desired.”
Comment from 20 Jul 2026 in “Airport Simulator” “the click targets are a bit awkward but otherwise really fun!”
Comment from 20 Jul 2026 in “Airport Simulator” - Comment from 20 Jul 2026 in “Airport Simulator”
- Comment from 20 Jul 2026 in “Airport Simulator”
Cramped view and menu on phones
“Think it needs just a little zoom out on my phone but had a fun time.”
Comment from 20 Jul 2026 in “Airport Simulator” “On phones the cramped view is particularly pronounced.”
Comment from 20 Jul 2026 in “Airport Simulator” “on mobile the menu is in the way and you can't play”
Comment from 22 Jul 2026 in “Airport Simulator” Too many restrictions on aircraft
“Very fun. My only gripe is that you should be able to overfly taxiing aircraft, without crashing.”
Comment from 20 Jul 2026 in “Airport Simulator” “Nice and fun, but I'd like that the fame enforces a minimal turning radius.”
Comment from 20 Jul 2026 in “Airport Simulator” “not being able to vector departing planes is also a pain”
Comment from 20 Jul 2026 in “Airport Simulator” Congestion becomes tedious and hard to click
“The predictable congestion gets a bit tedious and makes the game impossibly difficult quite quickly.”
Comment from 20 Jul 2026 in “Airport Simulator” “As the airspace gets more congested, it becomes difficult to click the airplanes”
Comment from 20 Jul 2026 in “Airport Simulator”
Other simulation games people recommend
The four most recommended other simulation games, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dwarf Fortress | 74 | 29 | 72% | 12 | 11 yrs3 owners | Approved |
| Airport SimulatorThis page | 41 | 8 | 84% | 1 | — | — |
| Firewood Splitting Simulator | 32 | 11 | 74% | 1 | — | — |
| RollerCoaster Tycoon | 21 | 0 | 100% | 8 | — | Approved |
| RimWorld | 19 | 1 | 95% | 9 | — | Approved |
What people said
35 of the 50 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“This is an amazing game that I'm still playing after a week”
“on mobile the menu is in the way and you can't play”
“actually quite interesting”
“it works really well on a tiny screen, surprisingly enough”
“It seems to wiggle the map or something instead of input the letter e.”
“The pilots in this game are complete dum-dums”
“Addictive! Made it to #16”
“the click targets are a bit awkward but otherwise really fun!”
“Super fun! Gets very complicated with congestion, good work!!”
“They gave a nice twist to the formula.”
“This is super fun! Really gets your heart rate going.”
“On phones the cramped view is particularly pronounced.”
“Very fun. My only gripe is that you should be able to overfly taxiing aircraft, without crashing.”
“not being able to vector departing planes is also a pain”
“the landing box could be a bit easier to hit”
“The predictable congestion gets a bit tedious and makes the game impossibly difficult quite quickly.”
“the hitbox on the landing strip is kinda odd”
“I love the airport style, bilingual interface.”
“very sticky game, love it!”
“I'd love to watch a professional SC: Brood War player give this a try.”
“Fun, and good art style. I found the controls a bit frustrating in general, though.”
“Very fun. Got a few minutes in.”
“Brought back fun memories!”
“a simple pop up tutorial would be nice, explaining what to do”
“Losing because some collision off screen seems a bit unfair.”
“it was really fun once I realized that I have to drag the airplanes”
“Great little game! Thanks for sharing!”
“Such a neat little package - I love that there are no instructions.”
“it is quite appealing and fun”
“The touch controls, at least on iOS, leave a lot to be desired.”
“Fun how quickly i developed my own rules.”
“Nice and fun, but I'd like that the fame enforces a minimal turning radius.”
“As the airspace gets more congested, it becomes difficult to click the airplanes”
“Absolutely delightful, just played a few rounds.”
“Think it needs just a little zoom out on my phone but had a fun time.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.