RollerCoaster Tycoon
Hacker ApprovedRanked 4 of 14 simulation games by recommenders
People recommend it for its efficient code, which ran well on limited hardware, and for the countless hours of play it gave players as kids. It still runs on modern systems.
People recommend it for its efficient code, which ran well on limited hardware, and for the countless hours of play it gave players as kids. It still runs on modern systems.
21 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 21
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 8 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 21 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 8 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, 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
Assembly code tuned for old hardware
“if it was writte in anything else it would never had made it to the shelves with the processor power back then”
Comment from 24 Mar 2026 in “The gold standard of optimization: A look under the hood of RollerCoaster Tycoon” “RCT is exemplary of mechanical sympathy being important to the game design process”
Comment from 23 Mar 2026 in “The gold standard of optimization: A look under the hood of RollerCoaster Tycoon” “the beauty of this game was that it was developed in Assembly Code”
Comment from 18 Jan 2026 in “We Put Claude Code in Rollercoaster Tycoon” - Comment from 2 Feb 2026 in “IsoCoaster – Theme Park Builder”
Nostalgic favorite from childhood
“one of my favorite games growing up by far, countless hours sunk into it”
Comment from 23 Mar 2026 in “The gold standard of optimization: A look under the hood of RollerCoaster Tycoon” “I spent countless hours on his games when I was a child”
Comment from 3 Dec 2025 in “Interview with RollerCoaster Tycoon's Creator, Chris Sawyer (2024)” “This and Rollercoaster Tycoon and Doom II was my jam.”
Comment from 28 May 2026 in “SimCity 3k in 4k” - Comment from 1 Sep 2026 in “Show HN: Build your own theme park”
Countless hours of play
“Amazingly enjoyable game btw. Killed quite a few hours with that one around 2000.”
Comment from 3 Dec 2025 in “Interview with RollerCoaster Tycoon's Creator, Chris Sawyer (2024)” “Spent countless hours one summer doing every scenario”
Comment from 3 Dec 2025 in “Interview with RollerCoaster Tycoon's Creator, Chris Sawyer (2024)” “on it 'til my fingers bled”
Comment from 24 Sep 2026 in “The "Windows XP Box" (2003)” Runs well on modern systems
“one thing that was really nice about the game is that it runs flawlessly under Wine”
Comment from 23 Mar 2026 in “The gold standard of optimization: A look under the hood of RollerCoaster Tycoon” “rebuilt for modern operating systems under Chris's own direction”
Comment from 3 Dec 2025 in “Interview with RollerCoaster Tycoon's Creator, Chris Sawyer (2024)”
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 Simulator | 41 | 8 | 84% | 1 | — | — |
| Firewood Splitting Simulator | 32 | 11 | 74% | 1 | — | — |
| RollerCoaster TycoonThis page | 21 | 0 | 100% | 8 | — | Approved |
| RimWorld | 19 | 1 | 95% | 9 | — | Approved |
What people said
17 of the 24 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“on it 'til my fingers bled”
“I loved roller coaster tycoon as a kid”
“This and Rollercoaster Tycoon and Doom II was my jam.”
“if it was writte in anything else it would never had made it to the shelves with the processor power back then”
“one of my favorite games growing up by far, countless hours sunk into it”
“I could just by a couple of screenshots how this was clearly a ground up new game with new mechanics”
“RCT is exemplary of mechanical sympathy being important to the game design process”
“one thing that was really nice about the game is that it runs flawlessly under Wine”
“I'd also recommend more about RCT”
“RCT was a masterpiece written in Assembly from hand”
“the beauty of this game was that it was developed in Assembly Code”
“This makes me want to play Rollercoaster Tycoon again..”
“rebuilt for modern operating systems under Chris's own direction”
“I spent countless hours on his games when I was a child”
“Spent countless hours one summer doing every scenario”
“Amazingly enjoyable game btw. Killed quite a few hours with that one around 2000.”
“I really miss these building games that used an isometric grid”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.