Railroad Tycoon
Ranked 10 of 14 simulation games by recommenders
Fans remember it fondly as a fun railroad game, though some find its technical limits and complexity frustrating.
Fans remember it fondly as a fun railroad game, though some find its technical limits and complexity frustrating.
10 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 8
- criticize it
- 2
- approval share
- 80%
Recommended in 4 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 8 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 4 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 4 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
Remembered fondly for years
“my favorite to this day is Sid Meyer's Railroad Tycoon”
Comment from 28 Oct 2026 in “Decompiling Fast Food Tycoon 2: Drawing the World” “One of the games I have loved the most in my life!”
Comment from 13 Jun 2026 in “Pirates, a naval warfare game inspired by Sid Meier's Pirates” “so much fuzzy good memories of it”
Comment from 18 Feb 2026 in “Reverse Engineering Sid Meier's Railroad Tycoon for DOS from 1990” - Comment from 18 Feb 2026 in “Reverse Engineering Sid Meier's Railroad Tycoon for DOS from 1990”
Fun, enjoyable to play
“It was a pretty cool game. Not as good as e. g. civilisation but nonetheless fun.”
Comment from 18 Feb 2026 in “Reverse Engineering Sid Meier's Railroad Tycoon for DOS from 1990” “One of the games I have loved the most in my life!”
Comment from 13 Jun 2026 in “Pirates, a naval warfare game inspired by Sid Meier's Pirates” “I loved this game so much.”
Comment from 18 Feb 2026 in “Reverse Engineering Sid Meier's Railroad Tycoon for DOS from 1990”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Technical limits of the original
“Some of the technical limitations of the original are somewhat frustrating”
Comment from 19 Feb 2026 in “Reverse Engineering Sid Meier's Railroad Tycoon for DOS from 1990” “Total income over the game was tracked in a 32-bit signed int”
Comment from 18 Feb 2026 in “Reverse Engineering Sid Meier's Railroad Tycoon for DOS from 1990”
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 Tycoon | 21 | 0 | 100% | 8 | — | Approved |
| Railroad TycoonThis page | 8 | 2 | 80% | 4 | — | — |
What people said
11 of the 12 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“my favorite to this day is Sid Meyer's Railroad Tycoon”
“Railroad Tycoon hints at a world outside of accelerate and brake.”
“I will have to waste hundreds of hours playing these again”
“One of the games I have loved the most in my life!”
“Some of the technical limitations of the original are somewhat frustrating”
“it was a bit too complex for me”
“Total income over the game was tracked in a 32-bit signed int”
“RR tycoon had fewer, worse, iterations.”
“I loved this game so much.”
“It was a pretty cool game. Not as good as e. g. civilisation but nonetheless fun.”
“so much fuzzy good memories of it”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.