SimTower
Hacker ApprovedRanked 7 of 21 city builder games by recommenders
Recommended as a fondly remembered 1990s Maxis building game, with praise for its elevator scheduling and replay value. No recurring complaints.
Recommended as a fondly remembered 1990s Maxis building game, with praise for its elevator scheduling and replay value. No recurring complaints.
11 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 11
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 4 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: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 11 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 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
Fond 1990s nostalgia
“I have a soft spot for SimTower as well”
Comment from 1 May 2026 on Hacker News “I really liked SimTower back in the day”
Comment from 2 May 2026 on Hacker News “Makes me want to play Sim Tower again.”
Comment from 31 Jul 2026 in “Elevators” - Comment from 1 Aug 2026 in “Elevators”
Well-loved Maxis classic
“One of the best-loved Maxis games of the 1990s”
Comment from 1 Aug 2026 in “Elevators” “I have a soft spot for SimTower as well”
Comment from 1 May 2026 on Hacker News “I really liked SimTower back in the day”
Comment from 2 May 2026 on Hacker News Still enjoyable to replay
“Knowing this I enjoy it quite a bit more today”
Comment from 1 Aug 2026 in “Elevators” “Makes me want to play Sim Tower again.”
Comment from 31 Jul 2026 in “Elevators”
Other city builder games people recommend
The four most recommended other city builder 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SimCity 3000 | 23 | 2 | 92% | 5 | — | Approved |
| SimCity 2000 | 20 | 7 | 74% | 11 | — | Approved |
| SimCity | 20 | 12 | 63% | 9 | — | — |
| Cities: Skylines | 20 | 18 | 53% | 9 | — | — |
| SimTowerThis page | 11 | 0 | 100% | 4 | — | Approved |
What people said
9 of the 11 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“I also converted one of the existing decodes of Simtower out there into a native macOS app, which is pretty cool”
“One of the best-loved Maxis games of the 1990s”
“Knowing this I enjoy it quite a bit more today”
“Such a fun blast of nostalgia.”
“the definitive elevator scheduling game was SimTower”
“Makes me want to play Sim Tower again.”
“I really liked SimTower back in the day”
“I spent many many hours on SimTower”
“I have a soft spot for SimTower as well”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.