Wasting time on simulations
November 1, 2010 7:43 PM Subscribe
In my mind, Sim City 2000 was the greatest computer game ever created. Could you suggest a game for OSX 10.5 that I could waste hours playing?
First person shooters need not apply.
Since Mac OSX 10.5, I haven't been able to run Sim City 2000 on my laptop. For my money, it was the greatest strategic game ever created. I have Sim City 4, and it just leaves me cold.
Being a freelancer, I find myself with big chunks of time to kill sometimes, and would love a good game.
Amongst the suggestions so far:
Civilization (V has been suggested, out on mac in a couple months I think)
Star Craft
Braid
What do you think?
I'm not so much into war games, though strategy is totally acceptable, I just have no interest in anything based in the 1st person shooter realm, no matter how intricate the plot is purported to be.
Since Mac OSX 10.5, I haven't been able to run Sim City 2000 on my laptop. For my money, it was the greatest strategic game ever created. I have Sim City 4, and it just leaves me cold.
Being a freelancer, I find myself with big chunks of time to kill sometimes, and would love a good game.
Amongst the suggestions so far:
Civilization (V has been suggested, out on mac in a couple months I think)
Star Craft
Braid
What do you think?
I'm not so much into war games, though strategy is totally acceptable, I just have no interest in anything based in the 1st person shooter realm, no matter how intricate the plot is purported to be.
If you liked any of the Sim City games, Civilization (in any of its incarnations- IV is great as well, and you can pick it up for mac on the cheap since V should be ported soon) will be like crack to you. There is a battle element, but it's by no means the focal point of the game, and on the lower difficulty levels it's pretty easy to come up with a play style that minimizes it.
posted by libertypie at 8:07 PM on November 1, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by libertypie at 8:07 PM on November 1, 2010 [1 favorite]
Simutrans, an open-source remake of Transport Tycoon (officially supported on OSX) or OpenTTD, a better remake (unofficial build here).
posted by astrochimp at 8:08 PM on November 1, 2010
posted by astrochimp at 8:08 PM on November 1, 2010
It's an acquired taste but: Dwarf Fortress. It's also freeware.
posted by XMLicious at 8:08 PM on November 1, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by XMLicious at 8:08 PM on November 1, 2010 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: oh, thanks cjemmott, for some reason that didn't come up when I searched.
posted by aloiv2 at 8:15 PM on November 1, 2010
posted by aloiv2 at 8:15 PM on November 1, 2010
Nethack is limitless and fun, if you can get past the lack of graphics. (It and Sim City 2000 are pretty much the only computer games I've ever enjoyed playing for longer than a day or two).
If you try it, you'll probably need to read some documentation, for which there is a wiki.
posted by bubukaba at 8:31 PM on November 1, 2010 [2 favorites]
If you try it, you'll probably need to read some documentation, for which there is a wiki.
posted by bubukaba at 8:31 PM on November 1, 2010 [2 favorites]
Minecraft. Kiss your spare time goodbye. Start with this video and keep in mind that if you don't like monsters you can always set your options to peaceful. And, it's really cheap.
posted by mygothlaundry at 8:52 PM on November 1, 2010
posted by mygothlaundry at 8:52 PM on November 1, 2010
Seconding Minecraft! SimCity2000 is also my favorite game of all time and Minecraft hits all the right spots. I haven't played a Civ version since 3 but that is also an acceptable substitute, even though it doesn't let you impulsively destroy everything with a giant mechanical space spider.
posted by Juicy Avenger at 9:06 PM on November 1, 2010
posted by Juicy Avenger at 9:06 PM on November 1, 2010
Riven, which minimal research suggests is recently compatible with 10.5.
posted by eccnineten at 3:38 AM on November 2, 2010
posted by eccnineten at 3:38 AM on November 2, 2010
I'm just here to second OpenTTD, Dwarf Fortress, and Nethack. Oh, and Sim City 4 Rush Hour.
I'm also a huge fan of Tropico, in which you play the leader of a small Caribbean island. It's Sim City on a much smaller scale. I've been playing it since it came out 9 years ago on various platforms. You'll likely need to find a used copy.
posted by gc at 3:54 AM on November 2, 2010 [1 favorite]
I'm also a huge fan of Tropico, in which you play the leader of a small Caribbean island. It's Sim City on a much smaller scale. I've been playing it since it came out 9 years ago on various platforms. You'll likely need to find a used copy.
posted by gc at 3:54 AM on November 2, 2010 [1 favorite]
I second NetHack.
Its wiki has moved to NetHackWiki.com. (Find out why. The old site remains online, as a trap to unsupecting visitors.)
posted by Tjr at 2:14 PM on December 4, 2010
Its wiki has moved to NetHackWiki.com. (Find out why. The old site remains online, as a trap to unsupecting visitors.)
posted by Tjr at 2:14 PM on December 4, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by cjemmott at 8:03 PM on November 1, 2010