SIMPARK

SIMPARK Maxis seems determined to create a computer simulation for everything known to human civilization. Their latest is SimPark, which is designed to let kids ages 8 and up experience the pleasures and pitfalls of managing their own urban park. Like the other Sim games (SimCity, Sims, SimAnt), you’re given a blank slate with a lot of potential, and you have to build it up into a thriving metropolis. You start by building a road system and zoning residential, commercial, government, and industrial areas.

You have to make sure your citizens have jobs and places to live, get them hooked on your products and services so they’ll spend money in your park, collect enough tax revenue to cover the expenses of running your park (and any additional projects you want), and keep the place looking pretty. This includes things like picking good plants for landscaping (which requires researching about different kinds of trees and plants), making sure there are plenty of benches for people to sit on when they’re not visiting shops or offices, keeping water fountains in good repair so people can fill up reusable bottles with free water instead of buying bottled water from your vending machines (which will save you money in the long run), and planting flowers around public garbage cans so that people don’t

The latest SimPark simulation is designed to let kids ages 8 and up experience the pleasures and pitfalls of managing their own city or town. Players are given a plot of land with plenty of fertile soil, but they have to research the right crops, plant them in the right soil, keep them watered and cared for, harvest them when they’re ready, and then process them into something that can be sold for money. The game’s got plenty of missions to keep the player occupied with making sure resources are properly managed, which means your child will learn how to budget correctly (or how not to), balance their needs with the needs of their citizens, and even get a little experience with the ins-and-outs of politics.