Summary
Businessmanagement gamesare some of the most popular sims on the markey, particularly among more casual gamers. Building up a business and managing it can be a satisfying experience, especially when it ends up being successful. Even virtually, this can provide a real sense of achievement for players.
Even games that offer complex budgets can often be manipulated for an easier experience, meaning the challenge can be lessened dramatically. However, for players looking for a challenge, the more standard business sims can become stale after a few successful runs. With this in mind, what are the most difficult business management simulators available?
10Cook, Serve Delicious!
Manage a restaurant at break-neck pace
Cook, Serve, Delicious!is a chaotic management game in which the player takes control of their own restaurant. This sounds like an easy enough task, but as the player improves their restaurant, more customers will come in, especially during the rush periods. As the game becomes more complicated, it becomes a lot easier to make mistakes as the control system seemingly becomes more intuitive yet more complex.
Cook, Serve Delicious!can be a hard game to get used to due to the fast speed and the unconventional control system.
9Parkitect
Design and manage the perfect amusement park
Parkitectis the spiritual successor to theRollercoaster Tycoonseries, as players design and manage their very own amusement park. The design aspect can be hard enough to get right, but the management aspects of the game add another layer of complexity to this game. Managing the needs of guests and staff is a standard aspect of the genre, and that is very present in this game.
Parkitectinvites players to get involved in the business of amusement parks, and this can be hard to get right.
Two Point Hospitalmay not seem too difficult when players first load it up. The goal is simple: cure as many patients as possible while spending as little money as possible doing so. As the ailments patients experience ramp up, though, so do the costs of curing them. Balancing the money against the goal can be hard enough, but adding in the fact that the patients have needs while in the hospital makes the game fairly challenging.
Two Point Hospitalis all about taking care of the patients, but not literally at any cost, as money can be a tricky resource to manage.
7NIMBY Rails
Design and manage the railways
NIMBY Railsputs the player in full control of the world’s railway systems, as it opens on an empty map and invites players to take control and set everything up. The only restriction is that players cannot build where there are pre-existing rivers or buildings; otherwise, they can expand wherever they want. With the added constraint of a budget, managing all this while trying to meet the demands from passengers can be tricky.
NIMBY Railsis a game that shows just how hard it can be to organize a wide-scale public transport system.
Planet Zoois one of the most in-depthZoo Tycoon-style gamesavailable, which both makes it one of the best and one of the most difficult. Each animal has strict needs, including a privacy need, which can be hard to meet within the budget while also keeping guests happy and paying. There is a focus on conservation and releasing animals into the wild, which can grant the player rewards, but is not always available, adding an extra challenge.
Planet Zoois a complicated yet fun zoo management sim for the modern era, which places emphasis on the animals' well-being as much as the guests.
Jurassic World Evolution 2is a surprisingly challenging theme park management game in which players must design their ownJurassic Park-themed attractions. Getting the balance right in this game can be a challenge, as the park needs to be enticing enough for visitors without costing too much to run. All this while managing prehistoric animals in the park, and making sure they don’t get loose.
Jurassic World Evolution 2improves on its predecessor by increasing the amount of things available for the park, while also upping the difficulty level.
Tropico 6makes players take on the role of the dictator of an island nation, putting them in the business of politics. Players must manage everything about their island, from what farms are growing and the quality of this product, to how many workers are needed for a business and how educated they need to be. Managing all of this is extremely difficult, and players can find themselves with a rebellion on their hands fairly quickly if they do a poor job.
Tropico 6is the most difficult game in the franchise, but it’s still incredibly enjoyable to play once players get a handle on the game’s political aspects.
Prison Architectputs players in control of designing and managing their own private prisons. Designing a functioning prison is hard enough, as players are usually working blind with regard to how the prison will work with prisoners actually living there. Managing it is where the real difficulty comes in, which only increases with the available DLCs, all of which add more realism to the game.
Keeping prisoners happy is a difficult thing to do while keeping to a budget inPrison Architect, making it a real challenge.
Factoriois a notoriously difficult gameto get the hang of, even for players who are veterans of the business sim genre. Players must harvest resources constantly to ensure their factory empires have enough resources to run and thrive. Players can create their own blueprints for factory parts to lighten the load a little, but overall, the game is just grueling to get through, especially when advanced technologies are unlocked.
Factoriorequires players to be fully dedicated to expanding their factory empire, making it one of the most difficult business management games.
1Big Pharma
A painfully difficult medical business sim
Finally, the most difficult business management game available for players today isBig Pharma.The game is based on the medical system, as players are in the pharmaceutical business and must build and manage their medical factories. Each medicine requires different raw materials, which players must source while also managing the side effects and concentration levels of each one. The game is intrinsically complicated and is extremely difficult to understand and get the hang of.
Big Pharmais an incredibly challenging medical-based business management game, requiring intense attention to detail from its players.
