Cities, ant colonies, whole planets and one very needy household: this designer kept handing players a sandbox and walking away. Some of these sold by the millions, others live on as cult experiments.
1The SimsThe 2000 life simulation about managing virtual households, which became one of the best-selling PC franchises ever.1000pts
2SimCityWill Wright's 1989 city-building simulator that launched the Sim series and the whole sandbox management genre.756pts
3SimLifeA 1992 artificial-life sandbox that lets players design organisms and ecosystems from genetic building blocks.517pts
4SimEarthA 1990 planetary simulation inspired by the Gaia hypothesis, where players shape a whole world's climate and life.517pts
5SimCopterA 1996 helicopter game set inside cities built in SimCity 2000, flown on rescue and police missions.423pts
6SimAntA 1991 simulation of an ant colony battling rival red ants for control of a suburban backyard.423pts
7Raid on Bungeling BayWright's 1984 debut, a helicopter shoot-'em-up whose map editor sparked the idea for SimCity.423pts
8SporeWright's 2008 evolution game that takes a species from single cell to galactic civilization.310pts
9SimCity 2000The 1993 sequel Wright co-designed with Fred Haslam, adding isometric views, underground layers and arcologies.310pts
10The Sims OnlineThe 2002 massively multiplayer take on The Sims, letting players build homes and businesses in shared cities.0pts
