As the name suggests, simulation games require the player to replicate real-life situations. One may be called upon to pilot a plane, manage a professional sports team, coach a race horse to victory, or even engage in a fictitious activity like piloting a spacecraft. These games put the player into the driver's seat where his success depends upon knowledge of, or skill using, the specific vehicle he drives.

More popular than Vehicle Sims are Life Development Sims, which typically involve users nurturing a life form from birth until adulthood and possibly death. With a Creature Sim, proper care means feeding it, playing with it and disciplining it when necessary. Examples of such Sims are "Creatures," "Dogz," "Catz" and "Monster Rancher." But the subjects of these Life Development Sims are not limited to pets, as they now commonly include the nurturing of virtual human beings which you guide through all aspects of simulated life.

Perhaps the most respected of all Sims games, however, are the Management Sims. Build your own amusement park, complete with roller coasters and rest rooms. Join the world of big business and manage your own Fortune 500 company. Play the stock market and try to dominate the economic world by buying, selling and trading commodities. You may even find yourself cast as a deity in one of the many World Building Sims.

These World Building games, also known as "God Sims," allow the user to create an entire world from scratch and fill it with life. The user can then watch over and manage his own personal planet, making adjustments as necessary until it reflects his concept of the perfect world. If things aren't going well, cause natural disasters--such as floods, volcanoes or earthquakes--to alter the landscape and start anew. All this and more awaits the player who craves the realistic and dares to enter the spectacular world of Simulation gaming.