SimEarth really taught me the importance of critical mass. You could peter out if you didn’t marshal your resources to reach the next stage of the game.
Oxygen Not Included is my simulation game of choice atm. It really punishes you if you don’t realize how quickly you’ll deplete some finite resource.
Interestingly, SimTower was not developed by Maxis but by the Japanese OPeNBooK, and was originally released in Japan as "The Tower". Maxis then published it in US as part of the Sim series.
OPenBooK went on to develop Yoot Tower ("The Tower II" in Japan), a sequel to the original game, in 1998.
