ORIGINAL GAME PREVIEW / GAME OPENS ON CREATOR'S SITE
SANDBOX / SINGLE PLAYER
SimTower (browser port)
The 1994 SimTower in a browser tab: lay a lobby, stack offices, condos and hotel rooms, program the elevators and climb toward five stars.
OUR TAKE / EDITORIAL
Why it's on the wall
SimTower exactly as it looked in 1994, Windows 3.1 menus and all, rebuilt from the original program and ready in a tab in seconds. Lay a lobby and start stacking.
Written by Neon Gamewall. An opinion, not a player rating.
GAME BRIEF
What's the game?
Ben Phelps rebuilt the Windows 3.1 version of SimTower, Yoot Saito's 1994 skyscraper sim, as a JavaScript program that follows the rules recovered from the original executable; his feature checklist ties each system (people's routes, tenant stress, rents, star ratings, elevators) to addresses in the disassembled game. The original art and sounds come with it, so there is nothing to install or supply. The Maxis loading screen preloads the assets, then the original title offers New Tower and Load Saved Tower. A new tower starts on an empty lot with $2,000,000 and the old Windows 3.1 windows around it: the tool palette, the Edit, Eval, Pricing and Hotel panels, the star rating and the date. We laid a ground-floor lobby (it cost $220,000, and a crane and OPEN signs went up); from there you add floors, rooms and elevators and wait for tenants. The artwork is upscaled with waifu2x by default; Options, Textures, Original brings back the 1994 pixels. F1 opens the illustrated manual.
BEFORE YOU PLAY
What to expect
Unofficial: SimTower was created by Yoot Saito at OPeNBooK and published by Maxis, now part of EA. Free, no account and no ads; the page loads only its own files, about 17 MB, and was playable 15 seconds after we opened it. Saves are kept in your browser, with autosave; save files from the 1994 game (.TDT) cannot be opened yet. It is a mouse game in a desktop-sized window, and we did not try it on a phone. Open source on GitHub. The project page makes no AI claim; a games feed summarising the creator's Reddit post says AI agents did the decompilation.
Controls: Mouse: pick a tool from the palette, then click or drag on the tower. The Finger toggles elevator stops and drags elevator machinery; double-click a shaft to program it. The scroll bars, the map window or the mouse wheel move around the tower. F1 opens the manual.
QUESTIONS PEOPLE ASK
Common questions
Can you play SimTower in a browser?
Yes. Ben Phelps's port at benphelps.github.io/simtower runs the Windows version in a tab with the original art and sounds included, so you need neither the old CD nor an emulator. It took about 15 seconds and 17 MB to reach the title screen when we opened it.
Is it the real SimTower?
It is a rewrite in JavaScript that follows the rules recovered from the original 1994 executable, with the game's own artwork, sounds and Windows 3.1 menus. It is unofficial: SimTower belongs to its creator Yoot Saito (OPeNBooK) and its publisher Maxis, and neither made this port.
Does it save?
Yes, in your browser: File, Save keeps the tower in the browser's storage, and autosave is on. Save files from the original 1994 game (.TDT) cannot be opened yet.
SOURCE & CREDIT
Meet the maker
The game's AI build is not independently verified. Visit the creator's game page for current details.
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