Simutrans is a great fully developed transport management simulation game. This sounds incredibly boring but in fact it is so addictive that you'll forget the time of day.

If you are familiar with Chris Sawyer's Transport Tycoon then that is all you need to know. But basic idea is to become the biggest transport company. This can be done by building up the transport networks around cities and generate income through transporting and selling goods, including mail. In the cities you can create bus stations which transport workers to their work places. You will also be playing against other transport companies.

The way it works is by finding key locations and industries. For example find a coal mine, transport the coal to a power station or an iron foundry. Iron can be used to create steel which can be used to make cars which are sold to car sales companies in the cities. Or you could transport wood from a forrest to a sawmill and then to a furniture maker which then gets sold in the cities.

As you build your transport infrastructure and make an area more productive the nearby towns grow and grow by themselves. This is not like SimCity where you build the cities and the transport network. The cities are generated automatically and expand naturally according to the transport network. You cannot bulldoze buildings if they are in your way.

Recent versions of Simutrans have added many new features including underground rail network and trams can be added to roads.

Another really great feature of Simutrans is the way Pak files work. The Pak file is a collection of the image tiles used in the game. The standard download will have the default Pak64 file which is a small low colour file. This gives it that retro feel of the Transport Tycoon style game. However by looking in the list of downloads for Simutrans you will se a list of various Pak files. For example there is a Pak128.Britain which is a high detail high colour tile set with a British feel including names of British towns. There are other Pak files incliding a standard Pak128 for better graphics. There are also German and Japanese Pak files as well as a handrawn and cartoon style.