Despina describes Zoo Tycoon and how it can provide hours of entertainment. This is very true! My children love it and like Rollercoaster Tycoon even better. In Rollercoaster Tycoon they build and run an amusement park, complete with rides, attractions, landscapes, and weather challenges. I enjoy listening to them plan business strategies and troubleshoot a poorly performing ride without even realizing they are learning! I have seen them so engaged in the game that "self-consciousness disappears," a true sign of Csikszentmihalyi's flow. One of the newer games in the Tycoon line is Mall Tycoon. My twelve-year-old daughter has been hounding me for this one. It is advertised as "every mall goer's ideal simulation." With the game, she'll learn basic retailing and marketing. The simulations are quite complex and difficult, but users find these games are gratifying in and of themselves - a great example of flow. These games also have online forums where users can discuss such things as strategies for beefing up security to get rid of the "punks" in the mall.
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