I've never been much of a sim-game player (apart from a brief addiction to the original Sim City), but Restaurant Empire sounds like it could be fun, especially if you've ever thought about opening up your own eatery.
Restaurant Empire gives you a good sense of managing a restaurant. You hire and fire staff, construct a menu, place tables, decor, and kitchen equipment, and open the doors. Over the course of a day, people wander in and order. As is typical in games of this type, each customer's desires, wants, and reactions are tracked in detail, and you can click on any guest to see what he or she is thinking about (often, about the rudeness of staff or delays in their order).
I'd be curious to see what a real restaurant manager thinks of this. When I was playing Sim City, I knew a city manager who thought anyone going into municiple administration should play the game, saying it gave a decent look at the pressures of the job.
Posted by tgibbons at July 29, 2004 07:11 PM