Rose Behar September 24, 2016 2:00pm

I’ll never forget the fateful day that I found a CD-ROM of RollerCoaster Tycoon in my cereal box. While it wasn’t usual back in those golden days to get kids’ PC games in cereal, this was the one that had the largest impact on me. It introduced my younger self to the adult sense of responsibility that comes with running a theme park.

Making sure there were enough bathrooms and benches for the easily-disgruntled patrons, attempting to build safe attractions, hiring cleaners and then picking them up and dropping them on the constantly regenerating piles of barf that would crop up everywhere. Looking back, that doesn’t sound like much fun at all — but somehow, it became one of my favourite games.

That’s why, when I saw the familiar RollerCoaster Tycoon logo pop up in the recommended games section of Google Play, I could barely contain my excitement.

Unfortunately, many of the aspects I mention above are not present in ‘RollerCoaster Tycoon 4 Mobile.’ There’s no option to purchase employees and no barfing. You can still, however, design your own roller coasters, place attractions, monitor customer ‘buzz’ and generally revel in the nostalgia of a crappy PC game from the past.

Additionally, while it is a game that runs on micro-transactions, it isn’t exceedingly aggressive about the tactic. Ultimately, it’s the type of game I see myself casually playing over a long period time — at least until I can comfortably call myself a true tycoon and not just the owner of a rinky dink two-bit carnival in a big field.

The game is freely available for both Android and iOS.