RollerCoaster Tycoon® Classic
RollerCoaster Tycoon® Classic
Game
Game2014
RollerCoaster Tycoon®: Deluxe
Developer Chris Sawyer Productions
RollerCoaster Tycoon is a 1999 construction and management simulation video game developed, designed and programmed by Chris Sawyer. It was published by Hasbro Interactive under the MicroProse label for Windows. Frontier Developments developed an Xbox port, which was released in 2003. It is the first game in the RollerCoaster Tycoon series. From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
248 reactions from 3 sources (Steam reviews, Mastodon, Bluesky) · newest Nov 4, 2026 · last updated Nov 5, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
91
LovedLoved
203 positive · 20 negative
95% range 87–94%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 203 | 20 | 0 |
| Mastodon * | 8 | 0 | 15 |
| Bluesky * | 1 | 0 | 1 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Very Positive
5,847 of 6,179 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
90% recommend · 190 yes, 20 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 210 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Very Positive (7,871 of 8,345 positive).
Players praise the game as a timeless classic that holds up well decades later. [1][2][3] Many reviewers fondly recall getting the game from cereal boxes or school book fairs. [2][4][5] Some players note technical issues on modern systems, recommending OpenRCT2 as a fix. [6][7][8]
Liked
Representative posts
- [7]
This game just will NOT work on Windows 11 normally. It refuses to run and If you use "run with Windows 95 Compatability" it will sometimes open to the main menu before crashing if you're lucky. The only way to play it is to use Open RCT2 and point that program at the game files. Unfortunately, you need RTC2 in order to use Open RCT2 wioth RCT 1. I bought this version as I currently don't have an optical drive that …
- [2]
Got it in a cereal box many years ago AND it still holds up. One of my favorite childhood games; always loved this game to DEATH and I will put this game in my own casket when I pass.
- [3]
RollerCoaster Tycoon is one of those timeless classics that never lose their charm. I remember playing it when I was around ten years old, and it was one of the first video games I ever played. Even today, it's incredibly addictive: you always tell yourself you'll build just one more ride, and before you know it, hours have gone by. I'm still amazed that the game was programmed almost entirely in assembly language, …
- [6]
TECHINCAL (SOLUTION) RollerCoaster Tycoon is a fun game that is unfortunately in a terrible technical state. The only way to play it is to 1. Own RollerCoaster Tycoon 2 2. install the OpenRCT2 mod which links the RCT1 installation (both games need to be installed on Steam). It's a bit of a hack, but it works, and of course you get all levels from both RCT1 and RCT2 from a single launcher. This means that RCT1 + 2 is …
- [11]
Takes me back to the 90's, nothing like summer days spent inside playing this for 7+ hours, building the most magnificent theme parks. To go back just for 1 day would be a dream. Love this game and will always come back to it yearly to escape and forget about the world. I'm playing this on a gaming PC too, just something about the old graphics and pixels that are the best.
Summarised from 34 of the 234 public posts collected about this game; every point cites the posts behind it ([n] opens the post) and the split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Updated Oct 11, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
RollerCoaster Tycoon®: Deluxe sits at 91% positive across 223 opinionated reactions from 3 sources. Fresh or rotten — where do you land?
Critics, per Wikipedia
GameSpot's Alan Dunkin called it "another fun management simulation from the mind of Chris Sawyer." His praises included the custom naming of everything in the park and position-accurate, real-life sound effects. However, he disliked the limited speed of the game, reasoning that "when you're trying to manage your newest amusement park, time is ticking by, perhaps faster than you'd like." He also criticized the limited amount of scenarios and the player not being able to make their own. IGN's Jason Bates also called it a fun game. He wrote that making custom rides could take a very long time and be very frustrating at first, and players would have to pay too much cash to tasks such as…
From the “Reception” section of Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Critic context only — not part of the audience score.
Reactions
60 of 248 · most liked firstNot to brag, but I was just told I’m the best dad in the world. He also says he wants to play this game forever and ever. #rollerCoasterTycoon
positive · AI labelView post →This game just will NOT work on Windows 11 normally. It refuses to run and If you use "run with Windows 95 Compatability" it will sometimes open to the main menu before crashing if you're lucky. The only way to play it is to use Open RCT2 and point that program at the game files. Unfortunately, you need RTC2 in order to use Open RCT2 wioth RCT 1. I bought this version as I currently don't have an optical drive that can use my old disk and since I have to use a 3rd party program just to play…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game will never get old. #GameSky #PhysicalMedia #PC #RollercoasterTycoon #RCT2
positive · AI labelView post →this is old time games that never go out of styles...All through i am 80 years old i still enjoy playing this kind of challage game...
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Got it in a cereal box many years ago AND it still holds up. One of my favorite childhood games; always loved this game to DEATH and I will put this game in my own casket when I pass.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →There are two kinds of people in this world. People who keep the toilets free in this game, and the ruling class
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Thank you General Mills for the free copy inside of a box of cereal in the early 2000s.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is fully broken on Steam. It will not run. Do not buy this unless you want to own simply the license to have this game in your library.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I was trash at this game when I was a kid getting this at the Scholastic Book Fair, and I'm slightly less trash now; the music alone brings back so many memories. 10/10 would ignore ride maintenance and let God deal with it.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →{ Graphics } ☐ You forget what reality is ☐ Beautiful ☐ Good ☐ Decent ☑ Bad ☐ Don‘t look too long at it ☐ MS-DOS { Gameplay } ☑ Very good ☐ Good ☐ It's just gameplay ☐ Mehh ☐ Watch paint dry instead ☐ Just don't { Audio } ☐ Perfection ☐ Very good ☑ Good ☐ Not too bad ☐ Bad ☐ I'm now deaf { Audience } ☑ Kids ☑ Teens ☑ Adults ☐ Grandma { PC Requirements } ☐ Check if you can run paint ☑ Potato ☐ Decent ☐ Fast ☐ Rich boi ☐ Ask NASA if they have a spare computer { Game Size } ☐ Floppy…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Do not botter, game does not work anymore on windows 11.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →this game is not for everyone i grew up watching my father play this then i got into my teenage years and started playing this game along with some other games it brings back so many memories when i luanch this game i hope someone else can share the same experiance i do with this great title
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →RollerCoaster Tycoon is back in my collection! 🥳 🎢 🎆 I spent so many hours manipulating visitors to increase revenue and make parks and attractions even bigger 😁 🧵 1/ #RollerCoasterTycoon #ChrisSawyer #Microprose #HasbroInteractive #RetroGaming #BigBoxGames
positive · AI labelView post →I got this in a cereal box 20 years ago, still a fantastic game. I don't I'll ever get tired of this game. 10/10
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →RollerCoaster Tycoon is one of those timeless classics that never lose their charm. I remember playing it when I was around ten years old, and it was one of the first video games I ever played. Even today, it's incredibly addictive: you always tell yourself you'll build just one more ride, and before you know it, hours have gone by. I'm still amazed that the game was programmed almost entirely in assembly language, which helps explain why it's so exceptionally well optimized even decades later.…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Takes me back to the 90's, nothing like summer days spent inside playing this for 7+ hours, building the most magnificent theme parks. To go back just for 1 day would be a dream. Love this game and will always come back to it yearly to escape and forget about the world. I'm playing this on a gaming PC too, just something about the old graphics and pixels that are the best.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Been playing this game for over 2 decades love this game was so happy that i could buy it here after my cd finally gave up highly recommend!!!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I remember getting this game as a freebie in a cereal box back in my childhood. Truly a timeless, this is simply one of the all time greats (I honestly think it trumps RCT2 in a few areas, despite RCT2 being a great game too). Find myself coming back every few months to crank out a scenario or two.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Even without OpenRCT2, it's one of the best video games of all time. With OpenRCT2, it's even better. RollerCoaster Tycoon 1 and its sequel are two of the best video games ever made. The fact that you can buy both of them on Steam for less than $15 is one of the greatest parts of all humankind. Even without OpenRCT2, you can easily spend hundreds of hours of time into building the coolest parks imaginable and having the biggest sense of satisfaction when your guests love your park and your…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I bought this game in PHYSICAL CD FORM (back when you could do that) when I was 11 years old in 2006 ish - needless to say, it's been a key part of my childhood, growing up, and more - the amount of nostalgia is immeasurable! I learned business, finances and a lot more playing RollerCoasterTycoon Deluxe - and 20 years later STILL have yet to beat EVERY scenario! - I fully plan to do so sometime - but imagine that - 300 hours and I still haven't beaten it! It's a challenge, it's fun, I love…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →🎢 RCT Community Rewatch - July 11th! 16:00 UTC https://twitch.tv/katwizar 62 guests. 3 coaster crashes. 1 triumphant comeback. My most chaotic RCT session. Watching together with chat makes the disasters hit different. 😅 Details + timezones: https://katwizar.com/archival-rewatch-july-11th/ #RollerCoasterTycoon #RCT #LetsPlay #Gaming #TwitchStream #RetroGaming
positive · AI labelView post →This game is broken for modern systems and would need something like OpenRCT2 to run, but i didn't like the UI scaling factor of OpenRCT2 on my 2k monitor. The UI is WAY WAY too small, but you can scale it in the settings. However, it also scales the game environment and degrades the pixel quality very notably, especially when zoomed out, and there was no solution I found except to buy RollerCoaster Tycoon CLASSIC. Classic looks better on modern displays. It might not have all the fan made…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game was my childhood and it is now my adulthood. This game was so ahead of its time fr
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →@jeffowski no way kids use "white-knuckled" also funny enough the name of a book which was turned into a game of the same name which is now known as #RollercoasterTycoon
neutral · AI labelView post →Playing like it's 1999! Can't get enough of the RC Tycoon games. I love going back to the original time and time again.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It crashes daily so I'm paranoid about saving progress, most pre-made rollercoaster names are a string of random letters, and I can see my computer trying to fight to change the resolution back to normal while the game is playing. It's no better than finding your old beaten up CD. There's a free RCT app for iphones that i'll look into instead. What a bummer.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I can see why people loved this game, however i is painfully in need of QOL improvements. I will spend 20minutes trying to build a ride, having to manually change each corner of each terrain square, having to delete each decoration with very innacurate clicks.... only for the ride to not attract anyone as people complain they want something more intense and refusing to go on the more intense rides. All of this while being forced to have time move to be able to build and each of…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →one of my favorite childhood game, good game to waste your worthless time
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →just remember it requires additional software to play it is very fun
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →TECHINCAL (SOLUTION) RollerCoaster Tycoon is a fun game that is unfortunately in a terrible technical state. The only way to play it is to 1. Own RollerCoaster Tycoon 2 2. install the OpenRCT2 mod which links the RCT1 installation (both games need to be installed on Steam). It's a bit of a hack, but it works, and of course you get all levels from both RCT1 and RCT2 from a single launcher. This means that RCT1 + 2 is now basically one game and I don't understand how the original is even…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is simply my favorite game ever. The complexity and playability is amazing, even the pixelated graphics is part of the charm. i have been playing RCT since around 2000/2001 and it never gets boring. Many parks and possibilities to explore and challenge yourself. Again: BEST GAME EVER CREATED
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Soooo don't let the time fool you... This game, Sim city 3000, Icewind dale 1-2, Baldur's gate everything, Warvraft2-3, and a few others.... Have taken YEARS from my life And i gratefully given it... Lol I love the above games and will always have a place in my life and gaming history. I've found absolutely nothing wrong and STILL holds up to this day. It is fun, NON repetitive, infinite replay ability. And it is fun. It is not just nostalgia that makes me like it, it is a MUST have for any Sim…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →one of my all time favorite games. I have been playing since the original release, was very excited to be able to play again! After 37 hours of play time it randomly will not open or launch. Nothing seems to fix it. The steam version gets a thumbs down from me, dawg.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I loved this game until it suddenly wouldn't launch. Something is broken and support has been unable to fix it. Uninstalling and reinstalling does not help. There are a lot of people with the same issue. Baffling.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is a really, REALLY, fun game. I’ve been having a great time! I only have one problem, and that is that the scenarios (different parks) all last about an hour to complete. So if you want to boot up the game, you have to be ready for a commitment. 8/10
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →When adding OpenRct2, it stopped recording the hours on Steam. Have probably put in over 500 hours. It’s my go to game. Even with that, I still don’t know all the secrets, tips, and tricks about it.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's just as I remembered, drowning guests, dangerous rides that explode, and trapping guests underground.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Rollercoaster Tycoon is back and now being developed by Singapore studio Springloaded. @atari.com i just unveiled RollerCoaster Tycoon Wonderworks on Gamescom 2026 showcase. The game will be coming soon on PC #rollercoastertycoon
neutral · AI labelView post →Cult classic! Download the modern tools to play the game easier with openRTC2. There is a whole discord group. You can use the launcher for both RC1 and RC2. Improvements are integrated monthly from the community.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is the original. I remember playing this on my Windows 95, complete with 3D pipe screensaver....I miss those days. Anyway! This is the original and will bring you all the nostalgic feelz, while reminding you why some levels you never beat...because you couldn't build a scary enough roller coaster that people didn't die on while you kept your park rating high! Go back to the beginning......and enjoy the OG. RCT4Ever
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →it is very fun to play. fun traping people. but hard to pay lone, pay at end of the game
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's a great game. You can get into the details - fine details, decorations of running a park.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →instead of buying this game, pirate it, and cop a 2 for $6 deal on energy drinks at your local gas station
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →HOW TO FIX CRASH ON STARTUP: 1: Go to library 2: Right click roller coaster tycoon 3: Manage -> Browse local files 4: Right click "RCT.EXE" 5: Properties -> compatability tab 6: Click "Run this program in compatability mode for:" 7: Select Windows XP (Service Pack 2) This should work, but if you want a smoother experience also do this: Search "cnc-ddraw" Go to first Github link Go to the 7.1 section and find this exact text: "Download cnc-ddraw.zip and extract it into your game folder" The…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is just a fun reliable game. I've been playing it since my Y2K birthday and it still fails to disappoint.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Surprised I don’t see more love here for OpenRCT2. It’s an open source project that makes classic game Rollercoaster Tycoon work awesome on modern systems, fixes some bugs in the original and ads new features https://openrct2.io #opensource #rollercoastertycoon #games
positive · AI labelView post →Oh man, nostalgia hit me hard with this one! I remember when they had this game (on a disk) inside cereal boxes. Along with some other nostalgia bombs. I collected so many copies of this game, it was insane. Works wonderfully even on Windows 11. The theme music alone made this purchase so worthwhile.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game was my childhood and still is my go-to time waster whenever I want something just chill. Holds up even now- the art has always been charming and while it's a bit finicky to get going on a new computer, it's always going to be a giant nostalgia hit.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →An old all time favourite!! If you like peaceful, fun, tycoon kinda games with an old PC vibe to it, then it is for you <3.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The ultimate classic management sim, still as fun today as it was 30 years ago. Works great on Steam Deck thanks to Luxtorpedia and OpenRCT
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Very fun. Has sandbox mode as well as other challenges/
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I have been playing with game for like 30 years on and off. Man I love it. Brings me back to when games were simple yet still entertaining for hours.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Excellent game, AND it also includes a DRM-free installer alongside the Steam version!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The back of the box 🎡 🍟 🥤 (French edition) There's also an expansion that was sold in a box, but I never owned it. I don't know if it was worth it. 🧵 3/ #RollerCoasterTycoon #ChrisSawyer #Microprose #HasbroInteractive #RetroGaming #BigBoxGames
neutral · AI labelView post →I still say that the first two RollerCoaster Tycoon games have some of the best isometric artwork in history. Truly incredible decorating work! https://youtu.be/jypwN48YioY #RetroGames #retro #rct #rollercoastertycoon #pixelart #isometric
positive · AI labelView post →I have played this game since my age was probably a single digit, it hasn't changed and i respect and appreciate that from it. the best idle time killer 30yrs deep almost. My 80+yr old grandma waited in line for 3hrs on a black friday to get it for me. Decades of Joy
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's the original game, the very best one. Hits you right in the nostalgia. Nothing else compares really. Oh, it has all the expansion packs like Loopy Landscapes and Corkscrew Follies, so it's the full game.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →its a good game
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If you played it as a kid, you already know. 12/10
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It has aged like fine wine. In a world with so many new crazy games it is nice to come back to a nostalgic environment. The graphics aren't the best, but even my 5 year old asks me to play it. Apparently graphics don't matter with a GREAT game. 5/5 for time it was released. 3/5 for today's standards. Yeah a solid 8/5 for me.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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