The point is SimCity is no more a simulation than Monopoly is.
The rules of both are explicitly set up to be fun not a simplification of some model.
The rules of both are explicitly set up to be fun not a simplification of some model.
If you don't add all the house rules all kids use to prolong the game, it is quite playable.
For some reason alot of kids love it. I think handling money is the main lure.
And yeah, getting money and property is fun! But the game is supposed to be a 30-45 minute experience.
The solution is for families other games which are better suited especially for younger kids. But Monopoly has established itself as universal family board game.
Simulation or Game is a false dichotomy, there's plenty of opportunity for overlap.
Consider the original X-COM: obviously a game, yet also a simulation, not withstanding that the situation it was trying to simulate was not real. Units with individual statistics, status effects, individual gear with weights and placements that affected movement and actions, etc.
Another example to consider might be the Napoleonic warfare origins of Dungeons & Dragons.
The other kind of simulation where people are trying to understand how systems interact is even further removed in how they are used. Running the exact same hour plus simulation repeatedly while only changing initial conditions isn’t fun, but it can be informative.
So people can argue around MSFS’s trim modeling, ground modeling etc, but the issue isn’t with the physics engine’s specific compromises it’s a more fundamental problem.