Parents' Guide to Trade Nations

TRADE NATIONS is an attractive-looking building sim that boasts a robust economy and encourages players to build a large support network of friendly nations (each controlled by another real-world person) to interact with. Players begin with a small village, and build, grow, and trade their way to a  large city. Emphasis is placed on the production of materials and how the manufacturing process contributes to the economy -- for example, wood becomes lumber, which is then used to build things like carts. The downside of Trade Nations is the same as with many building sims: lacking a coherent story or spontaneous quests, players will spend a great deal of time waiting around for things to finish being built. Unless, of course, you're willing to pony up real-world cash to speed things along.