SimAnt

The game is a simulation of an ant colony. Wright was inspired by E. O. Wilson's study of ant colonies.

The game consists of three modes: a Quick Game, a Full Game, and an Experimental Game. It was released for MS-DOS, Amiga, Mac, and Super NES. The Super NES version adds eight scenarios, where the goal in each is to eliminate the enemy red ants in various locales, each with different hazards.

SimAnt was developed by Maxis and designed and programmed by the company's co-founder Will Wright alongside his high school friend Justin McCormick. The two each did about half the code and design on the game. Total production time was less than a year due to their round-the-clock effort. While Wright focused on the simulation core during the day, McCormick handled much of the front-end programming at night with the duo meeting twice daily.

This was Wright's third simulation title following 1989's SimCity and 1990's SimEarth. While SimEarth was a result of Wright's desire to create a simulation other than a direct sequel to the city-building of SimCity, he described SimAnt as a "slight overreaction" to the seriousness of SimEarth. "I wanted SimAnt to go in the opposite direction: something non-intimidating, something lighthearted, something fun, something where it was really clear what went wrong," he explained.

The game was reviewed in 1992 in Dragon #178 by Patricia Hartley and Kirk Lesser in "The Role of Computers" column. The reviewers gave the game 5 out of 5 stars. Computer Gaming World stated that "players seeking a non-linear, unconventional and provocative strategy simulation will hit paydirt with SimAnt. The game is easy to get into, stimulating, fun, and increasingly challenging ... students will love it".

GamePro named it "Educational Game of the Year", commenting that "SimAnt is a delightful combination of simulation, strategy, and adventure."

Like its predecessor SimEarth, SimAnt achieved only middling sales. It sold over 50,000 copies by February 1992. According to one game box, using a statistic from the Software Publisher's Association, more than 100,000 copies of the PC version had sold by April 10, 1992. Designer Will Wright stated in 1994 that he considered the game his biggest disappointment up to that point in his career as he felt he failed to convey "how cool ants are." In a 1996 postmortem, Wright considered SimAnt as effectively educational yet "too simple" and lacking the same level of creativity and personal imprinting of the original

SimCity. Though not as popular with the targeted adult demographic, the lower complexity of SimAnt ultimately connected best with children, specifically boys aged ten to thirteen years of age. Misgauging a game's core audience was a lesson Wright learned from his experience with the game. He said in 2003 that he would like to remake SimAnt with a more immersive, first-person perspective if given the opportunity. The designer claimed to continue studying books about ants years after the game's completion.