This addictive game is like 'SimCity' but for transit nerds

"A new simulation game called Subway Builder lets you design, build, and operate subway systems in 26 U.S. cities, from New York to Boston to San Francisco. The game uses real-life U.S. Census Bureau and employment data to map where residents and workers live, allowing you to simulate realistic passenger flows. Players must also contend with real-world constraints like tunnels, viaducts, existing foundations, and road layouts."

"The goal is to design a subway network that gets the most people to their destinations as quickly as possible. But there's a deeper ambition: to spark more transit-minded thinking in a country that historically has underinvested in it. "I would secretly hope that maybe someone in power sees this and says 'Maybe we can build something like this,'" says Colin Miller, a software engineer and creator of the game."

"Subway Builder launched on October 9 to much fanfare in the transit community. "I've been playing Subway Builder for *checks notes* all night," one user posted. "I legitimately think this game is going to start a transit revolution in America," wrote another. Over the years, many developers have tried to gamify transit design with offerings like MetroConnect, Brand New Subway, and Mini Metro."

Subway Builder enables players to design, build, and operate subway systems across 26 U.S. cities using U.S. Census Bureau and employment data to model resident and worker locations and realistic passenger flows. The simulation enforces real-world constraints such as tunnels, viaducts, existing foundations, and road layouts. The objective prioritizes moving the most people to destinations as quickly as possible. The game aims to encourage transit-oriented thinking and inspire practical proposals. The creator used datasets from the Department of Education, the FAA, and OpenStreetMap. Early community response praised its realism and compared it favorably to prior transit-gaming efforts.

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