6. Animal Crossing
Nintendo | Nintendo | 2002

An easygoing community sim that somehow made pulling weeds, digging holes and chatting with costumed critters fun. Frighteningly addictive fun

What made it so great?
Nothing that spectacular happens in Animal Crossing. Much like in real life, you buy a home, get a job, shop for material possessions, visit friends and celebrate holidays. Seriously, that's about as exciting as it gets. So why bother?

Because - unlike real life - Animal Crossing is all about freedom and relaxation. An average gameplay session usually includes nothing more strenuous than fishing by the river, collecting rare butterflies and dropping in on an animal neighbor to check out their new coffee table. Your most important mission may be delivering a letter from a friendly cat to an even friendlier dog. It's an endlessly charming and refreshing break from the stresses of the actual world... not to mention the stresses of other, more violent and frustrating videogames. You'll never throw your controller at this one.

Get ready to play
Although Animal Crossing is laid-back to the extreme, it does make some demands on you. You'll have to visit your town fairly regularly to keep it clean and keep its inhabitants happy. Of course, there's also Tom Nook, the infamous shopkeeper who owns your house at the beginning and works you to the bone to pay it off. But when the most ruthless representation of "The Man" is a raccoon in an apron, you know you're in a good place.

Been there, done that?
Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life takes the life simulation even further, enabling your virtual alter ego to tend a farm and raise a family. The personality isn't as quirky as Animal Crossing's, but the passage of time is more poignant.

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