Best Value Simulation Games Under $40
The Simulation games on Steam games under $40 that deliver the most playtime per dollar: median reviewer hours divided by current price.
All Indie Action Adventure Simulation RPG Strategy Co-op Open World Story Rich Casual Funny Survival Difficult Pixel Graphics PvP Horror Anime Puzzle Rogue-like Relaxing Turn-Based Strategy Local Co-Op Psychological Horror Hack and Slash Platformer MMO RTS Immersive Sim Post-apocalyptic Action Roguelike City Builder Life Sim Zombies Sports Racing Survival Horror Stealth Bullet Hell Dungeon Crawler Visual Novel JRPG Deckbuilding Grand Strategy Cyberpunk Tower Defense Clicker Fighting Open World Survival Craft Boomer Shooter Colony Sim Farming Sim Cozy Auto Battler Cooking Twin Stick Shooter Metroidvania 4X Souls-like Dating Sim MMORPG
By price
Price divided by median reviewer playtime — how much you pay per hour of gameplay. Lower is better. Reviewers tend to sink more hours in than the average owner, so treat this as an optimistic estimate. Free games are excluded because there's no price to divide by.
- 1BidKing$0.01/1hr210h48.46%32.61%
- 2Cornerpond$0.02/1hr158h87.87%97.12%
- 3Ropuka's Idle Island$0.03/1hr124h88.29%95.18%
- 4Cookie Clicker$0.04/1hr123h95.34%96.42%
- 5FTL: Faster Than Light$0.04/1hr46h93.99%95.09%
- 6The NOexistenceN of Lilith$0.04/1hr45h87.85%98.00%
- 7shapez$0.05/1hr21h91.82%95.90%
- 8X4: Foundations$0.06/1hr156h81.29%79.94%
- 9Transport Fever 2$0.07/1hr60h89.15%90.32%
- 10Space Engineers$0.07/1hr142h88.57%88.81%
- 11RimWorld$0.08/1hr369h97.36%97.85%
- 12Graveyard Keeper$0.08/1hr52h85.33%85.33%
- 13Chill Pulse$0.08/1hr47h88.62%95.43%
- 14Naval Action$0.08/1hr250h65.33%51.83%
- 15theHunter: Call of the Wild$0.09/1hr34h88.91%89.08%
- 16Rising Storm 2: Vietnam$0.09/1hr28h86.79%87.04%
- 17Rusty's Retirement$0.10/1hr72h92.12%96.69%
- 18Garry's Mod$0.10/1hr49h96.78%96.87%
- 19Tiny Pasture$0.11/1hr57h88.64%92.48%
- 20Stardew Valley$0.11/1hr139h98.35%98.48%
- 21Dragon Cliff$0.11/1hr92h86.85%88.61%
- 22Elite Dangerous$0.11/1hr185h77.97%77.28%
- 23Galactic Civilizations IV$0.11/1hr122h82.70%72.26%
- 24My Time at Sandrock$0.11/1hr110h87.43%88.15%
- 25Mechabellum$0.11/1hr136h84.36%83.81%
- 26Oxygen Not Included$0.12/1hr212h95.98%96.72%
- 27DSX$0.12/1hr67h77.59%69.43%
- 28ICARUS$0.12/1hr72h76.03%74.67%
- 29Avorion$0.13/1hr197h87.88%90.01%
- 30Green Hell$0.13/1hr19h84.67%84.61%
- 31Project Zomboid$0.14/1hr182h93.60%93.77%
- 32Esports Godfather$0.14/1hr143h87.12%90.66%
- 33FlatOut$0.14/1hr11h87.66%91.13%
- 34Touhou Mystia's Izakaya$0.15/1hr41h95.47%98.56%
- 35House Flipper$0.15/1hr17h93.27%93.97%
- 36Eco$0.15/1hr195h82.64%80.67%
- 37Spirit City: Lofi Sessions$0.15/1hr78h93.02%97.60%
- 38RollerCoaster Tycoon: Deluxe$0.16/1hr38h89.41%94.31%
- 39Survival: Fountain of Youth$0.16/1hr62h84.98%85.44%
- 40Dyson Sphere Program$0.16/1hr123h96.23%97.42%
- 41Streamer Life Simulator$0.16/1hr12h81.27%76.03%
- 42鬼谷八荒 Tale of Immortal$0.17/1hr78h56.87%55.60%
- 43The Guild II Renaissance$0.17/1hr58h84.80%83.52%
- 44Empyrion - Galactic Survival$0.17/1hr116h79.96%78.39%
- 45The Lost Village$0.17/1hr69h82.06%71.39%
- 46Do Not Feed the Monkeys$0.17/1hr9h89.68%93.54%
- 47Fields of Mistria$0.18/1hr79h94.43%97.04%
- 48Feed the Cups$0.18/1hr72h79.51%70.59%
- 49Internet Cafe Simulator$0.18/1hr6h78.62%72.66%
- 50KovaaK's$0.19/1hr50h91.49%92.97%
- 51SnowRunner$0.19/1hr63h89.37%90.09%
- 52Chillquarium$0.19/1hr31h88.40%92.06%
- 53Elin$0.20/1hr99h89.22%93.36%
- 54Factorio$0.20/1hr171h97.02%97.51%
- 55Don't Starve Together$0.21/1hr73h94.74%94.91%
- 56Frostpunk$0.21/1hr29h92.24%92.74%
- 57Into the Breach$0.21/1hr14h91.45%94.19%
- 58People Playground$0.21/1hr47h98.04%98.44%
- 59Your Only Move Is HUSTLE$0.22/1hr23h94.48%96.50%
- 60Settlement Survival$0.22/1hr24h85.20%85.04%
- 61Slime Rancher$0.22/1hr23h97.25%98.01%
- 62Euro Truck Simulator 2$0.22/1hr90h97.31%97.44%
- 63(the) Gnorp Apologue$0.22/1hr32h90.06%94.81%
- 64Soulmask$0.22/1hr87h79.60%77.04%
- 65gogh: Focus with Your Avatar$0.23/1hr53h87.38%91.14%
- 66Assetto Corsa$0.23/1hr22h92.45%92.86%
- 67American Truck Simulator$0.23/1hr87h96.35%96.91%
- 68Farming Simulator 22$0.23/1hr87h92.01%92.73%
- 69Outpath$0.23/1hr16h87.09%92.70%
- 70Motorsport Manager$0.23/1hr86h89.06%91.68%
- 71Coral Island$0.23/1hr128h88.00%88.96%
- 72Stormworks: Build and Rescue$0.24/1hr105h89.76%90.50%
- 73EVERSPACE 2$0.24/1hr41h85.44%85.94%
- 74SpaceCraft$0.25/1hr122h80.39%64.24%
- 75The Isle$0.25/1hr82h80.57%80.17%
- 76Placid Plastic Duck Simulator$0.25/1hr8h93.52%97.57%
- 77Card Survival: Tropical Island$0.25/1hr101h87.17%94.99%
- 78Timberborn$0.25/1hr99h93.91%95.97%
- 79Cosmoteer: Starship Architect & Commander$0.25/1hr81h90.38%94.30%
- 80Ostranauts$0.25/1hr80h83.35%77.27%
- 81Satisfactory$0.25/1hr160h96.85%97.27%
- 82Parkitect$0.25/1hr47h89.36%94.20%
- 83Tropico 4$0.26/1hr59h88.93%91.69%
- 84Mewgenics$0.26/1hr88h89.18%89.90%
- 85Per Aspera$0.26/1hr29h81.88%75.91%
- 86Heroes' Vow: Three Kingdoms$0.26/1hr77h86.46%88.53%
- 87Farming Simulator 25$0.26/1hr116h86.99%87.28%
- 88F.I.S.T.: Forged In Shadow Torch$0.26/1hr18h85.42%86.32%
- 89Survivalist: Invisible Strain$0.27/1hr45h85.73%86.61%
- 90Captain of Industry$0.27/1hr92h88.03%90.29%
- 91Scrap Mechanic$0.27/1hr108h91.32%91.81%
- 92This War of Mine$0.27/1hr19h93.04%93.83%
- 93Mind Over Magic$0.27/1hr93h85.72%86.58%
- 94Supermarket Chaos$0.27/1hr18h87.34%92.73%
- 95ANEURISM IV$0.27/1hr36h81.48%75.33%
- 96Hardspace: Shipbreaker$0.28/1hr38h88.10%89.30%
- 97BeamNG.drive$0.28/1hr90h96.92%97.20%
- 98Mist Survival$0.28/1hr30h79.65%75.70%
- 99Monster Prom$0.28/1hr9h89.63%93.02%
- 100The Sims 3$0.28/1hr71h86.01%86.21%
How the math works: we sample each game’s Steam reviewers, take the median of their total recorded playtime (lifetime hours, not hours at the time of review), and divide it by the game’s current price in your selected currency. Reviewers usually sink more hours in than the average owner, so the numbers run generous. Free games aren’t listed because there’s no price to divide by, and a game needs playtime data from at least 20 reviewers before it qualifies. All prices are Steam’s own regional prices, never exchange-rate conversions.