Play SimAnt online — the original 1991 DOS game Works — the full original game runs via DOSBox in your browser
Guide updated October 2026 · Runs via DOSBox + WebAssembly
SimAnt: The Electronic Ant Colony — Will Wright's 1991 game at Maxis. You are one yellow ant in a black colony, recruiting nestmates, foraging for food and breeding new queens, while a red colony competes for the same garden and the house beyond it. Click Play to start.
Tap the screen to click · ENTER: confirm · ESC: menu
⌨ Keyboard — for menus & name entry
Controls — what does what
| Action | Keyboard | Mouse / touch |
|---|---|---|
| Move your yellow ant | — | Click where to go |
| Pick up / drop | — | Click with the hand tool |
| Menus and views | Alt+letter | Click |
Runs in your browser tab with DOSBox + WebAssembly — nothing is uploaded. Click the screen to capture input; press Ctrl+F10 to release mouse.
SimAnt is no longer sold anywhere, and its publisher is gone or has left it unsold for decades. It is hosted here on the same footing as the Internet Archive's software collections. That is a practical position, not a legal claim. This page carries no advertising. Provenance: /apps/simant/NOTICE.md. Rights holders: it comes down within 48 hours on request.
About SimAnt
Wright based SimAnt on E. O. Wilson's research into ant behaviour, and the game includes a short course on how real colonies work. There are three ways to play: a quick game on a single patch, the full game across the whole yard and house, and an experimental mode for building your own conditions. Ants lay scent trails others follow, and the colony's caste balance is yours to set.
How it runs here
This is the original DOS release of SimAnt, unmodified, running in DOSBox compiled to WebAssembly. The whole game is about 1 MB, so it starts within seconds on a normal connection. Sound and music play once you click into the game.
Frequently asked questions
Can I play SimAnt online for free?
Yes. Click Play and the original 1991 DOS version starts in your browser, running in a WebAssembly build of DOSBox. Nothing to install and no account.
Why is SimAnt hosted here?
SimAnt is not sold anywhere today; we checked the stores listed in its provenance note. It is preserved here the way the Internet Archive preserves old software. That is a practical position, not a legal claim. If the rights holder (Electronic Arts (Maxis)) asks, it comes down within 48 hours.
Does my progress save?
Saved games persist in this browser between visits, best-effort. Clearing site data removes them.
Can I play on a phone or tablet?
Yes. Touch buttons for the keys SimAnt uses appear under the game on touch devices.
More you can play in your browser
Related guides
Want a game like this on your own site?
SimAnt isn't ours to give away — we host it, we didn't write it. But eleven of the games here we did write from scratch, and those are free for anyone to put on their own page: one line of HTML, no account, no permission, no attribution beyond a credit line.