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/ Genres / Educational / Dinopark Tycoon

Dinopark Tycoon

DOS - 1993
Also available on: 3DO - Mac

One of the most original "business" games ever made, DinoPark Tycoon is a great concoction of education and strategy.

Fans of Jurassic Park take note, here is the game you've been waiting for :) Construct and supervise your own dinosaur theme park, from the starting funds of $5,000 (yes, those modern dinos are a bit cheap). Although the box claims "Ages 8 and up," most kids younger than ages 12 or so will probably find DinoPark Tycoon too difficult and daunting, because there are many variables to keep track of, and managing the park's finances is not easy. You are in charge of borrowing money, buying dinosaurs, building fences to keep them in, hiring tour guides, building parking lots, setting admission fees, and many more.

There are many strategies at your disposal to increase revenues, such as adding dinosaurs, selling dinosaur babies, opening concession stands, advertising the park, and raising ticket prices. The game's educational aspect is very strong, as it provides many kinds of information to aid decision making, including a dinosaur fact guide, daily records, quarterly financial reports, and a calendar (with months that tick by). Players will learn graphing skills, estimation, supply and demand, and money management as they track profits. Not to mention a LOT of dinosaur anecdotes.

The game includes may innovative ideas, such as the ability to buy seeds so you can grow your own plant life for the herbivores. Every facet of running a DinoPark is factored in, including different prices in meat or plants that you must buy to feed park denizens, different kinds of fences, etc. Knowledge of each dinosaur's characteristics is important to success. For instance, you have to know how strong and aggressive of a dinosaur you have to determine if they need an electrified fence. Fail to contain a T-Rex, and you’ll have mass panic on your hands. As a business sim, DinoPark Tycoon is very enjoyable as a "light," humorous sim that is quite addictive. As an edutainment title, the game offers a lot of crucial dinosaur-related information, and kids will learn basic skills of economic management in a fun environment.

Overall, this is one of MECC's best releases, and a must-have for practically everyone. Highly recommended.

Review By HOTUD

Comments and reviews

Kai 16 Dec. 2023

I am 30 years old...like this game. I forgot about this ...when i was a child i must have played it a lot. i had a strange dream that made me remember this slightly so i Googled "Old School Dino Typhoon Game" and found this. i watched a quick video and watched it boot up..the music started and its amazing.

i have not felt nostalgia and joy like this in a long time. thank you

2
random_guy 03 Dec. 2020
Top comment

I enjoy playing it so much! And I'm glad that I can play it on Windows.
You may try to use DOSBox to open the file. Here are the instructions:
1) Download the file.
2) Unzip and save it to your computer (most conveniently c drive)
3) Rename your file as you like (e.g. dinopark).
4) Download DOSBox.
5) Open DOSBox.
6) Mount the file (enter the text: mount c (your drive):\(your file name); in my case I type 'mount c c:\dinopark)
7) You should see a new text saying '(Your drive) is mounted as local directory (your drive):\(your file name). (In my case: Drive C is mounted as local directory c:\dinopark\)
8) Enter: (your drive):\(your file name) (In my case: c:\dinopark)
9) Now you can play the game! (without sound)

For those who want to play the game with sound, follow the steps below after step 7:
8) Enter: (your drive):\ (in my case: c:\)
9) Notice that Z:\ is now changed to your selected drive (in my case: C:\)
10) Enter: setpup
11) That should bring you the setup program for dinopark tycoon. The default setting is 'no sound'. You can choose PC Speaker or Sound Blaster for game music and sound effects. You may try other options but that may crash your DOSBox program because this program is not compatible with the modern PC system. (I prefer using sound blaster for both music and sound effects)
12) After selecting and saving the changes, you will be brought to the DOSBox program again. Just enter dinopark and you can play the game (with sound).

Hopefully these instructions can help you! Enjoy the game :)

11
Asherz 17 Mar. 2019

Cant wait to play

2
pm1020 11 Feb. 2017

I can't get it to run on my mac book :( I was so pumped when I saw this.

it says my file is damaged or incomplete... I used stuffit to extract Any suggestions?

-4
oldergamer 30 Jul. 2015

the game wont work for me. I got one of those mac dos pages and then I hit return to get the game to work, nothing. I couldn't even find the dinopark.exc nothing. I wanted to play this game, since its one of my childhood favorites.

-2
oldergamer 30 Jul. 2015

this game is one of my childhood favorites. too bad I cant play this game online. my computer wont accept any downloads that's why I love the online versions.

0
thoffmeyer 08 May. 2015

I loved this game so much growing up as a kid, I still enjoy playing it every now and then.. Just something about owning a dinosaur theme park :D

0
Muffintop 17 Nov. 2014

For some reason the in game buttons (ones like the confirm purchace) aren't showing up so I can't buy things. Running OS9. =/

1
Bella West 30 Aug. 2014

I love this game!!!

0
Bella West 30 Aug. 2014

I love this game!!!

0
jonasboy 22 Aug. 2014

jow

0
mINICHIMI 11 Aug. 2014

hey just wanted to chime in cuz i had this problem too! this guys comemnt about sound not working :

Thank you to J Cadaverous for getting me started on D-fend. To anyone else having trouble with making the music run: Once you have the program in D-Fend, right click on "Dinopark Tycoon". Under "Run Program" is "Run Setup".

that is exactly how you fix it! On my setup, i chose to setup with music and sound fx set to soundblaster and not soundblaster pro because that woption made my game kinda distorted sound. Hope that helps!

3
h 06 May. 2014

Nice

0
joshc101 30 Apr. 2014

I love this game!

-1
Greendogo 06 Jan. 2014

Doe anyone know who owns the rights to Dinopark Tycoon?

2
Amanda 03 Nov. 2013

Thank you to J Cadaverous for getting me started on D-fend. To anyone else having trouble with making the music run: Once you have the program in D-Fend, right click on "Dinopark Tycoon". Under "Run Program" is "Run Setup".

1
Fatdad 07 Sep. 2013

I'm geeting. In. To. Dino park

0
Yoda 12 Aug. 2013

Music is missing! Why?

0
J Cadaverous 02 May. 2013

This link should help, not just for this game but for other old DOS based games as well. Hope this helps and you guys can get your games working.

http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/12771/play-your-favorite-dos-games-in-xp-vista-and-windows-7/

1
J Cadaverous 02 May. 2013

You need to download DosBOX of D-fend to play this on W7

0
Katie 10 Apr. 2013

:( It's not compatible to my computer.

0
iluvbutrdtoast 24 Feb. 2013

i downloaded but i have windows 7...:( how can i get the game to be compatible with my computer?

0
rex 31 Oct. 2012

Well its my 1st time

0
miss straw 16 Oct. 2012

how can i work this on w7

0
beans 16 Oct. 2012

I download it but cant open it or play it, can anyone help?

3
Abby 18 Aug. 2012

I love this game.

0
Dave 05 Aug. 2011

What a legendary game! Many hours spent trying to keep the park running without Dinos escaping...

0
Hadji 07 Jan. 2011

I can't believe no one has commented on this. I am nearly in tears because of this website. Dinopark tycoon, amazon trail, and treasure mountain are all here. It's like my childhood just woke up and it's Christmas Day!

1

No comment nor review for this game at the moment.

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Downloads

DOS version
Game file
United Kingdom English
2 MB
Mac version
Game file
United Kingdom English
6 MB
3DO version
Game file
United Kingdom English
381 MB

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