Cooking Simulation Games
Simulation here means the kitchen is modelled rather than abbreviated.
These games keep the stages that faster titles cut — resting, cooling, marinating, waiting — and the pleasure is in working a process through rather than in beating a clock.
Some of them are structured as cookbooks: you choose a recipe from a list, work it at your own pace, and completing it opens another. Others are cook-offs and full kitchens where several cuisines share a menu and the equipment changes as the dishes do.
This is the section that overlaps most with the restaurant and time management pages, and the distinction is worth stating. A simulation is about the work; a time management game is about the queue. Several titles could sit in either, and where they are listed reflects which half of the game does more.
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Questions about this section
How is simulation different from time management here?
Simulation is about working a process through; time management is about serving a queue against a clock.
Do these games have a clock?
Many do not. The ones that do use it as pressure rather than as the point of the game.