Sim Theme Park, also known as Theme Park World in the UK, is a theme park simulator released in 1999. This is an OLD game, but still one of my favorites to this day. I recently started streaming the game and knew I would get questions. So, I made this guide on how to play the game on Windows 10.
Please note: These instructions are for Windows 10. If you have an earlier version of Windows, this method may not work for you.
Download Link
The game is considered abandonware and can be downloaded in its entirety from this website. You need all three files – the Windows 8-10 compatibility patch, the Sim Theme Park CD Image, and the Theme Park World Patch v2.0.
Please Note: This is the UK version of the game, Theme Park World. It works exactly the same as the US version. The only difference is the advisor has a different accent. I have not been able to find a working US version. You can usually buy a disc version really cheap on Ebay, but I’m not sure if it installs the same as the download.
Install Sim Theme Park
Download and extract the files from the link above, then you’re ready to start installing.
- Right click on the “Theme Park World” disc image file. Click on “Mount.”
- A new folder will open. Double-click on “autorun.”
- The installer will appear. Choose your language, click on “Install,” and then choose “Yes” when the window appears asking if you want to allow this app to make changes.
- Sometimes the installer will not launch. If it DOES NOT launch, skip to step five. If it DOES launch for you, skip to step nine.
- If the installer DOES NOT launch, open your Task Manager. Under “Background Processes” you will see “32-Bit Setup Launcher.” Right-click on it and choose “Go to Details.”
- The executable will now be highlighted. Right-click on it and choose “Analyze Wait Chain.” A new menu will appear with a setup.exe on top and one or more processes running below it.
- Click the checkbox next to the processes BELOW setup.exe. (DO NOT click the checkbox next to the first setup.exe option.) Then choose “End Process.”
- The installer will now begin. You will see box in the right bottom corner of your screen asking you to wait. So wait. This may take several minutes.
- The setup wizard will now appear. (If it doesn’t, repeat steps 5-7. I’ve had to kill the additional processes multiple times before.) Follow the instructions on the screen to continue installing the game. DO NOT LAUNCH THE GAME AFTER INSTALL!!!
- When you get to the final screen UNCHECK LAUNCH GAME NOW. DO NOT LAUNCH THE GAME OR YOU WILL HAVE TO UNINSTALL AND START ALL OVER!!!
Patch Sim Theme Park
Now that you have the game installed, you MUST patch it to get it to work in Windows 10.
- Double-click on the “tppatchtwoeuroamer20000324a” application that you downloaded above. This is the Theme Park World v2.0 patch. It will run very quickly and you may see a progress bar for a split second before it disappears. That’s all you need to do with that one.
- For the next patch, copy all the files from the “Sim Theme Park Win 8-10 patch” folder into your game folder at C:\Program Files (x86)\Bullfrog\ThemeParkWorld. You will be prompted to overwrite files. Say yes.
- Double-click on the “tp” registration entries file. A box will appear asking you if you’re sure you want to continue. Click “Yes.”
- Now right-click the icon on your desktop and choose “Run as Administrator.” The game should load up! You’ll probably want to increase the graphics to High once you get in the game, but don’t worry about changing the resolution in-game. It’s already set externally to the highest possible – 1280 x 1024.
I hope this guide helps you get Sim Theme Park (Theme Park World) working on your Windows 10 computer! If you have any questions, leave a comment below and I’ll try my best to help. There is also a subreddit dedicated solely to this game that can provide help if you need it.
You’re an absolute blessing for this
I installed all this on my Windows 11 laptop (today is 2 August 2026) and I just want to add one final step that got it working!
**After completing this tutorial, restart your machine.**
When I tried running the game right after after applying the patch as described above—it’d boot up but then crash/exit immediately. After the restart, the game loaded up just fine, even when I’d press spacebar to skip the intro videos 😛
how did you get to play in 1920×1080 and not have black bars when starting the game
I had to leave a comment to express as much gratitude as I possibly could. I adored this game as a kid and it’s been a dream of mine for YEARS to get it running on a modern PC, but could never get it working.
I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw the game actually opened.
Thank you so much for laying it out in simple terms so I could actually get it done lmao.
THANK YOU !!! <3
I’ve been attempting to get this to work for about an hour. It simply will not allow me to go much further than the “run as administrator?” pop-up. I followed the instructions but it didn’t work. I’ll see if re-installing the whole lot will work but I’m finding it too tedious right now.
hello! the game runs fine, but the graphics are super glitchy which makes it unplayable. i can’t see any of the menus and a lot of graphic information is missing, the little guy has just a mouth and no eyes, things are stretching weirdly, etc. anyone else come across this and find a fix? i’m gonna try and manipulate my graphics settings but lost beyond that…
I’m having exactly this graphics issue as well. I’ve done the update and the patch, and run the registry update. I’ve edited the _Resolution.sam file to update resolution to my current computer display settings (2560 x 1600), renamed the file with the _ to make it run, and made sure it’s not changing to a .txt file. I’ve also edited the high.sam file to turn on bumpmapping as a hail Mary in case that helped (didn’t).
I’m using the GamesNostalgia files. Game will open (running in Windows 11 as administrator, without compatibility mode, after patches). Goes to lobby, Scottish caretaker starts talking, but all the unplayable graphics issues you described.
No idea what the fix is for this. I’m going to try frame rate.
*correction – renamed the _Resolution.sam file WITHOUT the underscore.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1B2VMQLudSM -> German youtube tutorial for graphics tuning – closed captions available in English.
I have used this just now on Windows 11 in 2025. If you follow the instructions exactly, it completely works. Restart your computer after you complete everything if some things don’t load when you open the application.
Hi, does the patch works for Windows 11?
I have not been able to find a way to get this game to DL or run past the language selection and install screen. I am running the latest windows and I simply cannot get this game to work. PLEASE HELP!!
I have found a resolve for the no cursor issue that can be experienced.
In the game’s files, there are SAM files named low, med, and high. I needed to edit these files properties to give permission to edit and save them and then opened them in notepad.
Once in notepad, change the following: GraphicalOptions.RENDER32 and GraphicalOptions.TEXTURE32 to 1 and save. This made the cursor display for me.
I accidentally booted the gam on my first pass through. I’ve since deleted all files multiple times and it still won’t work. I’m so so sad that I can’t play this game. I wish I had paid more attention and been more careful. I worry that I can never fix this.
You can use Windows’ Add/ Remove Program feature to properly uninstall the game, that allows you a fresh go at getting it fixed :p I played a nice long session on day 1, too…
Whenever I boot it up all the intro logos are fine but I physically can’t get into a game, all the animations are frozen and doesn’t allow me to see anything or load into a park!
ssame
me too did you find a way to fix this ?
Has anyone found a fix for this cause its happening to me too
So, the game pulls up perfectly and loads to the main menu, however from there things get glitchy. Even more so than ever before. The only way I can get it to progress forward, the little helper dude to talk or the screen to progress through zooming in, flashing to the different parks to choose from etc…i have to continually ALT Tab back to it…but then it only goes a little bit further and stops until I ALT Tab again. please tell me what is the issue? lol
I have this same issue is there a fix? Will this work better in WIN 7?
I get the same issue, switching to software mode allows the main menu to play our smoothly and can select any of the worlds just fine and load into them, however when getting into the themepark to build, it’s the same issue where no animations play and it’s as if the game is paused, alt tabbing seems to do the same thing but much slower. I cannot find a fix for this and feel like this is the final hurdle to get the game to play
same problem is there a solution yet ?
8/14/2021
Hi
I have the (non gold edition) disk. I ran the installer, killed the sub process, ran the v2 patch, copied the data folder, usp11.dll file, and tp.reg file to the install location. I ran the registry file, and yet still no boot from the .exe on my desktop.
Where could I have gone wrong in the install? Do these patches still work?
Many Thanks!
Hello. I installed the game and then it stopped opening. I tried to uninstall and download again. and now there is no install button! what to do?
Hi, Love all ur mods and everything u have on the website, I just downloaded Sims Theme Park and for some reason, I don’t have a Mouse Cursor when enter the game, everything running great, but just cant play without mouth haha
Has anyone had same issue or got problem resolved??
I hope this thread is still active cos this is a bit of a nuisance.
The whole thing works amazingly! Thank you so much! I’ve got the disk still but it just doesn’t work for some reason! And the scottish helper is bring back so much nostalgia!
However, first time from booting up PC I right click as admin and works perf. Boom. BUT if I then have to exit the game and go to run it again, doesn’t respond. SO i’m having to reboot the whole PC just to get back into the game.
Any clues?
hi the game works but I don’t have a mouse cursor. do you know anything to fix this?
Error: Engine failed to initialize
Hi! I am stuck on #2 of Patch Sim Theme Park. I cannot find the Program Files (x86) File. What am I doing wrong?!? Please Help!
I did everything you said to do but when I go and click ‘run as administrator’ nothing happens.
So, I got this to work like 2 days ago, by following your instructions (bless you btw), and the game was running perfectly. But now, when I try to start the game I get the error “weacityr.dll not found”. I’ve restarted my computer. Anybody got any tips please? Thank you
I’m not sure, but you could try this: https://www.dlldown.co/W/2013/0611/weacityr_dll_73002.html#.YHLm1ehKiUk
I figured out why it does this, at least for me. In that file, “weacityr.dll,” the anti-virus software detects a threat and deletes the whole file. I’ve tried copying the original file and replacing the patched version, plus using the patched version, and both cause the anti-virus software to delete it, thus making the game unable to run. Whether there’s an actual virus, or it just gets flagged as one, I don’t know. But I’m not willing to risk destroying my computer over a game, no matter how nostalgic it might be. :,(
It is 100% NOT a virus.