restaurant tycoon 3 nails the most important tycoon thing, automation you EARN. early on youre manually cooking and serving, which is fine, but the real game is hiring staff so the place runs itself while you expand and redecorate. chefs, waiters, the whole kitchen humming without you touching it is peak tycoon feeling. good progression too, new cuisines, bigger buildings, prestige to push income higher each run. it only loses a star because the active cooking minigame stays a touch more hands on than a purist wants, i come to tycoons to WATCH the money print, not babysit a stove. still a genuinely deep management loop. 4, one of the better modern tycoons.