Sim Brick was an extremely simple parody of SimCity. Developed by Sensible Software, it was only ever distributed on a cover disk with an issue of Amiga Power. The game play consists of an ant wandering around the screen, until players press the mouse button, at which point a brick falls down and squashes the ant.

The writers of The Simpsons also lampooned Maxis around the time when they were releasing a plethora of "Sim" titles. Virtual Doctor, a program used in an episode, was cited as "from the creators of SimSandwich…"

In the computer game Space Quest 4, the main character, Roger, has the opportunity to look through the bargain bin of a software store. Among the titles is SimSim, a simulator where players get to design simulators.