Ars Technica reporter Sam Machkovech wrote about Salvador’s work. By chance, one reader chimed in the comments to say they had shared the article with a retired chemical engineer who had worked for Chevron in the 90s. That person found a single 3.5-inch floppy disk with a copy of the game on it. After disappearing for a couple of weeks, the reader reappeared earlier this week to report that they had successfully uploaded SimRefinery to the Internet Archive, where you can play it now. You can also download the game and play in a PC using DOSBox. 

The SimRefinery that’s available to play today is a prototype, so many parts aren’t complete. It’s also very much designed for those with a chemical engineering background; many of the gameplay elements attempt to recreate the more technical aspects of running an oil refinery.    

However, like most other Sim games, you can simply try to cause chaos. In fact, causing havoc seems like it may have been the point SimRefinery since it gives the player a sense of all the systems that need to work in order for a refinery to function. “If you start breaking the refinery, you can see how ruining one part of the plant will affect the other parts of the plant,” wrote Salvador. So if you just feel like watching a refinery burn in all its pixelated glory, go right ahead.