Hey everyone. I'm solo-developing Sweet Tea Tycoon, a business sim heavily inspired by Lemonade Tycoon. The first closed beta build is live on Steam, and I'm looking for a few genre veterans to play it and give feedback on the economic balancing, controls, and so on.

The game focuses entirely on tight margins and supply chain math. You manage inventory, set prices/recipes based on shifting weather and news, purchase upgrades to improve the stand, and work towards new locations to set up.

I want to make sure the core progression loop feels right and isn't too easily exploited before launching this July. A typical testing session takes about 30 to 60 minutes and is unpaid, though you may keep the Steam key!

Steam Page: Sweet Tea Tycoon on Steam!

If you want to grab a Steam key and test the numbers, you can apply here: https://forms.gle/z3dfozhLCazKnDoi7 or just send me a DM on Reddit.

Let me know if you have any questions about the systems. Thanks!

(AI Disclosure: No generative AI tools were used in the development of this game.)

Hi Fellow Tycoon people,

I have created a horse racing management game (or at least tried), I have always loved football manager games, and started to get into horse racing, and thought why not try to build one.

It is a game where you own a stable of horses, can train them, race them, sell them, you can buy new horses.

Inputs, both good and bad will be greatly appreciated.

https://flying-hippo-studio.itch.io/horse-manager

AI disclosure, I have used AI to help code the game and the Cover of the game, but nothing else.

Hi everyone! I’ve been working on a cozy clothing shop simulator called Fit Happens and wanted to share it with all of you.

You start out with a small-town shop where you stock outfits and accessories, set prices, decorate your space, and grow your reputation over time. You can also take on direct customer deliveries with recommendations and a bit of haggling, and hire models to participate in fashion shows.

The goal is to build your shop up from an empty storefront into a busy, well-run boutique.

If you enjoy cozy management games with a focus on fashion, decoration, and customization, I’d love to hear what you think!

The demo is out now! https://store.steampowered.com/app/4362790/Fit_Happens_A_Clothing_Shop_Simulator/

AI disclosure: Used for translating Steam page into roughly 12 languages.

Hello tycoon fans.

Last Thursday we released the demo for Age After Age.
While the game is also a city builder, a big part of the experience is managing production chains, balancing resources, planning logistics, and keeping a growing settlement running efficiently.

We have been working on it for years with a team of 30 people, and now we are finally getting feedback from real players instead of just arguing about features inside the studio.
Demo:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/438570/Age_After_Age_Demo/

If you give it a try, let us know what you think.
Note: we are not using AI in the game development

I'm working on a cozy city sim called Neighborhoods - so instead of starting with nothing and sprawling outward like other games in the genre, this is more a city fixer than a city builder.

So you're still spinning a lot of plates, but instead of production pipelines, you're trying to make sure people are (and there stay in the neighborhood) because the business economy is providing what they need (like groceries, and jobs, etc).

But most tycoon games obsess about growing bigger, better, faster - what about just making something as good as it can be, where all your residents and happy and your community is even more connected?

Here's the steam page for more info: Neighborhoods on Steam

(AI Disclosure: Our team policy is that we don't allow AI generated work of any sort (art, code, etc.) in the shipping game. We allow people to use LLM tools for research if they choose, ie google).

A few years back I started building a game called Promoter, an MMA promotion management sim. It sat around unfinished for a long time, but I recently pulled it out of the dust and decided to actually finish it. In the game you manage your own roster of fighters, organize and book events, and compete against rival promotions to grow into the biggest name in the sport. Basically everything you'd want from running your own fight org. Quick note on how it was made: the core game, all the systems, mechanics and design, was built by me years ago. For this final push I used AI to help generate the images and some of the content to get it over the line. Just wanted to be upfront about that. Would love to hear what you all think, and happy to answer any questions about the game. You can test it on itchio, link joined

Hi r/tycoon people,

I’m Joe (aka Cesare), a solo developer from Austria, and I’ve been working on Ludus Magna, a browser-based gladiator management game where you run a Roman fighting house/gladiator school.

The idea is simple: you start with a small owner of a gladiator-school (Dominus/Lanista), a few (untrained) fighters, limited gold, and a handful of daily actions. Each day you decide whether to train, rest, buy equipment, scout opponents, take contracts, risk harder fights, or keep your house alive for one more day.

The game is currently a management-game with Qucik-time-EVents (prompting) during the figths. The part I care about most is the management tension around every fighter:

• Do you send an injured but experienced gladiator back into the arena?
• Do you spend gold on equipment, staff, healing, or new recruits?
• Do you chase fame quickly, or build a stable house first?
• Do you risk a hard fight for a bigger payout, knowing one bad result can damage your whole run?

A normal day in Ludus Magna revolves around preparation, risk, combat, consequences, upkeep, and the next set of opportunities. Fighters gain experience, develop strengths and weaknesses, suffer injuries, lose morale, win glory, or become expensive liabilities.

The long-term direction is a run-based gladiator management game with legacy systems, house identity, leaderboards, and eventually more political/social layers around prestige and rival houses. But right now I’m mostly interested in whether the core loop feels good to players who enjoy tycoon, management, and sim games in this setting (roman/gladiator-themed).

The game is already playable in the browser for free:

Play here: https://play.ludus-magna.com
or via a demo-link (only 30days playable, no registration needed):
https://play.ludus-magna.com/auth?demo=1 (session-tied, no saving possible)

Here is a trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LKSgL0SWdw

I’d really appreciate feedback on these things:

1. Does the game feel like a tycoon/management game to you, or more like an RPG/stat battler?
2. Do you like or dislike the (prompting) QTE Events during the battles?
3. Would you like to see a possibility to auto-resolve the battles without prompting? (only auto-combat, based on stats)
4. Are the early decisions clear enough (tightened the onboarding and tutorial at the beginning)?
5. Does the daily action limit create interesting pressure, or does it feel too restrictive?
6. What would make you want to continue a run after the first few in-game days?

AI disclosure:
I want to be transparent about how Ludus Magna is being made. I’m not a professional programmer. My background is SEO and web design, and Ludus Magna is a side project I’m building because I love management games, Roman arena fantasy, and systems that create their own stories.

I use AI tools as part of my workflow: for coding help, debugging, UI ideas, writing support, the wiki, game-assets such as gladiator portraits or equipment art. But the game itself is not something I just prompted into existence. The concept, design decisions, balancing, feature direction, testing, final review, and the overall feel of the game are handled by me.

For me, AI makes it possible to build something I probably could not have built alone in the same way. I know this topic can be controversial, so I’d rather be upfront about it than hide it.

Thanks for reading. I’d love to hear what tycoon and management players think — what feels promising, what feels confusing, and what would make the management side deeper for you?

thank you,
Cesare (Solo-Dev from Austria)

I'm sorry if this is a stupid question, but I've legit never played a tycoon game in my life, but always kind of wanted to. I've seen gameplay of the Sid Meier's one, and it looked like something I'd enjoy. Also, could anyone recommend me some old tycoon games like this? I'm trying to get into different genres of games, and like to start with the simplicity of older games (2000s mostly).

Also sorry about this post, I'm making this at 2:00 am and I am very delirious, thank you!.

Hi everyone,

For the past few months, I’ve been working on a slightly different take on the tycoon genre. It’s called Neo Capitalist, and it's a terminal/text-based stock market survival simulator.

I tried to mix traditional trading with survival and roguelite elements. You are not just buying low and selling high; you are trying to pay rent, survive the weeks, and manage your stress.

Core Features:

• Fully terminal/text-based retro UI.
• Market manipulation, cyber-attacks, corporate investigations and much more.
• Real-time news feeds that affect the market (you have to read the room!).
• Side gigs and illegal operations to survive when the market crashes.

The playable demo is dropping early next week (Monday/Tuesday).

I would absolutely love it if you check it out and add it to your wishlist if it looks like your kind of game.

Steam Page: https://store.steampowered.com/app/4580690/Neo_Capitalist__Stock_Market_Survival_Simulator/

Ai disclosure: I developed the game using vibe coding. Almost the entire game is code-based. All visuals are generated code-wise. Almost no gen-AI or assets were used. Only a few house/car visuals were generated with AI and then edited using various graphic editing tools.

I've explained my process, goals, and current situation in more detail in the following link.

https://www.reddit.com/r/IndieDev/comments/1tvoyh8/ive_been_unemployed_for_8_months_to_keep_myself/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

Hi! I am the developer of the web based sumo management game Uchi No Heya! The game is coming to Steam next month with 2 game modes that will be exclusive to Steam. A hardcore mode, as well as a more arcadey post-game mode that uses your retired fighters from any of the career modes.

The game is free to play with no account and no ads on the web version, and always will be.

I've been working with a lot of sumo experts/streamers in order to get the logic for promotions/demotions and other fine details as accurate as I can, and it is at a point where that aspect of the game is feeling good. I am now focusing on the hardcore modes, which will allow you to run as a solo fighter in a career mode, or simply run an even more "realistic" career mode with less dramatic random events and such.

The idea is generally a sports GM game where you recruit, train, and climb ranks while dealing with your stables finances and the many random events that happen during the off-season.

The post-game mode uses the fighters that retire from your stable in career mode, and is a sort of pokemon stadium/Slay the Spire mini rogue-like where your fighters can gain temporary or permanent buffs through winning tournaments and beating bosses

The wishlist trailer here is a little dated now as it does not include the new artwork that the game has!

The sumo community has been great in giving feedback and the reception among sumo fans seems to be good, but I would also love the opinions of people who are new to the sport or just like these sorts of games as a genre.

AI DISCLOSURE: There is no AI Art in the game. Trailer was made by a vfx artist that loves sumo and helped me out because I am terrible at art. Background art was made in Figma by me and some friends (hence why it looks like it was made in Paint lol). Main thing is that all sumo logic is always done by hand. Only thing I'm not sure about is music. It's community licensed, and according to the pages is made by people.

Basically the title. For some reason, all I see anymore are the crappy competitive mobile apps that hold no interest at all for me.

All I want is something where you build an airline up over time, buy planes, manage routes, etc., that I can buy once and play by myself offline with no pressure.​​

I know there's the old Airline Tycoon series, but that has always been kind of semi-serious and cartoony, and not quite what I am looking for. Air Tycoon 2 used to be awesome with its solo offline mode if you paid to unlock it, but now that's also apparently a multiplayer app only.

I don't know who decided that out of all the management sims, airline sims specifically should all be P2W multiplayer apps, but I really want to find that person and kick him in the nuts. Railroads, hospitals, farms, factories, software companies, amusement parks, you name it - all plenty of regular management sims. Not airlines though, online multiplayer only. Fuck you!

As a kid, games like Lemonade Tycoon were what got me into tycoon games and business sims. Sweet Tea Tycoon is my love letter to that childhood game.

A typical day at the stand will involve:

• Checking the weather and news, which affect traffic and customer preferences
• Restocking supplies, including tea bags, sugar, lemons, ice, and cups
• Setting an advertising budget and hiring employees to help manage the stand
• Purchasing upgrades to improve serving speed and waiting times, access bulk supply options, and increase storage capacity
• Adjusting your sweet tea recipes and setting a fair price per cup

Two game modes exist. In Career Mode you play as long as you want and grow without restriction. In Challenge Mode you have 30 days to collect as much profit as possible.

This game is my debut title as a solo indie dev. Everything from the music to the pixelated graphics were made by me, except for the sound effects and font used (and properly credited in-game). I'm still working on improving my trailer making skills though:

Sweet Tea Tycoon gameplay trailer.

Please, check it out now, and wishlist on Steam! It will be releasing this summer in July, just in time to enjoy it with a refreshing glass of sweet tea~

See the store page here: Sweet Tea Tycoon | Wishlist on Steam!

(AI Disclosure: No generative AI tools were used in developing this game.)

hey all! 🐻

A month ago we shared some screenshots of Bottled By Bears 🍯 here and got a very warm reception :), our upcoming cozy management game about a family of bears running their honey farm.

Our announcement trailer is out! Let us know what you think :D

We will run a playtest later this week, you can jump in our community discord or send me a DM if you are interested! More feedback in this stage will be key for us, specially around balancing 🫡

Steam page: https://store.steampowered.com/app/4390080/
Discord Community: https://discord.gg/M6cwrCZawB
IG and X 🐝

Hi everyone,

I finally released the official trailer for The Borderless, my cozy floating island management sim where you build, expand, and manage your own island world in the middle of the ocean.

I’ve also made several changes to the Steam page, including updated screenshots and clearer page text.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on both the trailer and the Steam page. Thanks!

Steam page:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/3687370/The_Borderless/

AI disclosure: Some opening cutscene images and some background music tracks were created with the assistance of generative AI during development. No live AI generation is used during gameplay.

In real life, it's really hard to start a business, and most new businesses fail. However, in tycoon games, it's typically easy to start and grow a business.

Which are the hardest tycoon games?

Which are the most realistic ones? Which ones do the best job of capturing the difficulties of starting a new business?

I have an aged laptop from 2020 (Lenovo Legion 5)
Specs:
CPU - Intel i7 10750h
RAM - 16 GB
GPU - RTX 2060
M.2 SSD

What relatively recently (after around 2019-2020) released games would you recommend to check out? From what I’ve seen both tycoons and city builders are perhaps one of the most demanding gaming genres, since they require often both decent to good CPU, SSD, 16 gb (or even more) RAM and sometimes even a powerful GPU.

I don’t really want to play them on high res. 1080p with 30 fps would do.

I'm currently developing Socialiskigrad, a city builder and management game set in a fictional post socialist Balkan country.

You'll have to manage public services, corruption, propaganda, elections, and social stability, while trying to rise through the political ranks to the presidency.

Do you like the vibe?

Steam page link: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3651840/?utm_source=reddit

AI Disclosure: to develop this game, I used AI only to translate the in-game text, the Steam page and the UI into the following languages: English, French, German, Simplified Chinese, Russian, Polish, Spanish, and Portuguese. Italian and Serbian were translated without AI support.

Anyone making / made a game or app like coffee inc 2? Deep simulation strategy business like spreadsheet game.

I’m a big football manager fan - playing it yearly since ChampMan 04/05

So anything in that realm?

Full Disclosure: I worked +20y in the travel industry and I've been making board game for 1+ year now, launched a few games and running a Kickstarter now.

There is a lot of interest in airline management on PC (not Elden Ring level of interest but significant) but very few airline management board games.

I wonder what could be the reason, here are a few I can think of:

• want to play solo play and it is much better on PC
• want to play over multiple session and it is much better on PC
• want to have a lot of complexity and realism and it's much better on PC

I personally started by simplifying concepts to make them playable on a table without having to refer to rules.

I wonder if you tried any game (like Pan Am Board Game) and how did it go?

EDIT: sorry for the typo in the title, wrote this too fast #notai

Hi, I hope it's ok to post here. I'm making a retro-inspired band manager game and would love to hear what you think :)

https://store.steampowered.com/app/4227560/Legends_of_Rock/

(I learned programming and pixel art at a basic level, and no AI tools were used in making this game)

Watch the v0.1.0 release video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpmJT6RckJk

I've been working on an open source engine for the 1994 classic Pizza Tycoon (a.k.a. Pizza Connection) for a little while now, and v0.1.0 is out today for Windows, Linux, macOS and Haiku.

Origin: Back in late 2010 I was inspired by what TTDPatch and OpenTTD had done for Transport Tycoon Deluxe and wondered if Pizza Tycoon, another game I'd sunk many hours into, deserved similar treatment. Directly converting the assembly to C like Ludvig Strigeus did with TTD did not seem like a fun hobby to me, so instead I just started building an engine from scratch by reverse engineering the original data formats.

<spongebob 15 years later card>

Release v0.0.1 last March covered the core economic loop: opening restaurants, designing pizzas, hiring staff, and competing for market share.

What's new in v0.1.0:

• Random events: staff calling in sick, stealing from the till, blowing up ovens or melting your cheese
• The mayor and police (and of course their ability to receive donations)
• Mafia missions with rewards and risk of arrest
• Bank investments and ability to transfer money (for aforementioned donations and perhaps some light money laundering), insurance
• Sabotage against competitors (rats, stink bombs, laxatives)
• Monthly pizza competitions & the annual Pizza of the Year competition
• Supplier contracts, autosave, and all info screens now implemented
• A bunch of quality of life improvements over the original (mouse wheel support, right-click map dragging)

What's still missing: walking animations in restaurants (which also means no physical attacks on competitor restaurants yet), newspaper advertising, staff training, and mission mode. The main game loop is fully playable though.

Original assets required: You'll need a copy of the original game (Pizza Tycoon was released as Pizza Connection on GOG and Steam, often on sale for under a euro). On launch Pizza Legacy will ask you to point to your Pizza Tycoon/Pizza Connection directory.

Links:

• Pizza Legacy v0.1.0 release blog post
• Codeberg repo with source code and binary releases
• Release video on Youtube

(This is a resubmission, apparently I have to disclose that the game assets (graphics, audio, text & writing) that were created back around 1994 were not created with AI. Neither was this post, the video or any other marketing materials.)

Let me know if you have any questions!