Arcadecraft

Arcadecraft is an economic simulation in which the player takes over and manages an arcade from 1980 to 1986. The goal is obviously to earn as much money as possible; at first in order to pay off a loan, later into the own pockets.

The basic playing mechanic is simple: the player buys arcade machines, places them in the arcade and regularly (manually) empties the arcade to receive the money. The most important part in the business is to stay popular. The game ranks the arcade in various positive and negative areas - e.g. up-to-date machines, decor or layout - and determines the overall popularity from that. New machines (parodies of real games) are released regularly; these obviously bring in more money than old ones. Machines have to be repaired sometimes and the player can set the price and difficulty for each one individually. When the arcade is big enough, employees can be hired to help with the coin collecting. During the course of the game there are also special events which require strategic decisions, e.g. a vendor for expensive Japanese machines or a professional gamer which occupies a machine for a long time but brings a lot of popularity if he manages to beat the high score.