by Lanae Celeste

Created on: June 06, 2008   Last Updated: June 08, 2008

Have you ever wanted to embark on an entrepreneurial adventure, but you just couldn't scrape up the starting capital? Well fear not if your coffers are still empty, because Flower Stand Tycoon by Tik Games provides an excellent learning experience that is incredibly fun to play while you wait for potential investors.

This game possesses a depth and breadth not commonly found in downloadable casual games. It may start out in a somewhat familiar fashion: a comic strip introduces the player to the story about the scientist, Uncle Potts, who needs the player's help to run his flower stand business so that he can focus on developing new flower varieties to sell.

Some players may be wary of a game about selling flowers, but this is a game more about the principles of business than about the actual product being sold. Nearly every aspect that is important to the budding entrepreneur is covered in this game: marketing, product development, competition, finances, supply and demand, market share, and even how current events affect one's business.

Due to the sheer volume of game play aspects, the tutorial falls a little short in instructing the player. Uncle Potts tells you about everything you need to know to run a business in less than five minutes, and all that information can quickly be a lost on a player before they actually start the game. However, after a bit of trial and error, the player will be able to navigate the game with ease providing she or he has at least a modicum of business savvy and common sense.

The game play itself is interesting because of its openness. Rather than a linear progression of levels, the player is able to choose in which neighborhood to set up the plant stand every day. Demand in each area goes down after the stand is set up, but eventually rises again so that the player can return. Indeed, it is important to routinely visit various neighborhoods as competitors enter the market, so that the player can retain the highest market share in that area. Each neighborhood also has certain preferences for particular types of flowers, so the entrepreneur must plan carefully for what type of stock to purchase before entering that neighborhood.

The player can also continuously buy upgrades for his or her flower stand, so that one day they can become a true Flower Stand Tycoon. The colorful graphics are on par with those found in most casual games, and the bubbly music provides a nice, unobtrusive backdrop to game play. There are also little nuggets of clever humor dropped into the daily news briefs that the player reads each day to keep an eye on events that could impact business.

Tik Games' Flower Stand Tycoon is an extremely well designed game that is more than capable of delivering endless hours of entertainment. It is definitely a must buy! I give it an overall rating of 5/5.

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