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Getting StartedYour first steps in the coworking business

Choosing a Scenario

When you start a new game you pick a scenario. The Suburb Studio is the recommended first play: easy difficulty, generous budget ($120,000), low rent ($1,400/mo), and forgiving bankruptcy limit (-$30,000). Scenarios unlock in order — beat one to open the next. The Sandbox is always available.

The Tutorial (Suburb Only)

The first time you play The Suburb Studio, a guided tutorial walks you through 8 steps. Each step completes by doing it in the game, not by clicking "next". The tutorial can be skipped at any time and is remembered across sessions.

Tutorial Steps

  1. Build a Reception room — BUILD → ROOMS, pick Reception, then drag a rectangle on the floor.
  2. Place a reception desk inside it — BUILD → ITEMS → Reception Desk. Press R to rotate before placing.
  3. Build an Open Workspace — BUILD → ROOMS → Open Workspace. Make it roomy — desks need space.
  4. Add 2 desks with chairs — BUILD → ITEMS. Tip: drag while placing to lay a whole row at once.
  5. Build a Bathroom with a toilet — Members will leave without one.
  6. Hire a receptionist — MANAGE → STAFF. A receptionist turns walk-ins into paying members.
  7. Place a coffee machine & pick a coffee vendor — The machine is furniture; the vendor supplies beans.
  8. Turn on a marketing channel — MANAGE → ADS. Channels tire out over time — rest them and they recover.

Core Game Loop

The game runs day by day. Each day the simulation:

  1. Computes satisfaction from dozens of factors (amenities, staff, pricing, cleanliness…)
  2. Drifts reputation toward satisfaction (drops fast, recovers slowly)
  3. Wears down furniture with use
  4. Ticks staff morale — overworked staff lose morale and may quit
  5. Runs weekly community events (if you have an Events Manager + Event Space)
  6. Generates leads from marketing, reputation, and organic sources
  7. Converts leads into members (or day-pass visitors, or waitlist entries)
  8. Members renew, upgrade, downgrade, or leave based on happiness
  9. Rolls for random incidents
  10. Checks member requests

Every 30 days a monthly close produces a financial report (revenue, expenses, net profit). Every 12 months a year-end review assesses corporate tax (15% on profit) and may trigger a landlord rent review.

Milestones

Each non-sandbox game has a linear milestone ladder. Completing a milestone awards a cash bonus from your investor:

MilestoneReward
Build a Reception room and place a reception desk$3,000
Hire a receptionist and sign your first member$4,000
Grow to ~20% of win target$5,000
Reach ~50% of win target with 60%+ satisfaction$8,000
Close a profitable month$10,000
Grow to ~80% of win target$12,000
Reach the scenario's member target + profit streakVictory!
Member milestones scale with the scenario's win target. A scenario that requires 50 members sets the "20% milestone" at 10 members; a scenario that requires 95 sets it at ~19.

Win & Lose Conditions

Win: reach the scenario's member target AND close the required number of consecutive profitable months.

Lose (Bankruptcy): if your bank balance drops below the scenario's bankruptcy limit at the end of a month close, the bank pulls the plug and the game is over.

Controls

Next: Scenarios & Campaign →