Thrifty Business

Thrifty Business is a cozy experience that transforms the simple task of organizing objects into something surprisingly engaging. With charming pixel art, a wide variety of items to collect, and a strong sense of community, the game wins over players with its charisma and welcoming atmosphere. Its premise is simple, but executed with consistency and personality. The game doesn't reinvent management simulators, but it knows exactly what experience it wants to deliver. Because of this, it's highly recommended for anyone looking for a relaxing and stylish adventure.

After loving Spellgarden Games’ ‘Sticky Business‘, I had very high hopes for Thrifty Business. Maybe I went in with too high expectations as Sticky Business was a game that sucked me in for hours on end and constantly had me engaged. By all means, Thrifty Business is a wonderful game and Spellgarden have done an amazing job at expanding their exceptional game catalogue. It offers so much as a game and has plenty for a player to do but the waiting for the day to finish took me out of the game a little bit. Other than that this is a really good game and is very much deserving of the Thumb Culture Gold Award.

Thrifty Business doesn’t modify the way management simulations are made, but it’s fairly clear about the kind of experience it wants to give. It’s not about being tough; it’s about making simple things nice and comfy. What you get is a gorgeous strategy game that you may not even realize you’ve been playing for hours.

Thrifty Business has a lot of heart, making it a terrific title to pick up and wind down to.

Thrifty Business is a half-baked game. The half that works is excellent: the atmosphere, the objects, the customer stories, the overall mood. The half that doesn't work is structural: a loop that becomes mechanical too quickly, some UX choices that hinder the flow, and a lack of objectives that weighs especially heavily on longer sessions. It's the kind of game that's best played in small doses—a half-hour here, a half-hour there—rather than in extended sessions. Spellgarden Games knows how to make this kind of game, and it shows. Thrifty Business doesn't quite reach the heights of Sticky Business, a more focused and positively limited product, but it's still a good reason to sit down, tidy up, and enjoy yourself for a while.

Spellgarden Games are unapologetically forward with their inclusive values, and they welcome in one and all to just enjoy the vibes with them. Thrifty Business feels more like an evolution of the developer’s first game Sticky Business rather than something completely new, but in this case that’s actually a great thing. The sense of community from that debut game is multiplied here by you actually meeting the people you’re selling to and buying from, and you get to feel like an actual part of the community you’re helping to build. If only the real world could be more like the worlds Spellgarden Games build.

With its colourful visuals, chill soundtrack and gameplay that’s both relaxing and addictive, Thrifty Business is sure to appeal to fans of simulation and/or shop management games.

A quirky shop simulator, Thrifty Business allows you to let your creativity run wild as you decorate your store exactly how you'd like. It's laid back, though some players might dislike the lack of any real direction.

Any fan of Spellgarden Games would know it developed Thrifty Business at first glance. Of course, the name is very close to that of the studio’s first game, Sticky Business. But there’s something more than that. It’s as though love and kindness are woven into the game. And that’s why I love playing Thrifty Business: it’s a chill sim with heart.

If you are looking for a cozy, no-consequence shop management game that features a robust amount of customizability in terms of decorations, then I highly recommend Thrifty Business. But if you are looking for something deeper, in terms of strategy, then…I might suggest looking elsewhere. That isn’t to fault the game – it just provides a very calm, surface level of gameplay with some interesting character stories. You might need to strategize. You won’t need to optimize. You’ll just play. And I enjoyed it for a time. But after a certain point, I found myself wondering “When is this going to wrap up?”