Overview

Cash Out! is the premier casino management simulator, with players being able to control every facet of the burgeoning entertainment establishment. Rig the machines, shuffle the cards, and weight the pills as you grow your fine business into the premier destination for all things gambling!

Core Mechanics

Players start out with a very small set of rooms, only initially being able to offer three games; slot machines, blackjack, and roulette. Over time, players will gain access to more interesting, lucrative, and risky types of games. As their variety of entertainment in the rooms expands, players also have a larger variety of other entertainment to provide. Bars, theatres, lounges, hotel rooms, and many more diversions can be added around the casino, to entice more guests. Players do all of this through a typical strategy game interface; they can construct rooms similar to The Sims, and then place objects in each room as appropriate. Players can choose from a wide variety of casinos on the strip itself to own, and are also able to create and modify their own. Players are able to fill their casinos with a variety of gambling devices in order to maximise all of their potential profits. In order to attract customers, each device targets a particular type of patron. Large amounts of slot machines will attract cheaper patrons and generate bulk cash, but they take up a large amount of room.

The House

Usually, the house always wins. Unfortunately, players will find their fair share of players who win. As they develop more competitive and strategic games available, more skilled gamblers will arrive. Games like baccarat will attract expert card players; people who may take the casino for all it's worth. To deal with this, the player has a number of strategies , including simply paying out (most expensive), banning them (may cause issues with publicity), beating them(again, issues) and framing them (not as expensive but riskier). Options like these enable the player to operate the kind of casino they want to operate. The casino can actually go into debt as a result of paying so much to top-tier card players or extremely lucky patrons.

Players construct and design their casino in a similar way to the Sims build mode.

Overview

Taking control of an omnipotent being, players of Ascendance attempt to create the perfect, thriving society, by bestowing abilities and powers upon members of a tribe, guiding them through the early stone age. As they 'play god', players eventually select a member of the tribe to 'ascend', which will determine the direction the tribe will develop towards.

Core Mechanics

Ascendance is controlled from an initially isometric perspective, but presented fully in 3D. Players are able to shape the terrain around the village itself, control weather patterns, and animal movement. The objective of each game is to make sure the village itself survives long enough to develop basic self-sufficiency. Players are able to leave the village to its own devices, or intervene in order to make them grow. The village can be attacked by enemies as well as sustain a number of different environmental and societal issues. Tribal uprising and rebellion can occur, and the player can manipulate which leader takes control in order to steer the tribe in the direction they approve of. If the player continually intervenes, the tribe may not know how to deal with certain situations. The tribe will also worship the 'god' much more vehemently, more than they would if the player intervened less. If the player limits their input into the tribe's actions, they may become more self-sufficient (or alternatively die out entirely).

Ascendance

At critical points in the game, players may choose a member of the tribe to 'ascend'. This grants them semi-mythical attributes, and may increase the tribe's valuation of their deity. This prophet may also be shunned, however, if they are a less popular member of the tribe. Players can use this prophet to directly initiate or avoid some events, or they may be cast out and unable to be effective. Ascendance is intended to be a mechanic that changes the player's interactions with the tribe, rather than improving them. Ascended villagers may also be more valuable in dealing with other tribes, who may occasionally demand things from the player's tribe. An ascended villager with healing attributes may be able to broker a deal better than a normal villager, for example.

The player watches over a village similar to Cultures, but does not directly construct the village.

Overview

Welcome to Hell! is a game all about the destination. As the overlord of hell, the player takes control of a new section of land situated in the picturesque location of the underworld. Players build up attractions and locations for the newly arrived denizens of hell to visit and explore, as well as live, as they build Hell into the 'new place to be'.

Core Mechanics

The map is presented as a fully 3D world, and players control it from the top down, like most tycoon games. Players start with an entry gate, where individuals new to hell spawn, like guests. Players place structures, connecting them with paths to encourage the new 'guests' to move around. A large amount of structures are available to be placed, ranging from entertainment and food establishments to workplaces. In order to keep their small 'town' growing and flourishing, players need to make sure their little slice of hell is better to move to. Players are able to view statistics of other 'slices' around, so they can understand what they need to build in order to attract different residents. These residents come in a number of different varieties, and each one requires certain objects and needs to be filled in order for them to stay. In turn, players create these resources by tasking lesser demons to collect them by constructing production areas. As demons and other creatures move into the player's town, players will be able to create more and more resources, unlocking additional buildings and areas that the residents can use to occupy themselves.

Narrative

The player takes control of a disgraced underdemon, one that is eager to move up the food chain of command within hell. Players are able to choose the missions and tasks to complete within the map, and these tasks provide more exposition and story about the player character as they complete them. This 'chain' is actually represented within the game; moving ahead of other demons in terms of power will cause them to fall by the wayside. Players gain additional skills and attributes as they overtakes these soon-to-be lesser demons. These attributes allow for faster growth of their location, and may also provide special buildings or attractions.

Players manage different citizen types and structure placement, similar to the ANNO series.