Coffee Tycoon

Build America's favorite chain of coffee shops!

3.92 / 5 from 12 player ratings

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5.5MediocreDFG score

DFG Exclusive Review Summary

Average, has some problems & recommended with caution.

Pros

Coffee business grows at a surprisingly rapid rate.
Learn different coffee recipes.

Cons

Very basic game.
Computer does most of the work, leaving you with little to do.
Sales and money are unpredictable.

Read Full Coffee Tycoon Review

About this game

Coffee Tycoon is a fun new business simulation game that will have your brewing the big bucks. Coffee is a multi-billion dollar industry and you are ready to grab a piece of it! Choose your style of shop - from elegant, high end coffee to a wacky entertainment hangout to a basic shop - and decide how you will build your java empire!

Decide the right balance of baristas, managers, and executives to help your flow of cash, customers, and new shops. Choose to invest your earnings on employee benefits, equipment upgrades, new menu items, or more stores. You will have adjust your strategy to keep gaining new customers and having enough money in the bank.

Coffee Tycoon will challenge your ability to meet customers needs and effectively balance the growth and variety of your business. With 5 different cities to compete in, 5 styles of coffee shops, lots of possible menu items, many upgrade options and a large assortment of customers, you will have a blast building your business and making people happy!

Coffee Tycoon Review

Review by Dylan

Coffee Tycoon is a business simulation game that has you not only start and run a coffee shop, but also build a coffee franchise. The game calls upon you to build a coffee empire, but doesn't give you enough control. You will have the power to start and end each day, but this game prevents you from fully interacting and engaging. You might feel more like an observer rather than a player in Coffee Tycoon.

Too Hands Off

The logo, business name, and business location are all options you have control of as a user before play begins. However, your individual power begins to fade as the game starts. On the surface Coffee Tycoon looks easy, and once you start playing you'll soon realize that at it's core it is easy. Coffee Tycoon is a really easy game because you don't have to do much. The computer takes care of almost everything. Winning and losing is more dependent on chance and less concerned with skill. You will not have to be good at this game to succeed. In fact, you won't really have to pay attention because the computer will do most of the work.

Basic Gameplay

The premise of the the game is as follows: You are the CEO of an up and coming coffee franchise in one of five major cities (New York, San Fransisco, Seattle, Chicago, or Los Angeles). You employ three types of people. Baristas who make and serve the coffee, managers who make sure the businesses are running smoothly, and executives who scout different businesses. You decided what percent of your business you want each to have and divide it accordingly. For example, if you want to look for more business locations you should give higher percentage to the executives, or if you want faster service invest more of your business in the baristas.

Once you've decided on employment you start your day (by clicking the start day button). As the day progresses you will gain customers who will eventually give you money. Like most other simulations, you take that money and purchase items like different coffee types, benefits for your employees, or advertising to make your business grow. Once your purchases are made you click “start day” and the cycle repeats. Each day you have no idea of how much money you will make and you have no control over whether or not you increase or decrease your businesses. Everything is left to chance, making this game especially frustrating if you have a strategic mindset.

Brew Your Own Brew

One cool feature you might uncover in this game is the “recipe guide”. Each of the coffee items you purchase show a clip art description of the recipe in the corner of the display. This is a subtle addition but is great. The coffee world and coffee drinks are sometimes a mystery so this recipe guide is great for teaching you about different coffee drinks. If you don't know that the only difference between a latte and a cappuccino is foam, you will learn because of the recipe guide.

One other feature that makes the game somewhat enjoyable is the rate at which your business grows. It seems like you'll add at least one franchise a day, growing your business at an incredible rate. This concrete evidence of success makes you feel like you are achieving something, even though the computer is doing most of the work.

Conclusion - Not Much Control Over This Business

Overall, there isn't much to say about Coffee Tycoon other than the fact that you'll feel like the computer is doing most of the work. This is more of a sit back and relax type of game, rather than an interactive simulation. You might find the instant successes you have intriguing, but that sense of intrigue may fade after your realize you have little control over your company's successes. This game is for relaxed tycoon game players looking for an easy time. If you are interested in playing an active role in your game, you should keep looking.

Player Reviews

by Becky Bernadette. on Jul 27, 2022
Coffe Tycoon Moguls are Decaffeinated
At first, I didn't realize how quickly the day actually went by. Once the button lights up, you're free to start the next day. It's great that you can win stores as a bonus, but you can't design your own store, or visit the other ones, you can't even hire more employees when they quit. The idea is all well enough but a slight tweak to the way things are done will make those playing a bit happier in being able to control their coffee empire. Add in cities, offer missions like getting your Executive to speak with the CEO of a big company when making a deal, work for it.
by Nena on Aug 9, 2009
Coffee Tycoon!
It is awesome!It's like your actually an owner of a coffee shop.It's very detailed of what you can do to get this and that.Money and customers are most important,and it's fun to try to keep the customers against your rivals.It explains what happens every day and also gives info on coffee while your playing.You can buy upgrades,change the percentage of pay,get new coffee,and much more that can not be explained in this review!Overall it's a great game.Thanks for reading this review!
by David Dakota Ray on Jul 19, 2008
WOW! Best Game Ever!!!
I say that this is the best game ever and I say the best way for beginners to make money faster is to make 90% Baristas 5% managers and 5% Executives then make $500 and buy a super espresso machine or advratise in the news paper so you get as much money as fast as you can. Thats my tip. As I said before this ranks up to the best games I have played. Thanks to the creators.
by Ethan on May 20, 2008
Coffe Tycoon Review
Coffee Tycoon is a real classic. It is a fun game for all ages, and is very simple to use. It gives high quality details and is a one time download. I personally love Coffee Tycoon because you never have to use the internet to play. I have Coffee Tycoon on my laptop, so I can use it to go. I suggest playing coffee Tycoon. It is a fast download and very cheap for such a great game.
by Paul on Apr 10, 2008
Just another game
I think that this game was really fun for about 10 minutes, than it was just repetitive. In my opinion, there wasnt't much that set it apart from other games. It was just another game.
by Amanda on Jan 7, 2008
Great Game
This is a great game, well worth paying the $20 for it. It is so fun to manage your coffee empire and buy new drinks and employee benefits to keep your coffee shop the most popular. Anyone who likes games where you manage a tycoon would like this game!
by chris sherk on Dec 19, 2007
Coffee Tycoon Pre-play Summary
You start out with one coffee shop and you have to work your way up to the top by gaining customers, money, and upgrades that will boost your business. This game will definitely not disappoint you because it is a challenging, yet winnable game. Once you play for the first time, you are determined to win this game. It is definitely worth buying, and even if you get 'burned out' on this game, which is unlikely, your money will not go to waste because kids & adults will love this. So what are you waiting for?! Purchase Coffee Tycoon today!
by Melanie on Jul 26, 2007
Coffee Tycoon Review
I actually played this game online. At first, I felt like I was going a good job, but after a while, things started getting repetitive and I found it very difficult to keep my money. I had very little control about who I could hire and what happened to my money. I also could not find anything that told me exactly how much money I had at that particular moment. My money disappeared (not from my spending, mind you) so quickly from complaints and other businesses that I could hardly even hire anyone! Not a very good Tycoon game. I wouldn't bother with it if I were you.
by Angela on Jul 19, 2007
Boring Tycoon game....
Coffee Tycoon has been the worst simulation game
by Tina on Jun 27, 2007
Amazing
The game happens to be the best i have ever played. And anyone who thinks it's bad has a mind of absoulute rubbish. The game gives you a feel like you are really running the shop, which is a great experience for young people. When people read this review i expect thier jaw to be dropped, and almost instantly play the game.
by Serena on Apr 29, 2007
I think they're serving decaf!
Not what I was hoping for. I thought it was along the lines of Diner Dash. Not So! It was a Lemonade Tycoon knock off. Input data, wait for day to end. If you like to interact with customers and beat the clock, this game doesn't have it. If you like manipulating numbers and waiting to see results, then by all means...enjoy.
by Christine on Mar 10, 2007