Winkeltje: The Little Shop

Winkeltje: The Little Shop is an interesting sim game that takes us to a fantastic world and lets us run our own suburban store. It was developed by Sassybot, an indie studio from Breda, the Netherlands.

Game mechanics

In Winkeltje: The Little Shop we observe the action from the top-down view. At the beginning we decorate the store, put some basic furniture (which we can place ourselves or use automatic solutions) and place the first goods on the shelves. Then there's nothing left for us but to open the store to customers and wait for the first transactions. The money we earn we can invest in more goods, and after accumulating a large sum - in the development of the store.

All this looks easy only "on paper", because in practice things quickly become complicated. To sell a lot, we need to stock not only the goods that are currently in demand (generated by the changing seasons and events taking place in the city), but also products that meet the individual needs of individual customers. In addition, events and seasons affect prices, so sometimes it's worth considering taking an item off the shelves and keeping it in stock until its value returns to a satisfactory level.

The goods themselves can come from three sources. Products can be purchased at the traders, imported on request for an additional fee or produced by ourselves. In order to produce them we need certain resources and a workshop, but it is worth it, because the goods produced by us, such as tools, weapons and clothing, are of much better quality than those that we buy. In addition, nothing stands in the way of the cultivation of plants; we must take care of them, regularly watering and harvesting, but in this way they can become another product offered by us for sale.

If we do all this well, our financial situation will begin to improve over time, and we can actually invest the money we earn in expanding our store and buying new furniture. More space for goods means more products on offer and, consequently, more transactions and more money flowing into our purse. With time, we can even start hiring employees, whose skills grow as we progress (however, along with them should grow the salary we pay them).

Technical aspects

Graphics in Winkeltje: The Little Shop is made in a simple, but at the same time colorful and clear, cartoon style.