At school me and my friend had a little scam going where we buy and sell items from other kids' packed lunch. If we'd kept it up I'm sure I would now be the president of a grocery retailer to rival Wal-Mart. Oh well, at least I get to act out my rags-to-riches business fantasy on my phone, thanks to the excellent Lemonade Tycoon.
The game sees you take on a small lemonade stand on a street corner where you must mix up drinks using a few basic ingredients to sell to passers-by. Once you begin to make money you can build your enterprise into something much bigger, through a combination of sound marketing, correct equipment, good ingredients, a grasp of what people want, and a little bit of luck.
For a mobile simulation, Lemonade Tycoon is pretty in-depth. Not only do you need to work out the best recipes and set the right prices, but you also need to be aware of issues such as the weather, brand awareness, advertising and customer demographics. There's even a special lemonade stock exchange called LSX, where you battle online with other players for market superiority.
The graphics and animations are really fun and it's great to watch people walking past your stall, although the sound can get very annoying after just a few minutes. There's not much in the way of built-in help, so it can be a little difficult to work out how things work, and even more difficult to find the right formula for success.
However, it is this quest for financial success that is the most interesting element of the game, and the way it mirrors the real business world is highly impressive for a mobile game.
