Lemonade Tycoon (e)

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Lemonade Tycoon FAQ

Copyright (c)2009 by Stephen M. (madviln@gmail.com)

ASCII Art generated by http://www.network-science.de/ascii/ 



o  Introduction

Hi there. This is a FAQ all about Lemonade Tycoon, a fun and addicting little
game for the PC. It has been around since 2002 and was published by Hexacto
Games. In the game, you get to control many aspects of your very own lemonade
business in an attempt to become a true lemonade tycoon. There are many things
you must do in order to have a successful business, such as set prices, create
a recipe, purchase stock and upgrades, and choose the location of your lemonade
stand. Get ready to go from rags to riches.

NOTE: While all information was gathered from the PC Version, as far as I know
much of the information here is also compatible with the mobile and IPhone
versions of the game.

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o  Table of Contents

1. Title Screen
2. Interface
3. Career Mode
4. Challenge Mode
5. Stands
6. Notices
7. Quotes
8. Conclusioin

===============================================================================

o  1. Title Screen

When you first load the game up, you'll come to the main screen. There are six
tabs in the top left corner:

- Play!
This is where you go to begin the game. You can do three things: start a new
career, begin a new challenge, or load a previous game.

In career mode, you have unlimited time to build your lemonade business. In
challenge mode, you have only 30 days and the goal is to make as much profit as
possible. You can have up to 8 saved games.

- Options
Here is where you can tinker with some of the settings. Set the weather to
Celcius or Fahrenheit, turn the sound on or off, turn the music on or off, and
determine whether or not you want to play in full screen. Not much else going
on here.

- Lemonade Stock Exchange (LSX)
Doesn't work anymore, just ignore it.

- Help
You can go here to learn all the basics of the game that will already be in
this FAQ. It gives a basic guideline of many aspects of the game.

- Credits
List of all the people involved in the development of the game.

- Quit
Exit the game.

On the right hand side of the screen there is a random quote on the top (for a
list of all the quotes, refer to section 7). Beneath the quote are highlights
from your games, including highest revenue in a month and highest earnings in a
challenge.

===============================================================================

o  2. Interface

When you first start a career or challenge, the main screen will appear. I'll
break it down for you:

- In the top left corner is your stock. Starting from the left, you will see
how many Lemons, Sugar, Ice, and Cups are currently in your stock.
- The total amount of money you own is in the top right corner
- Below the top left corner where all your stock is displayed, you will see 
seven tabs. From left to right they are Results, Rent, Upgrades, Staff,
Marketing, Recipe, and Supplies:

- Results
This is where you can view all the data of your business. You can view a chart
displaying progress, view all your financial information, and all the other
"business" stuff. Whenever you complete a day, all the information about that
day will automatically be displayed here.

- Rent
In this tab you get to choose your location. There are 10 different locations
in which you can set your lemonade stand, all with a different amount of rent
and popularity:

Location           Rent     Note
The Suburbs        $0.00    Your very own neighborhood!
The Park           $10.00   Kids love lemonade!
Downtown           $30.00   Now it's time to get serious
The Train Station  $30.00   Catch the commuters.
The Beach          $40.00   Hot spot for sunny days!
The Mall           $50.00   Welcome to consumer's heaven!
The Marina         $50.00   Sell to the rich and famous.
The Old Square     $100.00  Show the tourists some hospitality.
The Magic Gardens  $100.00  Are you big enough for this small world?
The Hexa-Stad      $150.00  Meet them at the ballgame.

- Upgrades
As your lemonade business progresses, you will want to purchase upgrades to
improve customer satisfaction, speed up transactions, etc. There are a total of
13 upgrades that you can purchase:

Upgrade                    Price     Note
High Output Citrus Juicer  $49.99    Get the juice out of lemons in no time!
ShadeMaker 3000 Canopy     $129.99   Keep your customers cool.
Miracle 9000 Power Juicer  $149.99   Refill pitchers at lightning fast speed!
EZserve Cash Register      $249.99   Speed up your serving process!
Mr. Fridge                 $249.99   Never waste money on spoiled lemons again!
Ice-O-Matic Ice Dispenser  $399.99   Tired of wasting money on ice cubes?
Classic Stand              $449.99   A classic look for a guaranteed hit!
High-Five Sound System     $799.99   Have the grooviest music around.
Lemon Stand                $999.99   The ultimate stand on the markey!
Bright Lights Neon System  $1249.99  Grab their attention.
Take2 Lemonade Dispenser   $1599.99  Lowers serving time/fill pitchers faster
High Output Automatic Ice  $2599.99  Never run out of ice again!
Maker
Castle Stand               $9999.99  More than just lemonade.

- Staff
There are a total of 2 staff members that you can hire. Both have a set one day
salary.

Staff Member:           Salary:    Note:
Martine the Cashier     $60.00     Too many people to serve? Call for help!
Simon the Lemon         $80.00     Keep your clients happy in line.

- Marketing
This tab allows you to set the price for each cup of lemonade you sell. The
default is one dollar. Also, you are able to adjust how much you spend on
advertising. Obviously, advertising will bring more people to your stand.

- Recipe
This is where you can tweak your recipe. Personally, I only click this tab one
time during my whole career. Once you have a good recipe there is never a need
to change it. Later on I have my recommended recipe but you should experiment
on your own first.

- Supplies
You'll be visiting this tab all the time. In order to sell lemonade, you need
to make lemonade, and in order to make it, you need supplies. You can buy all
the supplies needed for making lemonade:

Item       Price
Lemons     12 for $4.80, 24 for $7.20, 48 for $9.60
Sugar      12 for $4.80, 20 for $7.00, 50 for $15.00
Ice Cubes  50 for $1.00, 200 for $3.00, 500 for $5.00
Cups       75 for $1.00, 225 for $2.35, 400 for $3.75

- On the right side of the screen, you will find a lot of other important 
information. The year, month, and day will be displayed along with the weather.
Also, a notice that will affect lemonade sales is displayed next to the
forecast. Whenever you start your day, this is where you will see customers
buying your lemonade.

===============================================================================

o  3. Career Mode

Career Mode offers an open-ended game in which you have unlimited time to
expand your lemonade business. While you only start with $40, you are able to
feel the sensation of going from nothing to everything as you climb your way to
the top. This mode is recommended for beginning players as well.

When you first start, you can't purchase any upgrades or anything yet, but you
do need to set your recipe and buy supplies. The recommended recipe for 
guaranteed satisfaction from everyone is:

- 5 lemons
- 3 Sugar
- 3 Ice

I recommend changing it to this and leaving it there for the rest of the game.
Obviously you can do some experimenting of your own if you like.

Next thing you should do is buy supplies. Realize that it is cheaper to buy
supplies in larger bundles, but lemons tend to spoil and ice will always melt
at the end of the day. On my first day, I bought 48 lemons, 50 cups of sugar,
50 ice cubes, and 150 cups. When you're all stocked up, refer to the notice in
the top right hand corner next to the weather forecast. If it says something
relevant to the Suburbs or something that may make customers more or less
willing to spend money, you will need to adjust accordingly. Refer to section 6
for more information. When you're ready, press START DAY.

When the day is over, your results will pop up. On a normal day your Earnings
will have totalled around 5-10 bucks. Time to prepare for Day 2-- purchase 50
more ice cubes and start another day. Continue this pattern as both your cash
and your popularity increases. Note that at this time many customers will
complain about long waiting times. There is nothing you can do about this quite
yet. Eventually 50 ice cubes won't be enough to satisfy one day of business. 
Start buying 100 instead. Also, consider spending a couple bucks in advertising
as well, it does make a noticeable difference.

So continue the pattern throughout Month 1. Eventually, you'll want to move on
to places where you can profit more. A good next step would be to move to the
Park. Just keep saving up and buying new upgrades, getting the cash register
and power juicer as soon as possible so you won't miss a lot of customers due
to long waiting times. Keep working your way up the ladder as you get more and
more money and upgrades. Eventually you will get the Castle Stand and be making
over $800 every day. Then again, once you get the Castle Stand there is no real
reason to keep playing. So, my recommendation is that you try out Challenge
Mode. :)

===============================================================================

o  4. Challenge Mode

Challenge Mode differs from Career Mode in that you start with $280 instead of
only $40. HOWEVER, instead of having infinite time to run your business, you
are restricted to only 30 days and the goal is to get the best score possible.
If you play this like you play career mode, you will surely fail.

First I'll go through some general strategies and then go through a walkthrough
of how to get the best rank possible (Guru).

First of all, notices are more important than ever to pay attention to, because
every individual day is significant.

Second of all, realize that this game is easy to manipulate. You can sell
people cups (yes, cups with nothing inside of them) and they'll buy it. They 
don't like it and it isn't necessarily the best way to go, but it works. Try 
doing this on Day 1: Set recipe to 0 lemons, 0 sugar, and 0 ice. Buy 150 cups 
and start the day. If conditions are right you will make money, especially at 
the train station or downtown. What's good about this is that you can make up 
to like $50 or more and the only supplies you need to keep up with are cups. 

You can try various way of altering recipes and whatnot so that you can get a
maximum profit. The cash register is mandatory as well.


- EARN OVER $2000 IN CHALLENGE MODE :

This is a short little guideline on how to earn the highest rank possible in
Challenge Mode. Note that this isn't the best method but is one that works and
does quite well especially with a little bit of luck.

The trick is to have a good start. So, start up a new challenge and check your
weather/notice. If the weather is over 100 degrees and the notice isn't
anything that will make customers pay less, then continue. Otherwise, restart
until you get a good notice for Day 1.

Now, rent the Hexa-Stad, change your price to $2, Change your recipe to 0 of 
everything, and buy 150 cups. Start Day 1 and you should make over $50, and
possibly up to $150 (if you had good weather + a good notice). Keep doing this
and when the weather goes down, you'll have to lower your price to $1.40 and
probably change locations to somewhere like the Train Station. Keep in mind you
should also have about $10 in advertising throughout the challenge. Buy the
Cash Register on Day 3 or Day 2 if you did really well on Day 1. 

Keep this up for the rest of the challenge. When the weather is really hot,
raise the price to $2, and when the weather is cooler, keep it around $1.40.
On the hot days you should move to the Hexa-Stad. You may also want to buy more
upgrades, as better stands etc will allow you to generate more money and draw
more customers. So keep adapting to the changes in temperature so that you can
accumulate the most income on any given day. On some days, conditions may be so
bad that you'll just want to sell in the Suburbs so you don't LOSE money.

Here's my results from when I tested this method. It took a couple tries, but
eventually I did it.

*** CHALLENGE RESULTS ***

 REVENUE       : 5642.60
 STOCK USED    : 38.70
 STOCK LOST    : 0.00

 GROSS PROFIT  : 5603.90
 GROSS MARGIN  : 99.3%

 RENTS         : 3290.00
 MARKETING     : 270.00

 TOTAL EXPENSE : 3560.00
 EARNINGS      : 2043.90

I had quite a few bad days. Luck is a huge factor in this thing. My highest 
score ever is $3,129.48, but I did that via another method in which I actually
sold lemonade.

===============================================================================

o  5. Stands

This is a small chart that lists the price of each stand and the maximum stock
each stand can hold of each item.

Stand      Cost       Lemons     Sugar     Ice     Cups

Default    N/A        100        100       200     200
Classic    $449.99    130        75        500     350
Lemon      $999.99    250        150       750     600
Castle     $9999.99   500        300       1800    1200

===============================================================================

o  6. Notices

This is (as far as I know) a complete list of all the notices that appear on
the top right corner before every day. They all have different effects and you
will need to adjust accordingly before each day.

o  A Lemon a Day Keeps the Doctor Away!
   - Good for business
o  Air Conditioning Problems At The Mall!
   - All the more reason to buy your lemonade
o  All Government Employees Get Salary Hike!
   - Customers will pay more
o  Anarchists Block Mall Main Entrance!
   - Bad for business at the Mall
o  Annual Boat Show at Convention Center: Sea enthusiasts Stay Indoors!
   - Good for business at the Marina
o  Back to School: Amusement Park Empties
   - Bad for business at the Magic Gardens
o  Baseball AddictTM Homerun Record Holder... Is In Town for The Game Tonight
   - Good for business at the Hexa-Stad
o  Beach Hosts International Surf Contest!
   - Good for business at the Beach
o  Beach Ready For National Volleyball Competition!
   - Good for business at the Beach
o  Beautiful Sunshine!
   - Good weather
o  Big Chill Takes Town By Surprise!
   - Bad for business
o  Bridge Closed: Drivers Take Train
   - Good for business at the Train Station
o  Car Accident Blocks Bridge: Suburb Workers Get a Day Off!
   - Good for business at the Surburbs
o  Cargo Train Collision! Is Rail Transport Secure?
   - Bad for business at the Train Station
o  Chamber of Commerce Holds Convention Downtown!
   - Good for business at Downtown
o  Championship Chances Depend on Tonight's Game
   - Good for business at the Hexa-Stad
o  Citizens Boycott Mall for Selling Products Tested On Animals!
   - Bad for business at the Mall
o  Citizens Invade Beach For Shrimp Festival!
   - Good for business at the Beach
o  Citizens Relax As Long Weekend Approaches!
   - Good for business
o  Citizens Rush Toward Downtown Area To Watch Parade for Mayor's Birthday!
   - Good for business at Downtown
o  Citizens Unite Against Genetically Modified Lemons!
   - Bad for business
o  Coach to Leave Captain on the Bench Tonight?
   - Bad for business at the Hexa-Stad
o  Collection Of Ancient Boats On Display at the Marina
   - Good for business at the Marina
o  College Bums Partied All night: Broken Glass found Everywhere At The Beach!
   - Bad for business at the Beach
o  Country Music Star Suzy Spur Signs Autographs at the Mall!
   - Good for business at the Mall
o  Crime Rate Alert: Mayor Advises Suburb Citizens to Stay Inside!
   - Bad for business at the Suburbs
o  Customers rush to The Mall to Win Contest!
   - Good for business at the Mall
o  Dead Fish Smell After Big Storm: Marina Stinks!
   - Bad for business at the Marina
o  Doctors Say Waiting In Line Can Reduce Stress!
   - Customers will be more tolerable of waiting
o  Dolphins Sighted From Beach Area!
   - Good for business at the Beach
o  Election Campaign: Mayor Visits Suburbs Today!
   - Good for business at the suburbs
o  Environmentalists Find Lemonade Stands Responsible For Littered Streets!
   - Bad for business
o  Family Day At Amusement Park
   - Good for business at the Magic Gardens
o  Fireworks Tonight At Amusement Park
   - Good for business at the Magic Gardens
o  Free Outdoor Concert At The Park!
   - Good for business at the Park
o  Full Moon Possibly The Cause For Citizens' Irritability and Impatience!
   - Customers will be less tolerable of waiting in line
o  Health Survey: Lemonade Is Good For You!
   - Good for business
o  High Waves: Coast Guard Recommends Staying On Shore
   - Bad for business at the Beach
o  Hike in Air Fares Creates Spike in Alternative Transport.
   - Good for business at Train Station
o  Historic City Gets Flooded: Historic Damages!
   - Bad for business at the Old Square
o  Home Team Losese Six In a Row!
   - Bad for business at the Hexa-Stad
o  Huge Sale At The Mall!
   - Good for business at the Mall
o  Interest Rates At Their Lowest In Years!
   - Customers will pay more
o  Kid's Day: Free Tickets for Today's Game
   - Good for business at the Hexa-Stad
o  Lemonade Mania Strikes Town!
   - Good for business
o  Lemonade Stand Competition Increases Around Town!
   - Bad for business
o  Lemonade Stand Owner Wants to Be a Millionaire!
   - Good for business
o  Little Girl Takes Syringe Home: Found in Park!
   - Bad for business at the Park
o  Local Kid Sells Best Lemonade in Town!
   - Good for business
o  Long Weekend: Tourists Invade Historic Center
   - Good for business at the Old Square
o  Maintenence Repairs Downtown: Roads Blocked!
   - Bad for business at Downtown
o  Maintenence Repairs: Mall Closes At 12:00 PM!
   - Bad for business at the Mall
o  Major Power Failure: Generator Can Only Support Half of the Park
   - Good for business at the Park
o  Medieval Music Festival Opens Today
   - Good for business at the Old Square
o  Mosquitos Invade Park!
   - Bad for business at he Park
o  National Tax Refund: More Money Into Citizen's Pockets!
   - Customers will pay more
o  National Weather Service Announces Extreme Heat!
   - Good weather
o  New Super Rollercoaster Opens Today
   - Good for business at the Magic Gardens
o  No Clouds Ahead!
   - Good weather
o  Open Boat Day: Owners Show Their Boats
   - Good for business at the Marina
o  Our Word Of Advice: Don't Leave Home Without A Warm Sweater!
   - Bad weather
o  Park Hosts Little League Baseball Final Today!
   - Good for business at the Park
o  Pickpocket Raid Leave Citizens Penniless!
   - Customers will pay less
o  Pickpockets Active: Tourist Gets Robbed
   - Bad for business at the Old Square
o  Pigeons Get Mad: Raid Over Tourist Place
   - Bad for business at the Old Square
o  Pilgrimage to Star Trip Convention: Thousand Of Fans Converge On City
   - Good for business
o  Postal Strike Delays Delivery Of Tax Refund Checks!
   - Customers will pay less
o  Rail Employees Go On Strike
   - Bad for business at the Train Station
o  Rain, Rain, Rain And More Rain!
   - Bad weather
o  Record Smog Covers Town Under Dark Clouds!
   - Bad weather
o  Recurrent Traffic Problems Make Citizens Impatient!
   - Customers will be less tolerable of waiting in line
o  Royal Marriage in Historic Church Today!
   - Good for business at the Old Square
o  Save The Planet Day: Commuters Encouraged to Use Clean Transport
   - Bad for business at the Train Station
o  Sewage Probems Make Downtown Stink!
   - Bad for business at Downtown
o  Sharks Spotted Near Beach!
   - Bad for business at the Beach
o  Sidewalk Sale Attracts Masses Downtown!
   - Good for business at Downtown
o  Stock Market Collapses: Investors in Turmoil!
   - Customers will pay less
o  Students On Strike: Access To Downtown Area Limited!
   - Bad for business at Downtown
o  Suburb Citizens Celebrate "Stay At Home" Day!
   - Good for business at the Suburbs
o  Suburb Emppty As Citizens Lineup For Bart Crook's Concert Tonight!
   - Bad for business at the Suburbs
o  Suburb Holds Biggest Garage Sale Ever!
   - Good for business at the suburbs
o  Sudden Heat Wave Strikes Town!
   - Good weather
o  Super Roller Coaster Hits a Bump: Repairs Needed
   - Bad for business at the Magic Gardens
o  Survery: 10 out of 10 Citizens Hate Lineups!
   - Customers will be less tolerable of waiting in line
o  Sweet Drinks Major Cause of Obesity!
   - Bad for business
o  Teachers On Strike: No School For Kids!
   - Good for business
o  Teen Gang Hassles Kids at the Park!
   - Bad for business at the Park
o  Temperature Rises to Record Heights
   - Good weather
o  The Sun Shines On Our Beautiful Town!
   - Good weather
o  Thunder Storm Alert: Game Uncertain for Today
   - Bad weather / Bad for business at the Hexa-Stad
o  Town Celebrates National Lemon Day!
   - Good for business
o  Town Plans to Reduce Citizens' Stress By Offering Free Yoga Classes!
   - Good for business
o  Town Under El Gringo's Effect!
   - Bad weather
o  Town's Park Voted Most Beautiful of the Country!
   - Good for business at the Park
o  Two Lions Escaped from Zoo Spotted Neat Park Area!
   - Bad for business at the Park
o  UV Alerty: Authorities Warn Citizens to Stay Off Beach Area!
   - Bad for business at the Beach
o  Water Contamination Possibility: No Swimming At The Beach!
   - Bad for business at the Beach

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o  7. Quotes

On the title screen, there is always a quote near the top right-hand corner. 
This is a list of all the quotes that appear:

"Do other men, for they would do you." That's the true business precept.
- Gahan Wilson

"The best advice I was ever given was on my twenty-first birthday when my 
father said, 'Son, here's a million dollars. Don't lose it.'"
- Charles Dickens

"A good rule of thumb is if you've made it to thirty-five and your job still 
requires you to wear a name tag, you've made a serious vocational error."
- Larry Niven

"God has mercifully withheld from humanity a foreknowledge of what will sell."
- Dennis Miller

"Accept that some days you're the pigeon, and some days you're the statue."
- Bernard Miles

"Cut your losses and let your profits run." 
- Scott Adams

"A market is never saturated with a good product, but it is very quickly 
saturated with a bad one."
- Proverb

"It's a poor workman who blames his tools."
- Henry Ford

"Don't stay in bed, unless you can make money in bed."
- Unknown

"More and more these days I find myself pondering how to reconcile my net 
income with my gross habits."
- George Burns

"Gentlemen prefer bonds."
- John Nelson

"If you owe the bank $100 that's your problem. If you owe the bank $100 
million, that's the bank's problem."
- Andrew Mellon

"I've got all the money I'll ever need if I die by four o'clock this
afternoon."
- J. Paul Getty

"To make a million, start with $900,000."
- Henry Youngman

"Anyone who lives within their means suffers from a lack of imagination."
- Morton Shulman

"A bargain is something you can't use at a price you can't resist."
-Oscar Wilde

"We didn't actually overspend our budget. The allocation simply fell short of 
our expenditure."
- Franklin Jones

"If you can count your money, you don't have a billion dollars."
- Keith Davis

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o 8. Conclusion

If you have any further questions, please e-mail me at madviln@gmail.com along
with any other comments you may have.