Start with Zero - How I've been playing.

[dionthorn]

Start a new Sandbox game with these settings:

• 0 dollars.
  
• 365 days per year. (Beware the tax man)
  
• All other settings default.

Monday Day 1 starts @ 8:00.

1. Get the job at El Gato Food Market. (you start outside it)
   Click on the Job Board on the walls and accept the job offer.
   You make $25 per hour = $200 per 8 hour shift.
   @ 6 days per week = $1,200 a week if you miss no time.
   You work 8:00-16:00 M-Th and Sa/Su you have Fridays off.
   
2. Sleep until @~7:30 Day 2 on the bench outside El Gato,
   You can only sleep 4 hours at a time on a bench so you will sleep ~6 times.

Tuesday Day 2 @~7:30.

1. Work @ 8:00.
   At roughly 7:50 click on a checkout counter in El Gato and Assign yourself,
   Your shift doesn't start until 8:00 but you can toggle the fast forward mode,
   Once your shift starts click fast forward until end of shift.
   
2. Your shift will end slightly early because you are starving and tired,
   In my test shift I ended at 15:11 even though I didn't do the full shift I got $200,
   Get a shopping basket, pickup a fresh food, buy it at checkout counter.
   After $8 in fresh food I have $192.
   Note: You currently can't get a large enough loan just yet hold yer horses.
   
3. Sleep until ~7:30 Day 3 on the bench outside El Gato.

Wednesday Day 3 ~7:30.

1. Buy $8 fresh food for breakfast before work, I now have $184.
   
2. Work @ 8:00 I now have $384.
   
3. Buy $8 fresh food for dinner after work, I now have $376.

You now have options as you can get a sizable loan.

Option 1 - Frugal living, take a $5,000 loan.
Get apartment near El Gato with bed and fridge. (now you can sleep at home and store food in fridge)
Get cheapest car. (might have to work a few days for the $2500 after getting apt)
Work at El Gato until you pay off the $5000 loan.
Debt free with a car, apartment and job you can now save up and do whatever you want.

Option 2 - Take a $40,000 loan and start a biz.
Do the normal stuff you'd do in the game.
Just don't forget about your loan payments.

I've been trying both options and option 1 is an insane grind I paid off ~day 57 for option 2 I got started on a liquor store pretty easy and quick with Van and apartment.

Fun game can't wait to see where it goes going forward.

[Eye Aye]

It's really easy if you play with loans.
Try Zero Money, No Loans, Must start in Garment District and finally Only food for your first store. That is much more of a challenge.

[YouTube/@Enivoke]

I started a challenge where I aged every 30 days, 0 money and lots of negative interest and taxes, still to EZ.

[Eye Aye]

Yep I would find that easy too, that's why I don't play that way

[Agent707]

Originally posted by dionthorn:

Start a new Sandbox game with these settings:

• 0 dollars.
  
• 365 days per year. (Beware the tax man)
  
• All other settings default.

I did that too! ...but with the ALL the bottom sliders ALL THE WAY to the right.
100% taxes....-20% bank negative interest (which I have no idea what that means)

I also used a self-imposed rule of "NO BANK LOANS" and "NO CASINO VISITS"

Man, that was a brutal start to a game!!!

I think I went into depression 4 or 5 times before I got an apartment.
I think I slept on a park bench for 25+ days before I had enough money to get an apartment + bed,
I saved money up until I had enough to buy EVERYTHING I needed to start a business
(Register, cabinet, baskets, bags, 1 clothes rack, 1 box of clothes.)
I think that took me till day 45?
Once I did that and quit my job at the grocery store... was gravy from there.

By day 120 I was living in Mid-town with about 40 million in the bank. LOL!

Never played it beyond that. I just wanted to see if I could start that way.
I can imagine what day 365 tax bill would have been! HAHA! I would've had the money though.

[Tassie]

Sneaky way to avoid cracking the sads while sleeping on a park bench for weeks?

I rented the cheapest office building I could find.
2 days work at El Gato and you have enough cash, and then it's only $9 a day rent.
It removes the -50% happiness debuff.

No lost working hours meant I quit El Gato day 31 and had my business open (gift shop with one rounded shelf and a single box of expensive flowers) that afternoon.

Oh, and that office building is now my HQ. :D

[SirDrinksalot]

Do you need the fridge? My food never spoiled leaving it in the bag, unless thats why I am so depressed!!

[Agent707]

Originally posted by SirDrinksalot:

Do you need the fridge? My food never spoiled leaving it in the bag, unless thats why I am so depressed!!

You shouldn't "need one". And starting a game like this (like a hobo), is not something you should think about buying until you're well into making good daily profit from.

At some point though, the fridge is a much more convenient item to have.

I wouldn't be surprised though if the dev has code in there that not having a fridge contributes to depression. LOL! They are slippery! The biggest thing is not having an appt. (-50%)

I did the 0 money, hardest settings, no loan...etc game once. I'm satisfied I made it though.
Not doing it again though. As soon as you get your first business running, life goes back to normal.

[Eye Aye]

I'm still playing my game I threw in a couple more rules to make it more difficult because the first time I did it I bought a shelf and exp flowers and it was game over the money started rolling in. Now I'm still hopping and bopping selling cupcakes in Garment District.

[Tanyon]

Honestly if you are going to do loans then just give yourself the 15k or 40k to start.. who cares.. taking out a loan is a joke.. what is the payment a couple hundred dollars? When you set up your first business whatever it is your profits should be 10-30k depending on the business and if you know what you are doing. The game is extremely easy once you figure out what you are doing you basically can't fail.