The decade is 1990. Your zine has a circulation of zero and a GeoCities page with a broken hit counter. You have opinions about Tarantino, a 14.4 modem, and just enough cash for one print run.
Build a pop culture magazine from nothing. Hire writers, editors, and researchers. Commission stories about the movies, music, games, and news that shaped the 90s. Move work across a Kanban board from pitch to published. Watch your operation evolve from photocopied zines at Kinko's to a real media company with a .com domain and a homepage that loads in under 8 seconds.
Try not to go broke before the IPO.
Part strategy game. Part idle. Part workflow sim. Part love letter to the decade that broke the internet.
WHY YOU'LL LOVE IT
- Your Choices Matter — Specialists or generalists. Deadlines for bonus pay or slow burns for 5-star quality. Hire fast and spend thin, or run lean and invest in iMacs and Aeron chairs. Prestige early for a few legacy points, or grind deep for the full haul. Every run asks a different question.
- Windows 95 Aesthetic — Beveled chrome, tiled wallpapers, system fonts. Looks like running Netscape Navigator on your parents' Compaq. In a good way.
- In-Game Achievements — On top of Game Centre achievements, more homage to the 90s.
- Events and Multipliers — Random events from the 1990s that boost (or tank) your revenue mid-run.
- Easter Eggs — Can you find the flying toast? The Konami input code? The dial-up modem?
- IPO — Take a chance at the big time, but if your stock tanks... Godspeed, old friend.
- Thousands of 1990s Headlines — Jurassic Park opening weekend. Nirvana knocking Michael Jackson off #1. The O.J. trial. Pokémon. Y2K panic. The stuff that shaped a generation.
- Kanban Workflow — Research, draft, create, edit, publish. Manage stories across the board like a project manager who's really into Radiohead.
- Build Your Team — Creators write. Editors catch typos. Researchers break leads. Managing Editors keep the whole operation from imploding. Hire smart, level up skills, equip your crew with Power Macs, standing desks, and Discmans.
- Prestige System — Hit $500K and complete a Volume. Start your next run with permanent legacy upgrades that pull your strategy in new directions. Revenue Boost or Inflation Shield. Quality Boost or Fast Learners. There's no correct order. There's your order.
- Speed Boosts — Frappuccinos, Surge soda, Snapple. The fuel of journalism. Consumables for a temporary push. A Bull Terrier for permanent motivation. Or upgrade your dial-up to a T1 Line.
- Analog to Digital — Watch your magazine evolve from paste-up zines to a full online publication. Your arc mirrors the decade's defining shift.
- NO ADS. NO ENERGY GATES. One optional speed boost. That's it.
The first Volume teaches you the ropes. Volumes 2 through 10 are where you figure out what kind of editor you actually are.
