Build-a-lot
Real estate sounds about as exciting as tax accounting when it comes to casual games, but in HipSoft's latest tycoon-style title, Build-a-lot, managing your empire turns out to be quite entertaining. You assume the role of a contractor working for towns to improve property value. In each round you're given a set of goals by the mayor that must be completed within the time limit. Tasks include building houses on vacant lots, upgrading homes to higher-rent properties, researching new structure blueprints, and managing cashflow to feed all your ventures. The description sounds rather dry, but once you dive into the game, you'll have a surprising amount of fun.
The goal of Build-a-lot is quite simple: build a lot! The interface turns almost every chore into a one-click action, allowing you to focus on managing money, materials, workers, repairs and blueprints without distraction. To build a house all you have to do is click on an empty lot. If you have the resources the workers will hop to it. If you don't, simply float the cursor down to the menu and buy more. Income is based on the value of each lot you own, so upgrading houses to a more lavish setting will increase the rent and raise your cashflow. You can also flip houses for quick cash, but in the long run your bank account will suffer.
Your success as a real estate mogul depends on the choices you make, and Build-a-lot throws some tough ones at you each level. Empty lots and complete houses pop on the market at seemingly random times and must be purchased quickly before they fade. But what if you don't have the cash? Even if you did, should you expand or focus on improving your current properties? Micro decisions such as this spill into managing your workforce and materials and add up to a game with a surprising amount of strategy.
If you enjoyed this game, be sure to check out our review of Build-a-lot 2: Town of the Year.
But don't think you can just build a ton of houses and breeze through the game. The more you upgrade a building, the more upkeep and taxes it will require, sapping a little more cash than a basic home. The income is greater, but so is the risk, and if you can't keep everything in check, you'll topple at a blinding speed. In addition to the standard Career mode, Build-a-lot offers a Casual mode that allows you to compete with other players via an online scoreboard. Start in your chosen town and raise money as quickly as you can, posting stats such as amount of materials used and money earned.
Analysis: Perhaps the scariest thing about Build-a-lot is the foreboding (and dry) real estate theme. It sounds like such a headache, and the tiny, stark visuals do very little to make the game more inviting. But Build-a-lot is far from bland and offers a great tutorial system that walks you through the relatively simple process of managing your real estate empire step-by-step. Once you get started, everything runs smoothly and the real fun begins. You definitely feel a sense of accomplishment (and perhaps even power?) when you hit the big bucks and the mayor showers you with praise!
Windows:
Download the demo
Order the full version
Mac OS X:
Download the demo
Order the full version
Build-a-lot is available to download from these affiliates:
hey j.... quick one whats ur contact email for this site? i look around but it is harder to find than the solving of the puzzle of the feed machine in chicken grow w/out walkthrough...40+plus manuveurs well done bonte...anyways just want to give u some props.
Contact email is at the bottom of the left sidebar on most every page of the site. :)
Thanks for the props! :D
This is a really good game. I downloaded it after the review of Farm Frenzy last week, though it does get a little bit repetitive towards the end levels.
Are the Weekend Downloads not counted as real reviews, like the Friday Link Dumps? (since this was in a Weekend Download a few months ago...) I downloaded the game way back when. It's a little confusing to see a previously minimally reviewed game reviewed again (without explanation), or a fully reviewed game reviewed in a Link Dump without mentioning the fuller review.
Or maybe I'm just easily confused.
Correct. We don't consider the dump-style posts as full reviews. And rarely will we link dump games that were previously reviewed, though sometimes that has happened, mostly by oversight.
""The interface turns almost every chore into a one-click action,""
Well, I needed at least two clicks to do most stuff..
Like selecting the ground then selecting the build option.
Leave it to you to point that out, fuzzygrid. :p
I believe his point was that once you select what it is you want to operate on, the resulting action can be accomplished with a single click.
I can't remember how I came across this game, but after playing the timelimited demo, I bought the full game. It is simple, fun and quite addictive.
I downloaded this from reflexive a while ago and played it. It's fun, but once you're done, you're done, and the levels and goals don't change really appreciably once you learn how to build the bank, workshop, and lumber mill.
I have a question. I heard of if you get stars on all of the game that it unlocks another searies. I have completed all of the series up to 29 and I am stuck. would like some help with getting the star on it and any help on getting the star on the rest. thanks
I like the game but i have been stuck on level 26 for so long that i'm almost to the point of wishing i hadn't bought the game. I'm all for a challenge but this is getting ridiculous.. i can't get the rent high enough... have tried many different things....what's the sequence that i'm missing.. would appriciate the help
Just wanted to let you know that I found this game available for Mac. As a Mac user, it's easy to feel left out the weekend download section (but of course that comes with the territory of being a Mac user), so here's the link for any other Mac users out there who want to play:
Build-a-lot for Mac
Love the site. Keep up the good work. (And add more links for finding games by category.)
@ Kelly
Dont know, if you finally found out, but here is a walkthrough from level 26 (thanks to Margie B. from Gamezebo)
# LEVEL 26
Goals: (1) own 1 Castle (2) rental income of $275,000 (3) three 4 star Tudor (4) four 4 star Estates
# Build a workshop and train 2 additional workers.
# Build a saw mill and buy 5000 materials after the mill is built.
# Build 3 Mansions on regular lots and upgrade them each with one star.
# Sell one Mansion when there are none or just one property for sale at the moment.
# Buy the smallest premier lot ($180,000) if it's available at that time or wait until it comes up.
# Buy 5000 materials and build a bank and designate it as a charitable institution.
# Buy a Colonial house, demolish it and then soon after and build a Tudor on it instead.
# Buy the Castle blueprint train 2 more workers and demolish the premier property and build a Castle on that instead. Upgrade the Castle to 4 stars and inspect it.
# Start buying as many properties as you can afford, demolish them and start building the Estates and the Tudors that you need. Upgrade three Tudors to a 4 star rating and upgrade four Estates to a 4 star rating.
# Buy the next premier property that is available (the Mansion will cost approx $720,000) . Keep that property as is and upgrade it to 4 stars.
# Buy the next premier property, it should be an Estate house, don't demolish it because it will count towards one the houses that you need for your goals. Upgrade it 4 stars and inspect.
# Keep buying 5000 materials as needed and keep upgrading the houses and inspecting them.
# There should be another Estate on a regular lot that will come up for sale at approx $330,000. Buy it and start upgrading it to 4 stars right away.
# Since you have 9 workers you will be able to do multiple jobs at once. Do several upgrades at once to maximize your time.
# Buy whatever property comes up at this time. In the end you should own every single house on the lot, with the exception of maybe one. Demolish the real small ones and upgrade the bigger ones, like the Estates and the Mansions.
I can't get past the last level. I have played the level over 20 times with no success. I can get the castles on the premiere lots, I can get the marina built, and get the rent up to $500,000 but can't amass the $15 million cash. The closest I get is 7 or 8 million dollars cash. Any hints on the order of steps to make this happen??
Hi Lea,
maybe its already to late, but for in case someone needs this or you have a look again, here are a few tips:
#Build in this level only castles.
#Try to buy what ever comes on the market, when you have the money for it.
#As soon as you are asked to repair them, demolish them and build a castle instead
#Train at least 12 workers
# When your total reaches over 9 million and your rental income is over $700,000 and you've met all the requirements, it's time to start selling.
# You should be able to sell 3 of your 4 star castles. You should sell it when no other houses are up for sale and you should get $1,680,000 for each and it will only take away $60,000 of rental income away from your total for each house you sell.
# If you have not purchased all the houses in the neighborhood and one comes up for sale while you are trying to sell your 4 star castle, just buy it right away and your full price will be offered.
That should help to get your goal.
Hey,
I am stuck on Summit Ridge. I dont know the level but the goal is ; 1 bank, 18 empty lots and 5 mill.dollar.
I'm getting crazy, pls help !!
To Plien:
I'm not sure exactly what kind of trouble you're having on that level. Basically, you need to build houses, sell them until you reach $5 million, then demolish them to have empty lots.
Hi Plien,
maybe a walkthrough will make it easier (btw:Its level 29):
Build a saw mill and a workshop.
Build a bank and designate as a charitable institution.
Train 6 workers.
Always buy the max amount in materials as you can.
Start building as many Castles as you can and upgrade to 4 stars and inspect them.
In between doing everything ,buy property, demolish your smaller houses and build bigger ones. Buy everything that comes up that you can afford because you will have to destroy all of them at the end.
Train at least 3 more workers. You will be able to do multiple jobs at one time and they will come in handy as you're demolishing your houses.
In the end you should have at least
Six 4-star Castles
Four 4-star Estates
Five Mansions with 2 stars or more
When your money gets close to 5 million (4.5 or so) You need to follow these steps in the following order:
Demolish the workshop and the saw mill first
Do NOT demolish the bank or you will not meet your goal.
Start demolishing all your small properties first and then proceed to demolish the bigger properties.
You will keep earning rental income on the houses that are still standing until you destroy them. That is why it's important to keep your bigger houses until the last minute.
Success, Kayleigh
Thanks Kayleigh. Much better than my advice. :)
Hi, i choose Autumnville as a bonus level. Help me, I saw the targets but I can't seem to find a way to begin...to less money. Anyone??
Sorry, my question was about Build a lot II.
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