School Tycoon (PC)

GameSpot editors' review

• CNET editors' rating: 3.0 stars Good
  Detailed editors' rating
  Overall score: 6.9 (3.0 stars)

• Reviewed by:
  Craig Beers
• Reviewed on: 03/18/2004
• Released on: 01/15/2004
• Originally published on GameSpot: School Tycoon (PC) Review

Just when you thought you'd been the tycoon of everything, along comes School Tycoon. The game puts you in charge of a school's operations, so you must make concessions between the school's budget and the students' education. It's rather simple for a tycoon game, and there are some noticeable bugs that can be frustrating. However, the game's simplicity does work well to create an entertaining strategy gaming experience, as long as you're not looking for a hardcore number-crunching game.

Right from the start, you know School Tycoon is going to be lighthearted. The introduction cinematic is amusing to watch because it features a stressed-out, bumbling principal who boils over the edge and tells you to run the school. You apparently take him up on the offer, so you can either solve 24 challenges or build a school from the ground up in a sandbox mode. The challenge mode is divided into eight beginner, eight intermediate, and eight difficult scenarios where you'll have to do everything from merely getting 30 students into your school to earning $100,000 within a certain time frame. The beginner challenges will only take you about an hour to finish in total, while even one difficult challenge can take you several hours to solve. If you want to start from scratch, you can play the instant action mode. This sandbox mode has no objectives, so you can just build and build to your heart's content.

You can construct all sorts of classrooms, from those used for mathematics to those used for English. There are about 10 different subjects that your students can learn. You start off with a small, portable classroom that will seat just a few students. Later on, you can build medium and then deluxe versions of classrooms for each subject, and these upgraded classrooms can house more students and can better educate them. However, academics aren't the only part of a student's life because he or she also needs to keep fit. You'll first build a basic gymnasium and field, but soon you'll unlock other athletic structures, like tennis courts, basketball courts, and football fields.

You do have to hire teachers for each of these buildings or else your students won't learn a thing. A teacher has three traits: fun, strict, and skill. The first will affect students' morale; the second will affect students' levels of discipline; and the third will affect students' academic and athletic abilities. Teachers' wages are based on how high these three traits are. You'll need to hire low-quality teachers at the start of your career because you won't be able to afford better ones. You'll notice that the teachers' salaries represent the highest cost of your school. But once you have a solid foundation, you can start to hire more-expensive teachers. If you don't like the selection of teachers available, you can just close the menu and reopen it to get a new set of teachers to choose from. It may be a simple way to approach the situation, but at least you won't be stuck with someone you don't want. Your school is ranked on several averages, including the three listed above. Better teachers are the best way to influence your scores.

Students will quickly get bored with your school, unless you provide them with a nice environment and good entertainment. You can pretty up your campus with trees, shrubbery, statues, and pathways, and you actually have a wide assortment of each to choose from, so even you won't get bored easily. You do have to maintain these frills though, because each item will degrade over time and may even catch on fire. Maintenance crews repair buildings, janitors sweep pathways, and landscapers keep trees healthy. They incur an extra cost though, because they are hired help. You also can--and should--build entertainment structures, like arcades, halfpipes, and miniature golf courses, to keep your students active outside of class. Both landscapes and entertainment will drive up your student body's morale and will keep students enrolled.

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