MiniTycoon Casino Review

MiniTycoon Casino takes aspects from both Facebook and iOS experiences, but doesn’t quite capitalize on what makes a successful mobile social game these days. What is left is a rather shallow experience that is only as deep as its surface.

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What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. Hopefully this game can just stay there too.

MiniTycoon Casino takes aspects from both Facebook and iOS experiences, but doesn’t quite capitalize on what makes a successful mobile social game these days. What is left is a rather shallow experience that is only as deep as its surface.

In MiniTycoon Casino, you are given the simple task of creating a casino to your hearts’ content, complete with slot machines, gambling tables and lounge décor to boost the atmosphere of your hall. The game starts out with a small tutorial, which helps you become more comfortable with the controls and concept.

You may place slot machines or gambling tables wherever you wish, but keep in mind that you are given a limited amount of space at the very beginning which stunts growth. Social games like these tend to work best when they allow the player a certain amount of freedom when they first pick up the game, letting them play for a little while before requiring they come back the next day. MiniTycoon Casino however, only lets you play for around 10 minutes or so before this happens.

MiniTycoon Casino

While this game does not have a time limit or anything like that, it does only give you a very small amount of money to play with at the start and only a slot machine until you reach a higher level. To gain levels, you have to earn experience points. Experience points are earned by setting your slot machines for a certain time and then collecting the money from them when they are ready. Once in a while, a spray bottle icon will show up above one of your placed objects in the casino, which you can tap on to earn a very small amount of chips. The only way around this arbitrary ‘time limit’ is to spend Tycoins, which are the premium currency in MiniTycoon Casino, and yes, they cost real money.

One thing that would break up the simplicity is the ability to decorate your casino to your heart’s content. Unfortunately, as I stated earlier, you are given only a small amount of money at the start of the game, and the maximum time limit on the slot machines only gives out a small amount as well.

MiniTycoon Casino

Social elements are included, but they are shallow at best. The only activity you can complete while at a neighbor’s casino is to play a slot machine by tapping on it. One could have hoped for something a bit more complex such as showing a slot machine in a zoomed in view, and having the player pull the lever for it to spin. Everything is really skin-deep and ultimately feels half-baked in MiniTycoon Casino.

All of these complaints would almost be non-issues if the developer spent a bit more time making the game more interesting to play. At the moment, the only option is to buy slot machines or tables and then set a time limit on those tables and collect the money once completed. Mini-games or quests certainly would have broken the monotony, and a game with a casino theme pretty much already comes with a set of pre-planned mini-games. Essentially, if you could actually play some of the casino games that you place in your casino, then the game would be much more entertaining.

In the end, given all of MiniTycoon Casino‘s problems, it is very difficult to recommend the game even for free. Given that the game has little for the player to actually do while playing, I would imagine most becoming very bored within minutes of opening their casino. I hope your Vegas dreams are still alive, because this one isn’t it.

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    The bad

      40 out of 100
      Talor is a video games writer who enjoys playing all kinds of games at every opportunity. On top of games, Talor enjoys traveling and considers himself a roller coaster enthusiast.