Build-a-lot - TV Tropes
- ️Wed Apr 09 2025
Build-a-lot is a series of casual construction management games developed by HipSoft. The series revolve around constructing houses and buildings to reach certain objectives, such as having a certain amount of money or income, or building certain required houses. Houses can be upgraded to increase its rent.
Build-a-lot contains two different game modes. The Career game mode has players try to achieve certain objectives in a set amount of time. In this mode, you help mayors of several suburbs in improving their neighborhoods by building required houses or buildings. The Casual game mode is a game mode where players improve the neighborhood to their liking in order to reach a certain amount of cash.
The first game in the series was released in 2007. The first sequel was released in 2008 and includes the abilities to build parks and stores. The third game, also released in 2008, is set in Europe and allows players to build monuments and the restoration system. The fourth game, released in 2009, adds a power resource.
Games in the series:
- Build-a-lot (2007)
- Build-a-lot 2: Town of the Year (2008)
- Build-a-lot 3: Passport to Europe (2008)
- Build-a-lot 4: Power Source (2009)
- Build-a-lot: Monopoly Edition (2009)
- Build-a-lot: The Elizabethan Era (2010)
- Build-a-lot: On Vacation (2011)
- Build-a-lot: Fairy Tales (2012)
- Build-a-lot: Mysteries (2013)
- Build-a-lot: Mysteries 2 (2014)
- Build-a-lot World (2014)
- Build-a-lot: Big Dreams (2020)
This game series provides examples of:
- Attract Mode: In the main menu, you can see a mock "game" where workers construct, upgrade, sell, or demolish random buildings.
- Cap Raiser: Sawmills allow buildings to be upgraded to a maximum of four stars instead of three, provided that a permit is purchased for that building.
- Crossover: There's a Monopoly-themed version of Build-a-lot released in 2009.
- Disc-One Nuke: The Bank. It's introduced in the fourth suburb and automatically collects interests for you, but if you let it donate to charity then you will be exempt from paying property taxes. Building a bank early on and making it donate will have you be saved from being forced to pay taxes (especially if you're focusing on building many expensive houses), making it easier for managing money to buy materials and resources.
- Double-Meaning Title: The title can be interpreted as either "build on empty lots" or "build a lot of buildings".
- Intimidating Revenue Service: Sometimes, tax collectors may come to certain houses, which temporarily disables rent collection for that house. In order for that house to be able to produce rent again, you must pay property taxes for that house, which become more expensive the higher class the house is.
- Memento MacGuffin: Complete a set of career levels in a suburb, and the mayor of that suburb will gift you one of their prized possessions (often related to the special building constructed at the final level of a suburb) as a thank-you gift.
- Sequel Goes Foreign: Build-a-lot 3 features locations in various European countries.
- Speedrun Reward: In career mode, if you finish a level before the timer reaches a designated mark, then you will be awarded a ribbon for efficiency. Levels where you finish efficiently will appear as gold with a star symbol on the level select screen.
- Timed Mission: Each level in career mode has a set amount of time where the player has to complete all the objectives before the time limit (deadline) ends.
- You Require More Vespene Gas: Players typically manage three different resources: money, workers, and materials. Money is used to train workers or buy materials and blueprints, while workers and materials are needed to construct, upgrade, repair, and demolish buildings. Build-a-lot: Power Source adds a new resource type: power.