Strategy guide

Game Mechanics Guide

The maths behind every system in Tycoon Cards, written for players who want to understand why their numbers behave the way they do.

Business Cost Scaling

Each business costs 15% more than the previous copy. The formula is:

cost(n) = baseCost × 1.15^n

For example, the 50th Lemonade Stand costs $15 × 1.15^50 ≈ $16,400. This is why buying many of the same business eventually becomes inefficient compared to unlocking the next tier.

Income Calculation

Your per-second income is calculated as:

income = Σ(business.baseIncome × count)
       × (1 + passiveBonus + globalBonus)
       × prestigeMultiplier

Card bonuses of the same type stack additively, then the final value is multiplied by the prestige multiplier. This means "all income" cards are slightly more valuable than "passive only" cards of the same strength, because they also apply to click power.

Prestige Points Formula

Prestige points earned on reset:

pointsGained = floor(√(lifetimeEarnings / 1,000,000)) - currentPoints

Each point grants +2% to all income. The square-root curve means later prestige runs grant fewer points per dollar earned, encouraging players to reset earlier rather than hoarding money.

Card Bonus Stacking

All cards of the same bonus type add together before applying the multiplier. Example: if you have +5% click from one card and +8% click from another, your total click bonus is +13% (not +13.4%).

Cost reduction bonuses are capped at 80% off — businesses can never be free, no matter how many cost-reduction cards you level.

Offline Earnings

While the tab is closed, the game earns at 50% of your live per-second rate, capped at 8 hours. The cap prevents players from returning after a long absence and instantly affording everything.

offlineEarned = min(seconds, 28800) × income × 0.5