How to make a tycoon game in Roblox

The tycoon loop

Every tycoon, from a lemonade stand to a space station, runs the same loop:

1. Claim a plot.
2. Machines make money while you watch (droppers drop things, conveyors carry them, a collector turns them into cash).
3. Buy the next button: a better machine, a wall, a floor, a decoration.
4. Repeat until the plot is full, then rebirth: start over with a permanent bonus.

The fun is in the pacing: the first buttons should come every few seconds, later ones every few minutes, with something new to look at each time.

1. Set up one plot

Build one plot first and copy it later. In Workspace, make a folder Tycoons, and inside it a model Plot1 containing:

• ClaimDoor: a part at the entrance players touch to claim the plot;
• Owner: an ObjectValue (it will hold the player who owns the plot);
• Dropper: a part above a conveyor, and Collector: a part at the end of it;
• Buttons: a folder of button parts. Give each one an attribute Cost (a number), and name it after the thing it unlocks;
• Items: a folder holding the things the buttons unlock (machines, walls, floors), each named like its button, already placed where they belong.

A conveyor is just an anchored part that pushes what lands on it: set its AssemblyLinearVelocity to the direction and speed you want, for example Vector3.new(0, 0, -8).

2. Claiming a plot

Add a Script inside Plot1. First, leaderstats with a Cash value (put this in a separate Script in ServerScriptService so every plot shares it):

local Players = game:GetService("Players")

Players.PlayerAdded:Connect(function(player)
	local leaderstats = Instance.new("Folder")
	leaderstats.Name = "leaderstats"
	leaderstats.Parent = player

	local cash = Instance.new("IntValue")
	cash.Name = "Cash"
	cash.Parent = leaderstats
end)

Then the plot's own Script:

local Players = game:GetService("Players")
local ServerStorage = game:GetService("ServerStorage")
local plot = script.Parent
local owner = plot.Owner

-- hide the unlockable items until they're bought
local stored = Instance.new("Folder")
stored.Name = plot.Name .. "Items"
stored.Parent = ServerStorage
for _, item in plot.Items:GetChildren() do
	item.Parent = stored
end

plot.ClaimDoor.Touched:Connect(function(hit)
	local player = Players:GetPlayerFromCharacter(hit.Parent)
	if player and owner.Value == nil and not player:GetAttribute("HasPlot") then
		owner.Value = player
		player:SetAttribute("HasPlot", true)
		plot.ClaimDoor.Transparency = 0.8
		plot.ClaimDoor.CanCollide = false
	end
end)

3. Droppers and the collector

Add to the same plot Script:

local Debris = game:GetService("Debris")

task.spawn(function()
	while true do
		task.wait(2)
		if owner.Value then
			local drop = Instance.new("Part")
			drop.Size = Vector3.new(1, 1, 1)
			drop.Position = plot.Dropper.Position - Vector3.new(0, 2, 0)
			drop:SetAttribute("Value", 5)
			drop.Parent = workspace
			Debris:AddItem(drop, 20) -- clean up anything that falls off
		end
	end
end)

plot.Collector.Touched:Connect(function(hit)
	local value = hit:GetAttribute("Value")
	local player = owner.Value
	if value and player then
		hit:SetAttribute("Value", nil) -- count it only once
		local multiplier = player:GetAttribute("Multiplier") or 1
		player.leaderstats.Cash.Value += value * multiplier
		hit:Destroy()
	end
end)

A better dropper is the same code with a shorter wait or a bigger Value. Many tycoons also have a cash pile the player walks over to collect, instead of instant cash: that's a nice way to bring players back to their base.

4. Buy buttons

for _, button in plot.Buttons:GetChildren() do
	button.Touched:Connect(function(hit)
		local player = Players:GetPlayerFromCharacter(hit.Parent)
		local cost = button:GetAttribute("Cost")
		if player ~= owner.Value or not cost or not button.CanTouch then
			return
		end
		local cash = player.leaderstats.Cash
		if cash.Value >= cost then
			cash.Value -= cost
			button.CanTouch = false
			button.Transparency = 1
			local item = stored:FindFirstChild(button.Name)
			if item then
				item.Parent = plot
			end
		end
	end)
end

To show buttons one at a time, give each a Requires attribute naming the button before it, hide them all at the start and reveal a button when the one it requires is bought. Put the price on the button with a BillboardGui so players see it.

When the plot works, copy Plot1 to make Plot2, Plot3... one per player your server holds. Remember to free the plot (set Owner to nil and put the items back) when its owner leaves, in Players.PlayerRemoving.

5. Saving

Save two things per player with DataStoreService: their Cash, and the list of button names they've bought. When they claim a plot again next time, "buy" those buttons for free in the same order. Wrap every DataStore call in pcall, save when the player leaves and when the server shuts down (game:BindToClose), and turn on Enable Studio Access to API Services to test it in Studio.

6. Rebirth

Rebirth gives a full plot a reason to start again. A typical rule: when every button is bought (or Cash reaches a target), a Rebirth button resets the plot and Cash to zero and raises a permanent multiplier:

local function rebirth(player)
	local rebirths = (player:GetAttribute("Rebirths") or 0) + 1
	player:SetAttribute("Rebirths", rebirths)
	player:SetAttribute("Multiplier", 1 + rebirths * 0.5)
	player.leaderstats.Cash.Value = 0
	-- move the bought items back to storage and show the buttons again
end

The collector already multiplies by Multiplier, so each rebirth makes the next run faster. Save Rebirths with the rest.

7. Game passes

Tycoon passes that players understand: 2x Cash, Auto Collect, VIP (a gold name or a special area) and faster droppers. Check a pass when the player joins:

local MarketplaceService = game:GetService("MarketplaceService")
local DOUBLE_CASH_PASS = 0 -- your pass ID

local ok, owns = pcall(function()
	return MarketplaceService:UserOwnsGamePassAsync(player.UserId, DOUBLE_CASH_PASS)
end)
if ok and owns then
	player:SetAttribute("Multiplier", (player:GetAttribute("Multiplier") or 1) * 2)
end

Our game passes and developer products guide covers creating the pass, the purchase prompt and granting it straight after a purchase. Price passes so the game is still fun for players who never buy one.

Make it yours

The loop is the same in every tycoon, so the theme and the machines are where yours stands out: a dragon hatchery, a rocket factory, a bakery that grows into a cake empire. Things players remember: machines that are fun to watch, a base that looks very different at the end than at the start, and a big final upgrade. There are tycoon ideas here if you need a spark.

About free tycoon kits from the Toolbox: they can teach you a lot, but check every script inside before publishing (some hide backdoors), and change the look so your game doesn't feel like every other kit.

Generate a tycoon instead

The BloxMaps Game Maker builds a tycoon from one sentence: plots players claim, droppers, conveyors and upgrades bought in order, cash, rebirth for multipliers, a shop with passes, and the UI, all in one Roblox Studio file. It also builds a builder tycoon, where you snap sections onto a giant tree to grow a treehouse. Both are in Beta.

Building and previewing is free; exporting the finished game costs $14.99 once. Then open it in Studio and change anything: it's built from normal Roblox parts and scripts.