San Fran Sim

A startup tycoon game

Indie Games

Funny Games

Games

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As someone actually doing the startup thing, these games are either therapy or a personal attack, no in between. Does San Fran Sim model the boring failure modes (running out of runway, a cofounder walking, a launch that just flops quietly) or is it mostly the fun growth-curve fantasy? The unglamorous parts are the ones that would make me laugh.

played a quick round and the dry announcer calling out my churn mistakes had me laughing out loud. surprised how naturally it teaches MRR and CAC without feeling like a textbook.

Fun idea, I love these type of sim/manager games, but I think there could be more tool tips or help to explain what things mean

The shareable seed as a challenge is a lovely touch — Theme Hospital energy without any install friction. Since it runs in the browser with no account, does my run persist if I close the tab and come back to it later, or is the seed really the only way to pick things back up? Trying to work out whether this is a lunch-break-and-resume thing or best played in one sitting.

How long does a typical playthrough take, and does the dry announcer's commentary actually adapt based on the metrics you hit or is it kind of scripted throughout?

How realistic is the SaaS metrics simulation - does it actually factor in growth rate assumptions or just keep the numbers feeling random as things scale?

you can probably hook this up to the @ExploreYC API and get some real Y Combinator companies on the UI there - maybe an imaginative network hub with YC founders??

Played a round and actually learned something about CAC payback without realizing it. The dry announcer roasting my hiring decisions is a nice touch.

Ha, "the rollercoaster is your MRR chart" is painfully accurate. Gave it a quick go and it ran really smooth, nice implementation. I'm actually doing the startup thing right now, so it hits a bit too close to home. Gonna do a proper run in my free time. Congrats on the launch! 🚀

How deep does the simulation actually go on the metrics side - are churn and LTV calculated dynamically based on player decisions or do they follow fixed formulas?

I am having fun so far. Seriously cool vibe with the look and feel. Well done.

the dry announcer calling out your CAC miss while you're scrambling to ship a feature is a genuinely clever hook. love that it teaches SaaS metrics through actual pressure rather than a textbook.

Curious how realistic the SaaS metrics actually get here — like does churn scale with the decisions you make or is it more of a fixed curve so you can learn the formulas without it feeling random?

This is dangerously relevant for anyone building a startup :))

The dry announcer narrating every bad decision might be the best part. learning MRR, churn, CAC, burn rate, pricing, hiring, and shipping tradeoffs through a game sounds much more memorable than reading another SaaS metrics guide. "A rival will undercut you to free, for now" also feels painfully accurate.

I can already see myself hiring the dog before the company can afford it :)

Interesting concept. I think that I have never seen some "startup" game done in the form of a roadmap. For me innovative! :)

The dry announcer narrating your missteps is such a clever touch, turns every failed launch into something you actually laugh at instead of rage-quit over. Love that it teaches MRR and churn by making you feel them first.

finally something that makes SaaS metrics click without putting me to sleep. the dry announcer roasting my runway decisions genuinely got a laugh out of me.

the dry announcer narrating your burn rate decisions is such a perfect touch, turns the usual dry metric lessons into something you actually want to keep playing. love that it runs in the browser with zero friction too.