Hey folks, how’s May going for you?
For me, I’ve been happily buried under new games, kudos to Micro May.
Fresh prints. Strange worlds. Clever mechanisms. All sorts of lovely chaos.
And then came Midtown Mall.
No fantasy kingdom. No haunted hallway. No monster waiting behind the door.
Just a shopping mall.
And that got my attention really quick.
Because under that everyday setting sits a crunchy economic roll-and-write about marketing, research, product development, customer flow, and the constant little trade-offs that come with trying to grow something from the ground up.
A game that seemed quite simple at first had more weight than I imagined.
Lo and behold- Midtown Mall!
After playing it, I was curious what went into creating a game like this. So I reached out to Romin Khazai, the creator of Midtown Mall, and asked him about the thinking that shaped it.
Here’s what he shared:
"When creating Midtown Mall, I wanted to capture the satisfying feeling of building a business from the ground up. Starting with limited resources and slowly turning it into a thriving, bustling space. I’ve always enjoyed games that combine simple inputs with meaningful decisions, so the roll-and-write format felt like the perfect foundation for that.
My focus was on creating layered systems that interact in interesting ways, where every dice roll presents a trade-off. Do you invest in long-term growth through marketing and research, or push for immediate sales? I wanted players to feel that tension constantly, while still keeping the rules accessible and quick to learn.
Another key goal was replayability. By incorporating multiple progression tracks, unlockable bonuses, and now a campaign mode, I aimed to create a game where each playthrough feels slightly different, and players can experiment with new strategies over time."
Playtesting Midtown Mall at the Melbourne Game Expo
Romin also mentioned that he has been working on Midtown Mall for the past couple of years, with around 100 playtesters involved in testing and improving the game along the way.
Midtown Mall is not trying to be loud with its theme. It is trying to make you feel the pressure of running something very realistic. One roll at a time. One decision at a time. And that has its own thrill!
The campaign is launching soon on Kickstarter, and if you’re curious about a print-and-play that takes a very different route, keep an eye on this one.
My full review is dropping in a few days.
- Tas.
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