itch.io

Rent is due, and Marty Spreadsheet has already planned his whole week.

Rent Day Rodeo is a free life-sim board game you play in your browser, on desktop or on a phone in portrait. No download, no sign-up.

Play it here: https://itaibm.itch.io/rent-day-rodeo?ref=itch-release

How it works

• Tap a place on the city board to go there. Moving costs time.
• Find a job and work shifts to earn money. Study to get better jobs.
• Pay your rent, keep food in the fridge, and make time for fun so you stay happy.
• End your week when your hours run out.
• Whoever reaches all four goals first (money, education, career, happiness) wins.

You race Marty, a computer rival. Available in English, Español and Français. Your game saves in your browser.

I'd love your feedback. This is the first public release, and I want to hear from people who've never seen it. The in-game "Give feedback (2 min)" button opens a short form (direct link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeS4ZQXv6xXXbObB0BdH-OLTN3L3TBzRB5Tb05uu_4RXVb96g/viewform), or just reply here.

AI disclosure: I made Rent Day Rodeo with AI assistance. The code, graphics and sounds were made with AI tools, and I directed and playtested it.

Hi! Rent Day Rodeo is a free life-sim board game that runs in the browser, on desktop or on a phone in portrait:

https://itaibm.itch.io/rent-day-rodeo?ref=itch-feedback

You play solo against Marty Spreadsheet, a computer rival. Each week you have a set number of hours: move around the city board (moving costs time), get a job and work shifts, study for better jobs, pay rent, buy food and make time for fun. The first to reach all four goals (money, education, career, happiness) wins. No download, no sign-up.

What I'm looking for feedback on, in order:

1. Onboarding: in your first two turns, did you know what to do next? If not, what confused you?

2. Pacing: where did you stop, and why?

3. Difficulty: does Marty feel fair?

4. Phone vs desktop: anything too small, hidden or hard to tap?

The in-game "Give feedback (2 min)" button (end of a game or the menu) opens a short form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeS4ZQXv6xXXbObB0BdH-OLTN3L3TBzRB5Tb05uu_4RXVb96g/viewform. Replies here are great too. I'll answer every one, and I'm happy to play your game in return.

AI disclosure: I made Rent Day Rodeo with AI assistance. The code, graphics and sounds were made with AI tools, and I directed and playtested it.

Loaded it in the browser. The title screen pitch is tight: "defending, five of them, squishies show for a blink" tells me the whole game in three lines. One readability note: the targets and background are both very dark on the intro, so the blink may be hard to catch on dim or phone screens. A brighter flash or a brief outline on the squishy would help it feel like a read rather than luck. Like the one-button concept a lot.

Opened it on desktop. The one-rule box at the top is great, it explains everything in one line. On your question: looking at the map before moving, the river with a single bridge makes the whole run feel like it hinges on that crossing, so a dead end near it reads as a fair "I should have planned" moment rather than a gotcha. If you want the trap to sting more without changing the layout, maybe show the step count vs. 22 live, so the 2 extra steps feel like a visible loss instead of nothing.