Download Plutocracy for macOS

Most economic sims hand you a business and ask you to beat the market. Plutocracy gives you nothing and asks you to own the country. The problem it solves is predictability — this is a sandbox where the rules bend to whoever plays dirtiest.

1. Start with nothing but a loan. Pick an industry, open a factory, and watch the balance sheet. The simulation tracks supply, demand, and labour costs across the whole nation. Getting rich means understanding how your little textile mill ripples through the economy.
2. Grow into a trust. Buy out competitors, lock down raw materials, and form monopolies. The game rewards patience here — a cartel that controls sugar can starve rivals across three states if you time it right.
3. Step into the shadows. Bribe politicians to kill anti-trust laws. Sabotage a rival's shipment. Start a strike at a competitor's mine. Every illegal move carries a risk of court and fines, which keeps the tension up.
4. Automate or micromanage. Hand your steel empire to an AI director and watch the quarterly reports, or tweak every manager's salary yourself. The choice lets the game scale from a tight tycoon puzzle to a sprawling political sandbox.

This version is early — rough edges and unbalanced systems are part of the deal — so the player who will enjoy it is someone who likes watching cause and effect play out over hours, not minutes. If you need a polished UI and a clear win condition, Plutocracy will frustrate you. If you want a strategy game where a well-timed bribe reshapes federal law and your quarterly dividend, it's a fascinating slow burn.

The debt spiral trap

Early runs often end in a debt spiral. The temptation is to expand fast — open three factories at once and hire a fleet of lawyers. Don't. Keep one business profitable first, then use its cash flow to bankroll the next. Loans are a tool, not a crutch.

Another stumbling block is the political system. Bribing a senator without checking their party alignment is a waste of money. Open the character screen and look at their interests and fears before you spend a cent — a temperance crusader won't look kindly on your whiskey monopoly.

Strikes can blindside you. If wages dip too low or conditions worsen, production halts and losses mount fast. Keep an eye on the labour tab in each region rather than reacting after the picket line forms.

Small things that help

You can double-click a rival's factory to see their supply chain at a glance. Useful when you're hunting for a weak link to sabotage without wasting an action on guesswork.

Holding Shift while issuing stock lets you set a precise number of shares rather than dragging the slider. The slider is fussy, and a misclick at the wrong moment can tank your stock price.

Luxury items are easy to ignore, but buying a yacht or a country house lifts your character's influence with certain high-society types. It's a quiet stat bump, not just window dressing — useful when you're one vote short on a key bill and need a senator's ear.

• macOS ?
• Apple Silicon and 64-bit Intel Macs supported