It is a rare thing in my experience that a resource management simulator, set in a retail or service environment, can strike the precise tone and pace that manages to evoke both interest and relaxation. As a player who previously worked as a bookseller, and currently is a novelist, I am poised to be extremely stressed out by a game set in a mobile bookshop. However, Tiny Bookshop is crafted with such care and balance that I found myself losing hours to the gentle pace and tiny puzzles and sheer escapism of the world it presents.
The setup is simple, and one that is common to many games in the post Stardew Valley era of “cosy” games. You throw in your old life and open a shop selling tiny things you are passionate about to a bustling little community full of interesting characters who you progressively develop relationships with by providing them with goods and services. Days, weeks and seasons pass, the world grows richer and more interesting around you, the stakes rise and fall, a tiny economy evolves from your business.
