Pazarcı: Cozy Market Stall

Pazarcı, Turkish for market seller, is a hand-drawn cozy game set behind a produce stall in a busy Turkish street market. Customers line up across the counter and ask for things like a kilo of tomatoes or half a kilo of peppers. Every tomato has its own size and weight, so you toss the pieces into a plastic basin one by one, watch the scale, bag the order and take the cash.

Getting the weight right is the core skill. A bag that lands on target makes the customer happy and can earn a tip, up to 15 percent extra is accepted, more than that annoys people, and a short bag draws complaints. Now and then a piece in the crates turns rotten, and a customer who finds one in the bag pays less and lowers your reputation. Customers have limited patience, and with three places at the counter you often juggle more than one order. A shout button calls out to passers-by and brings customers faster for a short while before it needs to recharge.

Each market day runs from morning to evening and brings its own weather and market prices. Rainy days are quiet, hot days make customers impatient and spoil stock faster, and holiday eves are packed. You set your own prices: go above the day's market price and customers may walk away, go below it and your profit shrinks. You buy produce from the wholesaler to refill the crates, pay stall rent at the end of each day, and earn a bonus for hitting the daily sales goal.

As you gain experience you rise through eight titles, from Rookie Seller to Legendary Seller, and new customers appear: hagglers who ask for a discount, restaurant cooks with large orders, and tourists who tip well. The stall shop unlocks peppers, cucumbers and eggplants, a tea stove that makes customers more patient, a louder voice for shouting, a premium supplier with fewer rotten items, string lights that boost reputation gains, an apprentice who collects cash and refills crates, a village produce sign that lets you charge more, and two stall expansions.

Some practical tips: add the last few pieces one at a time while watching the scale, and drag rotten produce into the bin before it ends up in a bag. Use the shout when the counter is empty, and check the morning market prices before you change yours. Pazarcı plays in 18 languages, including English and Turkish, and your progress is saved to your Benerits account.