A tycoon game for iPad, free on the App Store

Star-Spangled Tycoon is a tycoon game for iPad, and it is free on the App Store. The same app also runs on iPhone. The core loop is a tycoon classic: buy a business, upgrade it, hire a manager and let the money come in. Your businesses keep earning while the app is closed, so you can play in short sessions and still make steady progress.

The full game has 5 worlds and 50 businesses, and each world adds a new mechanic to the basic loop. Early on, your choices are small, such as which business to buy next. Later they grow into bigger questions about timing and upgrades. The theme is a parody of American politics. The businesses have patriotic names, and the goal is to win elections. When you hold an election you reset your progress in exchange for a lasting bonus, so every run is faster than the one before.

A larger screen suits a game like this, because you can see your businesses, your upgrades and your progress at a glance. You will also meet a Cabinet of cartoon politicians, collect achievements and follow a rotating calendar of 31 limited events. Game Center leaderboards and achievements are included on iPad and iPhone. The game is available in English and Spanish.

The app is free to download, and its in-app purchases are optional. Everything in the game can also be earned by playing. The iPhone and iPad app has no banner or full-screen ads. Watching a short rewarded video is optional and gives a bonus. Your progress is saved on your device and also uses iCloud sync and on-device backups, which is useful if you play on both an iPad and an iPhone. If you want to try the game in a browser first, there is a version at the play page, but the App Store app is the main way to play.

Tycoon games reward patience and planning, and this one is slow and gentle on purpose. It is not a game for fast reflexes. If you like to check in, spend what you have earned and think about the next purchase, you will probably get along with it. The characters are fictional cartoons and the satire is aimed at politics in general, not at real people or parties.