Hot Dog Stand

You have $75, a borrowed cart under a red-and-white umbrella, and one corner of a busy downtown block. Every morning the paper brings the forecast and the town’s plans — a ballgame, a parade, a health inspector, a rival cart setting up across the street — and you have to work out what that means for business before the first customer walks up.

It is supply and demand you can smell. Order too little and you sell out by lunch while the line walks away hungry; order too much and the buns go in the bin at closing. Every item on the menu is its own little market with its own fair price: sit a quarter under it and the line grows and your reputation climbs, push too far over it and the crowd keeps walking. Heatwaves sell lemonade and ice cream, snow days sell coffee and pretzels, and a street festival can double the crowd — and your mistakes.

The street never closes. New food joins the menu as you survive — soda on day 2, fries on day 3, all the way up to slushies on day 20 — the weather gets wilder, the events get bigger and the rent goes up $4 a day. Finish a day with less than $5 in the till and the cart is gone. How many days can you keep it on the street, and how much can you bank?

How to play

• Read the paper — Each morning shows the forecast, what is on in town, a vendor’s hunch about what will sell, the expected crowd and the day’s fixed costs (cart rent and ice). Fridays and weekends bring the biggest crowds.
• Stock the cart — Tap ▲▼ to order in fives. You pay for everything up front and can’t order more than the cash in the till; the cart starts you off with a cautious suggested order.
• Set your prices — Each item starts at its fair price — the one customers have in mind — and moves in 25¢ steps. Charge less and more people buy, and like you for it; charge more and demand falls fast. About two-thirds over the fair price, nobody buys at all.
• Pick the ingredients — Tap an item’s quality tag to switch between Budget, Standard and Premium (Gourmet from day 12). Better ingredients cost more but raise the price people will happily pay, sell a little more and build your reputation. Budget is cheap — until the health inspector shows up.
• Dress for the weather — Hot days sell cold drinks and frozen treats 🥤🍋🍦🧊; cold days sell hot food and coffee 🌭🥨🧀☕🍔; fries sell in any weather. Rain, storms and snow keep people indoors, so order light.
• Watch the leftovers — Fresh food 🌭🍟🥨🧀🍦🍔🧊 goes in the bin at closing. Drinks and coffee 🥤🍋☕ keep, and you get half their cost back.
• Take the gamble — or don’t — From day 3 a mid-day offer may turn up: a supplier rushing extra stock when you are selling out, or a radio spot or block-party sponsorship to pull in a bigger afternoon. It costs cash now and doesn’t always pay.
• Bank it — The closing report shows what sold, what spoiled and how many customers you turned away. Profit lands in the till, your reputation (0–100★) moves, and tomorrow’s crowd follows it. Cash carries over from day to day — end one under $5 and you are bankrupt.

Questions