Anime Shop Simulator Beginners' Guide — Vook's First-Week Shop Loop

Hi, I'm Vook, a sim player who treats Anime Shop Simulator like a first-week survival tutorial — margin first, fancy card battles later.

This is a beginners' guide, not a 100% completion map. I cover the habits that stop day-one bankruptcy: pricing, bills, cleaning, thieves, and when to unlock Arcanis. Leaf pages go deeper on pricing, boosters, card battles, and achievements. Save edits — transfer, repair, or cash — live on the save guide and money cheat guide.

Played the Open Playtest? Copy your save into the full release before you rerun day one — save guide. Co-op host left? Hand off the save. Broken load or shelves? Same page.

---

What this game is

Shelf stocking on the surface. Under that: manual pricing, bills with due dates, customer mood from trash and stains, thieves who grab display stock if you look away, and a tcg side business once you buy the gaming table.

The players who struggle never touched the price tag, never opened the bills tab, and never swept the floor. Fix those three and the rest opens naturally — but even a perfect shop bleeds merch if you ignore thieves mid-rush.

---

Playtest save → full game

If you already built a shop in the Open Playtest, do this before the first-hour checklist — otherwise the full game starts blank while your progress sits in the Playtest folder.

1. Close both games.
2. C:\Users\<You>\AppData\LocalLow\OneMoreTime — copy files only from Anime Shop Simulator Playtest (skip the four subfolders).
3. Paste into Anime Shop Simulator with replace → launch full game.

Step-by-step with backup notes: save guide.

Broke on day one? I fix pricing before I touch saves. If you still want a small cash bump via Notepad: money cheat guide — I cap it around $5K, not millions.

---

First hour — opening checklist

Do this once on a fresh save before you chase anything fancy — skip if you imported playtest progress above.

Start menu: solo or co-op — same beginners' loop either way.

Store PC: name the shop, then use this terminal for licenses, orders, and bills all game.

1. Name the store on the computer.
2. License store — buy Otaku Forge ($275). Unlocks Sawman and Bald Justice manga.

First license: Otaku Forge bundles two manga lines — cheapest way to get sellable stock.

3. Order screen — one of each manga. Don't over-order day one.

Order screen: one of each on day one — shelf space and cash are tight.

4. Delivery / storage — pick up boxes from the delivery area.

Delivery zone: boxes land here until you carry them to the floor.

5. Place products — one SKU per shelf slot so customers can browse.

Display rule: filled shelf slots customers can actually see — empty slots don't sell.

6. Price tags — set every price above market before you open. I start Sawman $13.50, Bald Justice $15.60. Full routine: pricing guide.

Price tag: interact before opening — default tags sell at a loss.

7. Checkout — serve customers, give correct change.

Register: sales drive shop level — wrong change still counts as a served customer, but slow service stacks up.

8. End day — press N when you're ready to roll the calendar.

Warning: Default shelf prices sell at a loss. No customer should walk in until every tag is set.

---

Daily loop — every workday

This is the repeating core once the first hour is done.

Step	Action	Why
1	Check bills on the computer	Pay rent and electricity when they appear, not on the due date
2	Restock / order licenses if cash allows	Empty shelves = no XP
3	Pricing pass on new stock	One sweep before opening
4	Open shop, serve checkout	Sales = shop level
5	Trash → bin, mop stains	Mood drops kill sales mid-transaction
6	Watch for thieves — catch before they leave	Stolen display stock = pure loss
7	Optional: open boosters, card battles	Second revenue line after level 5

Bills screen: I pay the moment they appear — fines are pure lost profit.

Cleaning: bin trash, mop stains near checkout — unhappy customers walk out mid-sale.

I pay bills the moment they land. Cash sitting in the account is cash I might waste on a license I don't need yet.

---

Employees — hire early, promote on shop level

Hiring frees you from every checkout shift — My Retail Academia pops the moment you sign your first worker. Do not confuse that with ranking them up. Promotions are a separate gate.

The trap: full XP bar, no promote button

An employee can sit at 100% XP for days and still stay Junior. The game will not let you promote until your shop level hits the tier threshold — employee XP alone is not enough.

Junior → Regular (shop level 25)

When your shop reaches level 25, Junior → Regular unlocks. You still need:

Requirement	Amount
Employee XP	1,200 (usually already banked if the bar was full)
Promotion fee	$6,675
Wages	All unpaid wages cleared on the staff screen

Pay their wage backlog before you hit promote. I have clicked through with cash in the bank and still got blocked because payroll was sitting unpaid.

Regular → Pro (shop level 55)

The next rank unlocks at shop level 55 — same pattern: shop gate first, then XP, promotion cash, and wages settled. I have not logged the Regular → Pro numbers yet; I will add them once I am there.

Tip: I treat level 25 like a mini savings goal: expansion cash plus ~$6,675 plus a wage buffer. Surprise IOU at promote time is avoidable if you pay staff every few workdays.

Note: Staff on register means fewer Case Closed! scan prompts for you — achievement guide. I still hire; I just know that trade-off.

---

Thieves — catch them before they walk out

1. During a workday, thieves spawn randomly and try to snatch valuables off your displays.
2. An alert fires — short window to respond.
3. Stop them with the baseball bat before they exit with your stock.
4. Catch 5 thieves for Attack on Thieves — achievement list.

Stay near the register during rush hours. Do not swing at normal customers — reputation crash, fewer shoppers.

Tip: Co-op splits floor watch and checkout — create a server if solo feels overwhelming.

---

Co-op — split the floor

Four-player co-op uses the same loop; you just divide jobs.

Co-op lobby: one person checkout, one pricing/restock, one cleaning, one thief watch — or rotate.

The host holds the save file. Host drops out mid-run? Copy the slot to whoever hosts next — manual zip or SaveSync. Rotate hosting so nobody is locked out.

---

Progression gates — what level unlocks

Leveling comes from sales and service, so pricing and cleaning are your XP system.

Level	Unlock	What I do first
4	New licenses	Big Eyes → Muscular Destiny manga
5	Gaming table (furniture menu)	Gateway to Arcanis boosters and card battles
6+	Shop expansion (paid)	Save cash — not free
25	Junior → Regular employee promotion	Full XP bar is not enough — see employees
55	Regular → Pro employee promotion	Second staff rank gate

Mid-game terminal: new product lines unlock as you buy licenses — same PC flow as day one.

After level 5, buy booster packs and place the gaming table → booster guide.

At 6+, save for shop expansion, then customization (walls, floors, exterior).

Customization: cosmetic spend after expansion cash is saved — paint the van when prompted.

---

Arcanis — beginners' intro (level 5+)

Not day-one priority. Once the gaming table is down:

Arcanis side: order booster packs, open or shelf at fixed $5, build collection and decks.

1. Order booster packs → open or shelf sealed packs ($5 fixed).
2. Collection menu — keep first copies, sell duplicates.
3. Card battles — 9-card deck, color advantage +2 power.

Battles: retail pays the bills; Arcanis pays crystals — full battle guide.

4. Tournament — 5 wins → secret shop.

---

My priority order (first week)

1. Otaku Forge → stock → prices set → serve → pay bills → clean → catch thieves.
2. Level 4 → second license + extra shelves.
3. Level 5 → gaming table → boosters.
4. Level 6+ → expansion → customization.
5. Level 25 → bank $6,675 + clear wages → promote first employee Junior → Regular.
6. Later: achievements, card leagues, level 55 staff rank, max shop rank.

---

Mistakes beginners make

• Opening the shop before a pricing pass.
• Ignoring bills until fines stack.
• One stain near checkout tanking mood.
• Chasing thieves late — near the exit, you already lost the item.
• Baseball-batting a normal customer.
• Jumping into Arcanis before the retail loop is stable.
• Staring at a full employee XP bar and assuming promote is broken — check shop level 25 first, then wages.

Once the first week habits stick, branch into leaf guides for depth — or keep running the shop for profit only. Both are valid.