Based on the demo, I recommend passing on Coffee Tycoon.
User Rating: 3.6 | Coffee Tycoon PC
After playing the demo for about 15 minutes, I have to say I'm already bored. The options are so limited! You can't help but compare this game to Lemonade Tycoon, and when you do, you'll find the latter game infinitely more entertaining. (Edit update: I went back and played the 45 or so remaining minutes of the demo, and it was just as boring and tedious. You spend the whole time basically pressing the "Start Day" and "End Day" buttons.) First of all, you can barely control anything. All you are in charge of is the ratio of employees you have - say, 70% baristas, 15% managers, and 5% executives. You can't specify how many of each you have... just the ratio in percent. The percent must total 100 to begin your day. The only other thing you really control is upgrades, when you have enough money. Upgrades are divided into your menu options (new styles of coffee) and equipment upgrades (new machines). In my opinion, the upgrades don't come often enough. You start out being able to buy a few with $100, but then see a jump to $500, and you have nothing to buy in the meantime. There is weather in the game, but you don't get a forecast like in Lemonade Tycoon, and there's no option to adjust your prices if you did have a forecast. The game is frustrating in that during the day it will tell you, for instance, you negotiated a better deal with your coffee stirrer supplier and so you get a money bonus... but you don't get to attempt these negotiations yourself. Or another example is it will tell you the music choice is causing some of your customers to leave, but you don't have any way to change the music!! Granted, I only played to level 4 (and new upgrade options appear with each level), but even in the purchasable upgrades, there were no stereos like in Lemonade Tycoon. Even more frustrating... the game will pound you with the message that you don't have enough stores and should open more, but you won't have enough to. Suddenly, it will tell you that you've bought another store out, without giving you the choice - and then the next day tell you that you expanded too fast!! The graphics in the game are nice, but all you see during the day (which lasts a measly few seconds with no adjustable speed option) is a few static customers around your coffee counter drinking their coffees. There's no real movement of customers in and out of your store. All in all, the game is far too limited in options, where it had such potential to be great. Unless a lot changes by the time the full game comes out, I'd have to recommend passing on Coffee Tycoon and getting Lemonade Tycoon instead.
--