I love this game - at first it seems easy, but then you realise you don't have enough points to carry on and need to go back and do previous levels at the expert speed. I'm still not finished and have been playing it most days since it was given away

Nice to see Stephen still doing his A+ reviews here... and yes, it saves us all a lot of deciding and testing time as he does it for us! Thanks, wabbit, for the great work and for the always worthwhile links you provide us "free game" fans. Good luck on your move! Hope it's all positive!

I've enjoyed this game from way back, but lost many because of a computer crash and am rebuilding my domain here... this one was an enjoyable keeper for me. :)
Love from midori


......................Moderator comment...................

Hi Midori, long time. Nice to see you again :)

I bought this game 2 or 3 years ago, got a new laptop, and hadn't reinstalled it yet. Honestly I had forgotten about it. I downloaded it today, installed, and played it on windows 8. NO problems :) I had stopped coming here for awhile because it seemed like all the games were hidden object and fighter games. Glad I came back :) I love time management games. They are my favorite. Thanks for the game :)

I disabled my av and downloaded and installed, when I click on the hotel mogul icon the screen goes black for less than a second,like it's loading the game, then goes to the desktop. That's all that happens, don't know what that could be, or how to fix it.

Looks like a fun game....

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Check the FAQ's section that I link to in my review. Hopefully you'll find a fix there. :) Don't delete the game yet. Post the problem over in the Game Discussion forums. Someone may have a bright idea. :)

I could be wrong but I don't see the fun here. This looks like a real estate business course on a screen! Economics - buy/sell, depreciation/development, income/expenses - fun?


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It takes all sorts Brad ;-) I love playing Simulation games (not the sims), even ones that some might find boring like an airport sim, demolitio sim (it's good fun using the various demolition equipment to collapse various buildings), a firefighters sim and even a road sweeper sim, lol (I spent a whole week collapsing a large bridge in Red Faction Guerilla because the way the developers had created the game they made it so that each time I collapsed the bridge it fell differently and looked amazing at the same time). ;-)

Thank you for this giveaway, I'm looking forward to trying the game!

great game--the only problem I came a crossed, after it was building whenever the helicopter came in, it went to the desktop, would have to click resume to continue playing. This is the only time it did this and did it every time. Windows 7 64bit


........................Moderator comment.......................

Thanks for your feedback Rhonda

Alawar for ever :-)

Just since it came up today, I would also like to thank Whiterabbit for his work. It has helped me multiple times to decide if I want to download the software or not, and it's usually pretty accurate.

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Thank you Kulian. ;-)

heheheh, like I said, don't care much for time management but after reading the rabbits review decided to try.. and it's actually a nice timepasser :)



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:)

Hi All, Wanted to say that I've downloaded many a great game at this website and thoroughly enjoy them when I can. My problem is that I'm not very technical and when there is a gcd file I can never get the game to work. I always get a message that the file type is unrecognized and do i want windows to search the web for the appropriate program. This is always brings to me to a dead end. Can someone please post the appropriate instructions to be able to play these games. Todays game is my favorite type and I would like to get it to work.


........................Moderator comment.......................

Turn off your anti malware/anti virus software temporarily. To do this open up the task manager by clicking Cntl-Alt-Del. Select the processess tab and click on the process that looks like your AV software i.e. Norton/McAfee?ESET/AVAST/AVG/BitDefender/Kaspersky/F-Secure/Trend Micro/VIPRe etc then click on the end task. Once your AV software is closed try installing the game. If the problem persists check the FAQ's section over in the Game discussion sticky section. I've linked to it in my review at comment # 1

Completely agree with CabLady, if it wasn't for the great white hopping one this GGOTD would have died as low dead due to some of the games looking extremely boring but after a review from Rabbit it seems worth downloading and trying...and actually often proof to be very much fun.

gonna try todays game although time management is not really my favorite gamestyle. remember all... Tuesday 16th... Xbox goldmembers that don't have Assassins Creed II will be getting it for freeeeeeee (provided they go to the xbox store and "buy" the game for $0,-)


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Thanks NoName. Sounds like a brilliant deal for Gold members. :0 Assassins Creed II is an excellent game.

Thanks for the great game, I've played this before and loved it. Was delighted to see it offered today.

Loaded and played with no problems using Win XP.

Just one tiny quibble, the people are the strangest-looking bunch I've ever seen in a game, they all look like aliens. ;-)


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:)

I do love Time Management games! And this is a good one. It's not the best out there, but it's challenging enough to be fun without being boring like some of the more simplistic ones. The graphics are fairly good and it's definitely replayable. I do agree with what was said it needs a better tutorial on it as several major points were missed and it would make it easier to figure out what you have to do. I also agree that it's fairly unoriginal when it comes to this type, that doesn't detract from the enjoyment though.

The conclusion;

If you like Build-A-Lot, you'll like this. If you don't, you won't. I do believe the Build-A-Lot games are far more challenging than this, but that doesn't detract from the fun for me. For the developers, I don't know how to improve it as these kinds of games are fairly hard to make very original or put a new spin on them, but this one is a good one, especially for ones that aren't used to this genre as it isn't that complex compared to some others I've played


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Thanks for your feedback DAMyst

Some people are alw2ays taking the same old boring Hidden Object Games which are starting to get on my nerves! At least this type of game is different. And I am delighted you offered Hotel Mogul. Thanks a lot to all.

I already have the full version of this but i have to say i only paid $6.99 for it ... love the game helps pass the time easy to play thou i would like a time free version where you are not against the clock always...

You could just stick Lynette’s conniving husband in the cannon from yesterday's game and shot his corpse at the man-eating spiders and head-chopping axes.

That might be funner than both of the actual games combined!

To comment #2: sorry but don't like that idea at all. If you take a look at the other giveaway page you will notice it doesn't get any where near as much feedback as the game page does. I believe that is because of what White Rabbit does for us (thanks Stephen!). Personally if I wasn't able to read that information about the offer on this page I would not download the game. And there is no way I would ever download a document form to read it. Besides that, even in this day and age, there are still folks with limited bandwidth. Having that in a doc file wouldn't help those folks at all. Just MHO.
CabLady

..................Moderator Comment...................

Thanks CabLady

Is this game also in French and if not is this game simple when i don't understand english?

first of all: many thanks for the great work. The instructions are always helpful, but wouldn't it be easier in an offline modus to store the instructions in a word or pdf document? and just post one more link to download on this page?

......................Moderator Comment....................

The point of me posting these reviews is so that community members can read about the game without having to download anything, thenm make an informed choice as to whether they download the game.

Hotel Mogul:

Installation:

Today’s giveaway downloads as a 86.3 MB zip file that unpacks to a read me and a wrapped setup file (the orange colored file with the key symbol), plus there's a setup file with security (setup.gcd) that's protected from being hacked (because the previous giveaway system was easily cracked). This file may case some security software to alert the user to a possible malware attack, but it 'will' be a false positive.

The game giveaway team check all game giveaways for malware using several well known anti -malware suites. There has never been a game giveaway infected with malware since the project started back in Dec 2006. The owners know that allowing such things would compromise their buisness, so they make sure all software given away via the gamegiveaway sites are throughly checked for all types of malware before allowing community members to download any files.

Some community members have been having problems installing games since the security software was added. It's been found that turning off your security temporarily or configuring it to accept the setup.cgd file usually sorts the problem out.

To register and install the game click on the orange colored icon. Hotel Mogul is 86.9 MB in size once installed and installs to the following path by default:

C:\Games\HotelMogul_game (If the install path shows the last game installed you need to clear your internet cache)


The path can be changed to suit whatever your wishes are. Once the game is installed you can delete the giveaway setup files. The game doesn't install any shortcuts to the desktop or Start Menu. There’s also no uninstaller. To delete the game just delete the installed game.

The game giveaway version is v1.0 wheras the demo I checked yesterday is version v1.5

Hotel Mogul works on both my Win 7 & Win 8 computers. I don't have a Vista or XP installation set up at the moment (and won't for several months until we move house at the end of August).

If you miss today's giveaway it is available from MyPlayCity (MPC) or Jenkat Games 24/7, but do bear in mind the potential for toolbars and home page changes everytime you boot up an MPC game. I've not used Jenkat nor MPC in quite some time. As far a sI know Jenkat games is by far the safer of the 2 w.r.t. toolbars etc.




Introduction:

Lynette's conniving husband has cheated her out of her family business! What can an enterprising young woman like her do? Get revenge! Use your business savvy to help Lynette repurchase her company and send her husband to the slammer. Buy, develop and sell commercial properties to make a profit; build attractions that increase your income; and keep your eye on the bottom line as you purchase materials and hire workers. The point-and-click fun of Hotel Mogul will have you laughing all the way to the bank!

Reference accessed HERE 13th July 2013

By following the link above you can read comments left by Alawar customers about the game way back to when it was released June 2009.

The Game:

All is fair in love, war, and business. At least that's the case in the time management and building simulation Hotel Mogul, where the unfortunate protagonist Lynette has just gotten a rotten deal in divorce court!

Lynette has only been married one month, and her husband Barry has just unexpectedly asked for a divorce. To make matters worse, she's going to lose her business too, since her husband stands to win it all when they split. Who on Earth is responsible for that prenuptial agreement? Her lousy lawyer and best friend, who claims she must have missed that clause. Yikes. Determined not to give up (and not to hire the new lawyer she so desperately needs), Lynette decides to start a new business and find a way to reacquire her old company. I won't spoil the plot, but there's plenty of surprising twists.

The game play method is nearly identical to Build-a-Lot when you start. You are given a certain amount of cash, and a number of materials and workers when you start. At the top of the screen, you can also see your bank account, income, and guests, as well as your level goals. Essentially, you need to build up various properties as you play. You can buy extra materials and train extra workers as you go along, which you need in order to build, repair, and upgrade the different structures.

There are three types of structures you can build - hotel, commercial, and service. Hotels include any buildings where guests may lodge, ranging from cheap campgrounds to posh hotels. Commercial buildings generally increase the value of surrounding structures, like gardens that improve the value of whole rows, and statues which greatly improve the two adjacent properties. Service buildings include the construction mill, the real estate agency, and the museum. These give you powerful bonuses, like the ability to use the rapid construction power-up and repair all your buildings at once.

You can also buy available property by clicking on it when it goes on sale. Similarly, you can sell your properties by putting out a "for sale" sign. A cellphone will appear to indicate an offer, which you can accept or decline. Property is only available for a limited time, so you need to complete interactions before the offers expire. Property can also increase and decrease in value, depending on items you build, but also on random factors.

Buildings need regular maintenance, so you are frequently asked to repair or clean them. If you've built the wrong type of building, you can always demolish it. There are special conference checks, which you can earn by clicking on them when they appear over a hotel. In an interesting twist, you earn upgrade points as you play, which you can use to unlock new build types and facilities.

To keep things challenging, you have a basic income goal to meet, but also have the chance to earn the expert score and beat the expert time goal. You can replay levels to aim for these, adding some replay value to the game. While there is a timer, it's optional. You need to beat the level within the time frame in order to earn the expert goal. However, you can still proceed to the next level even if you exceed the time limit, provided that you meet all the goals. In this sense, you really can't lose.

The locations are interesting, including spots as diverse as Egypt, Hawaii, and South America. Despite these drastic localities, the game play remains the same in all. The production values are good, with suitable sound effects and music, and attractive graphics. It's fairly challenging, even after just a few levels, and the pacing is very good. It manages to be hectic, yet attainable. The length is also fairly good, taking roughly 5 or 6 hours to beat, and that's not including replay.






Edited Reference accessed HERE July 13th 2013




Video:

You can see some video of Hotel Mogul HERE (levels 1 -5), HERE (levels 6 - 8), HERE (levels 18 & 19) and HERE (level 35)


Music:

The music is pretty non descript. If you want to change it for something you like to listen to, the only way to do it is to turn the music off via the options menu and play something on your media player.



Minimum System Specifications:

CPU - 1 GHz
System RAM - 512 MB
DirectX 8
Video RAM - 32 MB
DirectX 8 sound card

Conclusion:


If you like Time Management/ building Sims games you'll probably enjoy this game. It has decent production values, a good game pace, with flexible challenges and a decent replay value.


The tutorial is alright, but glosses over some concepts important in the game. If you've already played Build-A-Lot, this won't matter much, but it might be tougher to follow if you've never played this sort of game before.

The biggest issue with Hotel Mogul is it's lack of originality. It doesn't add anything particularly unique to the building simulation genre, and lacks some of the greater depth of later Build-A-Lot titles. While the mechanics certainly work, and it's fun to play, it doesn't stand out as something innovative or particularly exciting.

If you love hectic building simulations, and can't wait for the next installment of Build-A-Lot, then Hotel Mogul is definitely one to try. However, if you haven't played many building simulation games, you might want to start with others in the genre first.


If you need help getting through the game there's an excellent walkthrough HERE , or alternatively check out some of the videos i've posted links to. You'll probably find video walkthroughs for most or all of the levels.


Score:

Overall I'd give this game the following score:

Gameplay - 8

Graphics - 7

Replayability - 8

Originality - 6

Music - 625



Totals 35 out of 40 which is equivalent to 7 out of 10


Problems with the game?:

If you have any problems installing or playing today's game please go to the game discussion forums where you'll find a FAQ's section HERE.

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If today's game doesn't take your fancy then check out the game discussion forums and the free games synopsis. We’ve posted a couple of thousand free games over the last four years, many of which are excellent alternatives to their commercial cousins.

The Steam summer Sale started 2 days ago. you'll find hundreds of deals, plus every day there's a 24 hr deal that appears to be carried over for a further day, plus there's flash sales every 8 hours. There are some brilliant bargains. You can all the details HERE . The main page only shows you the latest deals. To see all of the game son sale Click on the games tab along the top of the Steam page and select your genre, then go to the right hand panel where it says 'find More then click on the games link (you'll see the number of games in that category next to it for example, in the action genre next to games you should see 1352 games (this may differ slightly from region to region as not all games are available in all regions. All the games that are on sale will have the percentage off next to the price (usually in a green box)


For more deals check out the latest game available on IndieGameStand HERE
You can pay as much as you want but no less than $1. The present game is The Cat Lady a horror adventure. This changes over tomorrow morning.
There's also quite a few decent deals over on Desura, Greenman Gaming as well as other game distributors such as Gamersgate and Gamefly. Finally, you'll also find a few indie bundles still live. You'll find details of all the bundles still available over in the first two pages of the Game discussion forums HERE (These are the best way to get bargains as you can often get $100 plus worth of game sfor around $5 or less. (e.g. last November/December THQ sold their entire recent catalogue worth almost $500 for less than $6) Check out the Bundle Stars deals for the best bundles around at the moment.

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A Request for help:

Developers rely on good feedback to improve their games. If you download this game please take some time once you’ve played it a while to leave some constructive feedback either positive or negative. The more constructive feedback we get, the more likely developers are going to give more games away. The giveaway site already has a very good standing with the search engines. Developers want their products out there on the WWW, this site has the potential to do that. The game giveaway project gives away on average between 9 to 17 thousand downloads for each game depending upon what genre and how obscure the game is. That’s a lot of homes these games are being downloaded into and a lot of 'potential' cash that’s being lost by the developers. If we get better games because of better feedback, the community are likely to continue to benefit from the generosity of the developers. Satisfied community members are then more likely to visit the home sites of those developers and purchase games that they may not have bothered with before they discovered the developer via the game giveaway site, thus giving the developers more incentives to give away even more decent games.

Please leave some feedback once you've checked the game out. It can be positive or negative, but please explain what your reasons were for the feedback you post. You could also leave suggestions for improving the game, for example, this game could do with more block types for the levels editor, add more power-ups, describing the ones you think would be suitable, add some mini games (which seem all the rage in some arcade games now) or enable the user to be able to change the in game music easily.

Thank you in advance to all those who take the time to post a constructive comment.

Regards

Whiterabbit aka Stephen

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