Six ways in
Which empire are you building?
A path is an identity, not a class. It changes the trade the game suggests, the business it names next and the progress it counts. Every one of the 46 businesses stays openable whichever path you pick — that is what makes the choice about who you want to be, rather than what you are allowed to touch.
Below each path: the real starting bonus, where it grows fastest, what it does that the others do less well, and what the first hour feels like.
Run the city's favourite brands
Hospitality Mogul
Turn one food counter into the street's favourite name.
Turn a small food counter into the name the whole street trusts with lunch.
- Starting bonus
- Claim Street Food & Meals and your food stall opens one level higher, with 6 × Garden Salad already on the shelf and cooking speed at level 2.
- Fastest growth area
- Selling straight to customers: Café, Restaurant, Catering Kitchen.
- Unique advantage
- Its best finished good is Garden Salad at about 95% gross margin on supplier prices.
- Your first hour
- Reach profitability on a bakery: it is the cheapest door on the path at $14.00, and Food Stall is already open.
Early game
Start from Food Stall — free to open, stocked for the first sale.
Mid game
Add food stall for Garden Salad at about 95% margin, and sell it through 3 counters.
Late game
Own the whole path — 5 businesses, up to the restaurant at $22.00 — and supply the counters that sell the finished goods.
Feed the nation
Agriculture Magnate
Grow what every kitchen in town needs.
Grow what every kitchen in town needs, then process it before anyone else can.
- Starting bonus
- Claim Agriculture & Growing and your farm opens one level higher, with 6 × Produce Box already on the shelf and farming efficiency at level 2.
- Fastest growth area
- Making goods other businesses buy: Farm, Dairy, Produce Workshop.
- Unique advantage
- Its best finished good is Canned Tomatoes at about 93% gross margin on supplier prices.
- Your first hour
- Reach profitability on a farm kitchen: it is the cheapest door on the path at $9.00, and Farm is already open.
Early game
Start from Farm — free to open, stocked for the first sale.
Mid game
Add produce workshop for Canned Tomatoes at about 93% margin, and sell it through 0 counters.
Late game
Own the whole path — 8 businesses, up to the dairy at $15.00 — and supply the counters that sell the finished goods.
Own the stores everyone visits
Retail Chain Owner
Build a chain of successful stores.
Buy well, price better, and put your name over every counter on the high street.
- Starting bonus
- Claim Retail & Trade and your shop opens one level higher, with 6 × Garden Salad already on the shelf and merchant skills at level 2.
- Fastest growth area
- Selling straight to customers: Shop, Grocery Shop, Convenience Store and 3 more.
- Unique advantage
- Its best finished good is Snack Pack at about 97% gross margin on supplier prices.
- Your first hour
- Reach profitability on a convenience store: it is the cheapest door on the path at $11.00, and Shop is already open.
Early game
Start from Shop — free to open, stocked for the first sale.
Mid game
Add convenience store for Snack Pack at about 97% margin, and sell it through 6 counters.
Late game
Own the whole path — 6 businesses, up to the building materials shop at $26.00 — and supply the counters that sell the finished goods.
Control the flow of commerce
Logistics King
Own the warehouses and the routes everything moves on.
Keep the warehouses and the routes, and every product moves through your network.
- Starting bonus
- Claim Logistics & Delivery and your delivery opens one level higher, with 6 × Produce Box already on the shelf and route planning at level 2.
- Fastest growth area
- Making goods other businesses buy: .
- Unique advantage
- It is the only path whose businesses can run courier contracts. Its 5 businesses add storage, which is what makes standing supplier orders cheaper.
- Your first hour
- Reach profitability on a warehouse: it is the cheapest door on the path at $16.00, and Delivery is already open.
Early game
Start from Delivery — free to open, stocked for the first sale.
Mid game
Fill the middle of the chain: Warehouse, Produce Wholesaler, Food Distributor.
Late game
Own the whole path — 7 businesses, up to the cold storage at $28.00 — and supply the counters that sell the finished goods.
Build the things everyone needs
Industrial Titan
Build the goods every other business resells.
Build the workshops and factories, then supply the businesses that resell your work.
- Starting bonus
- Its 16 businesses are opened with cash you earn. No trade is tied to this path, so the stock you start with comes from the starter businesses.
- Fastest growth area
- Selling straight to customers: Vehicle Repair Garage, Refrigeration Repair, Solar Installation and 4 more.
- Unique advantage
- It holds the most counters of any path (7), so more of the chain ends at your till.
- Your first hour
- Reach profitability on a packaging workshop: it is the cheapest door on the path at $10.00.
Early game
Start by earning the opening cost; nothing on the path is given away.
Mid game
Add construction company for Building Work at about 89% margin, and sell it through 7 counters.
Late game
Own the whole path — 16 businesses, up to the construction company at $32.00 — and supply the counters that sell the finished goods.
Shape markets through technology
Tech Entrepreneur
Sell the services other businesses cannot run without.
Build the products, books and campaigns other businesses cannot run without.
- Starting bonus
- Its 4 businesses are opened with cash you earn. No trade is tied to this path, so the stock you start with comes from the starter businesses.
- Fastest growth area
- Selling straight to customers: Bookkeeping Practice, Marketing Agency, Business Software.
- Unique advantage
- Its best finished good is Software Licence at about 93% gross margin on supplier prices.
- Your first hour
- Reach profitability on a studio: it is the cheapest door on the path at $12.00.
Early game
Start by earning the opening cost; nothing on the path is given away.
Mid game
Add business software for Software Licence at about 93% margin, and sell it through 3 counters.
Late game
Own the whole path — 4 businesses, up to the business software at $20.00 — and supply the counters that sell the finished goods.