Office Management 101

Office Management 101
N/A
Metacritic
79
Steam
52.5
xDR
Our rating is calculated based on the reviews and popularity of the game.
Release date
16 March 2022
Developers
Publishers
Steam reviews score
Total
79 (69 votes)

Office Management 101 is a satirical office life simulation tycoon game set in a fictional capitalistic dystopia. Step over competitors, drive your staff to the limit and milk your customers for every penny in the pursuit of spiraling success!

Show detailed description

Office Management 101 system requirements

Minimum:

  • OS: Microsoft Windows 7, 8, 10
  • Memory: 4 GB RAM
  • Storage: 200 MB available space

Recommended:

Recommended requirements are not yet specified.
Similar games
Rec Center Tycoon
Rec Center Tycoon

Casual, Indie, Simulation, Sports, Strategy, Early Access

$8.99 xDr: 70.19
Popularity
Reviews
Write a new review
TonyOfFinland
TonyOfFinland

Game feels like its 90s siblings without being clumsy and akward. Controls are fairly simple and good once you get hang of it. Graphics: Stunning pixelart. One of the most fun games to stream hands down. Twitch integrations make it awesome. Overall a solid 8.5/10.

Adnamham
Adnamham

Superb game dynamics and well balanced play however some annoying bugs where the job window such as for projects (shortcut P) becomes unclickable. Also, unsure of the true effects of office objects like lamp and plant on employee happiness, work quality et al (cannot see any immediate increase in their stats?). Would be super useful to have a Wiki guide and more info on the tutorial (unless I missed something?) as to the effects on employees of items within the office environment and office design such as if open plan is ok or if each worker requires their own room/office space.

dead elf
dead elf

Development is incredibly slow. Employees will get mad about paperwork piling up long before you have a way to deal with it. And you cannot specialize the business--contracts are just random, so getting ones you cannot do (say, since they require an entire fleet of tester staff) are a waste of a manager's contract roll. Managers also do not actually manage anything--you have to continually manually assign them & employees to a job. (There is a perk, "Self-managed," which is supposed to allow them to take employees. But you have to roll this when they level up, and level-ups come with increased expectations, and you just as well may get several level-ups where the manager is unable to manage a project. RIP. Fire them until you get one that can, I guess.)

There is, essentially, one true and correct way to play: hire a large volume of random people and spend the entire time micromanaging them. Regrettably, this hasn't been changed in over a year.

lita1988
lita1988

I played 30 minutes of this and didn't want to play more... I requested a refund.
The game only has 2 speeds, super fast where you can't keep up (and time keeps going even when you click another screen like contracts or leveling up), or snails pace. There is a tutorial that seems totally void of any real information (it tells you how to lay furniture but the only way to actually select is the green check mark, not enter, not space, not double click...)
You finish contracts way too fast, to the point where half the time your team isn't even doing anything.
My employee constantly had a red exclamation point above their head but had nothing for me to solve?
Kairosoft does a better version of this game for $6.00 on my phone...

jimvybes
jimvybes

I don't like to review Early Access games, but as a sandbox, there's nothing else like Office Management 101. This game needs improvement and features for the broader gaming market. But as a management game in a unique niche, it's so so perfect.

My favorite part of the game is how the employees slack off. They become less motivated and bs/chat with each other as the work week progresses. They fall in love or hate each other, I can't wait to see how this expands. Maybe they will get in fights or not show up, or confess and make things awkward? This feature has to be blown out more it's so cool. But in a game sense, you're not just managing AI's you employ, they are closer to real people than in most other management games. My least favorite part may be the paperwork lol, but it is fun to keep expanding office space for more shelves and cabinets. I have a feeling all late game offices are pretty much rows of paperwork libraries. And this give a constant upkeep goal in the sandbox that is fulfilling.

I'm very excited for new and updated features in this game's future. But as-is you still won't be disappointed. Some building and placement can be clunky, but it has a gentle charm and atmosphere that makes playing this relaxing and never like you're doing actual un-fun work yourself.

Kurifuu
Kurifuu

2 hours in and I'm sorta done with the scenarios. Didn't try the Sandbox mode yet so I still have a bit of content to blast through though I sense that it's not gonna be that different from the scenarios in terms of what I could actually do. Kinda expected this since it's still in early access. Still, the potential for a full-fledged business sim/tycoon game is here! We just have to let the devs cook. Hopefully this game gets the support it needs to reach its full potential.

marino.osiris
marino.osiris

I got bored after 2 hours.

I tried the sandbox mode and progressed rapidly, with employees achieving good stats and money reaching around 250k. Unfortunately, there are limited purchasing and upgrade options in the game. I feel there is a lack of content and activities to engage with. After spending additional time grinding for money, which became redundant as I had already acquired everything, it left me feeling disappointed.

On a positive note, I appreciate the graphics and hope that the developer will add more exciting gameplay elements and content during the Early Access phase. I am willing to revisit the game in a few months and potentially change my review to a positive one if it becomes more worthwhile. However, at its current state, it falls short of expectations and needs significant improvement to be considered enjoyable.

This review reflects my personal experience and opinion.

edi
edi

With 13 hrs played at the time of this review, rating for this game relative to its genre and game-play size: 7 out of 10 pixels.

First 5 hours being in the office is cute. Then you overspend on lazy staff and office upgrades. That raises your overheads. Then hours 5-7 you try to control the chaos, sack lazy overpaid staff, find cheaper ones. You also try to ride a wave of having the right staff search for contracts. Pass the "no quality requirement" jobs on to L1 staff. Bring in income to match the expenditure and exceed expenses. Hours 8-10 you think you got it figured out... Then you go home from work, sit down on the couch and play this game and suddenly it feels like a deja-vu.

Hours 11-13, and you go through motions of "i got this figured out", to "no i don't."

Playing without tutorial or YouTube videos for assistance. Figure it out along the way, it's the best way to play games. You got more value out of it, and contributes to your problem-solving abilities, and overall thinking skills, instead of turning yourself into a game addicted zombie.

Graphics could be and should be slightly better to make the game-play easier, instead of trying to figure out what is that bunch of pixels. Just because you can make it look retro, does not mean you should to that extreme, especially if it affects game-play.

The camera angle is also not user friendly and should allow for viewing with walls down or rotate over the top, so I can see what is in a corner of a room in the middle of office space. One of many examples: placing toilet rolls in toilet stalls.

If you want to get it, then best to get it when it's on sale.

Gavin
Gavin

I've been following the development for this game for quite some time now and am glad to see it hitting early access! The game has wonderful nostalgic visuals and has a fun management tycoon core. I look forward to playing this a lot more!

Sgt.H
Sgt.H

This is just the first of many hours I am gonna spend on this game. I have been carried back to the 90s, to my days spent playing Theme Park and Theme Hospital, and not a single pixel or thing is breaking the illusion.
It feels sooo good! This is fun, sarcastic, and brilliantly developed. This is not an attempt at making a game feeling retro, this is a real retro game, with all the UX goodies of the modern era. Absolutely delighted!

MisterMorrisGames
MisterMorrisGames

As someone who lives in a country full of startups, this game is fulfilling all my fantasies of managing an office.

I am loving it so far!

(PS. I still play Roller Coaster Tycoon to this day so the art style is right my my alley)

Perfoon
Perfoon

Office Management 101 stays true to its roots. It brings back all the good memories of tycoon games and does not do anything stupid. This is exactly what a modern tycoon game has to be.

Oakwarrior
Oakwarrior

One of the most fun tycoon style games I've played. Also been waiting for this game to be playable for what feels like a decade, so it feels good to finally be able to bite down and enjoy it!

Very nice visuals, supported by a great sense of humour makes this little gem a joy to play. Definitely check this out if you like Theme Hospital or any other sort of business sim games - you'll probably like this.

Adam S
Adam S

Really cute game, does what it says on the tin. Even in early access has a huge amount going for it, only has more potential and room for growth!

shayraakira
shayraakira

The game is addicting because it is so challenging. I thought that this game would be easier yet my company has gone under several times. Getting your company to be successful without half of the company quitting is the trickiest part. The only things that I did not like is the fifty notification pings on the bottom right corner. Most of the information that is being fed through the mail icon is useless. So is the daily mail. Maybe it's just me but it is more of an annoyance than something that is helpful, funny, or useful. Overall, I am really enjoying the game.

jee7
jee7

Right now this is very much an early-early access game. I recommend checking it out to get about 1-2 hours of a small gameplay loop of pixel art office management. There are some interesting new mechanics done here like:
- Needing a skilled worker to get a project, then needing a differently skilled worker to do the project.
- Every project generates paper. Paper piles up and takes your office space. Workers can get the "small handwriting" trait to mitigate their paper production.
- Workers slack and you can get a trait for the CEO that makes them seek out and get the slackers back to work.

There is a tutorial and one scenario/demo map, where you can experience the main gameplay loop for an hour and fulfill a list of goals related to that. There is also a sandbox mode, which I didn't try.

But keep in mind the early access disclaimer. There are many things in the game without a purpose. The UI also takes a bit getting used to. The game can at times mislead you into thinking there is currently more to it than there actually is. I'm sure there will be in the future, so check the latest patch notes to find out or maybe wait once the early access is over.

Anonymous
Anonymous

Fun game that will leave you wanting more. Can't wait to see where this game is going. Well worth the price.

Memnor
Memnor

Finally this is released! I have waited so long to play the full version. I played the demo when it first came out and I played that for hours, been keeping my eye on this game ever since.
Very fun game! Already spent 6 hours in it and will definitely spend more later.

PRE-lewd
PRE-lewd

Don’t see the point..

I’ll be honest. I just don’t see the point of this game. It doesn’t really do anything better than other games out there, the universe isn’t funny or witty, nothing that stands out. Maybe it’s in EA so it’ll change, who knows?

PROS

    • If you’re in the market for a generic office simulator, then this is it.

CONS

[list]
• ART: Visuals in this game are fine. But the pixelated look like this has been done better in Game Dev Studio, along with weather effects and traffic movement outside (missing in this game). So it doesn’t really do much with the visuals, feels like a barren wasteland outside your walls.

• SOUND/MUSIC: Generic sound and music. Looping “tycoon” track that gets old, forcing you to mute it and open up Foobar in the background. Ambience is.. I think there are some ambience effects.

• UI/UX: Terrible.

- Why can’t you rotate the camera counter clockwise? Do you realize how annoying it is to move the camera over and over again just to place items or click on the employees?

- Why is there a “list” of giant items that requires scrolling? Most of the information in this game can be squeezed in easily on the screen instead of making you scroll. You wanna place furniture? Scroll (search exists but unless you know what is in-game, you have to go through the list). Assign an employee to a chair? Scroll. Contracts? Scroll. I feel like this is partially because of the pixel art style.

- Clicking on employees is a pain. You have to do multiple clicks and get the right “grid” box to click on them.

• GAMEPLAY: So, you just do contract work for random companies? Why do I need this game to do that? I can just buy Startup Company or Software Inc. for the same gameplay, except better with ten times more options. This game adds nothing to the formula.

While we’re at it, description on the store page states:
Office Management 101 is an isometric business simulator envisioned in the image of tycoon classics. Poking fun at the corporate world, the game features quirky characters, slapstick humor, and unexpected events in a cheerful and detailed capitalist dystopia.

I still haven’t found quirky characters or slapstick humor. To be fair, my review is based on 60 minutes of playtime. I got bored with the same generic gameplay I’ve seen in every other tycoon game. Maybe the HI-LARIOUS quirkiness shines through 2 hours in. I can’t be arsed to sit through the current gameplay to witness those Oscar worthy moments.

TLDR;

Generic game, nothing new. Go buy Startup Company or Software Inc. or even Game Dev Studio instead. I’ve had this game on my wishlist, so I’m disappointed with what we got.

I’ll keep this on my wishlist to see if this improves (refunding it right now). But for the price, even now it feels expensive despite the discount.

=============================

SCRAPPY JUNKYARD - Curator Group

=============================

SH0OT
SH0OT

So far its a good game for me, except there's one thing (I think its a bug), when I'm trying to assign a new employee, it says that I dont need it at the moment, when I close it, it kept popping up repeatedly. That's annoying, but the concept is fun, you build your own office and assign new employees to help you grow. But hey, it's an early access. Pretty good start from the devs.

EDIT : After 6 hours playing
This game is FUN and CHILL, give nostalgic vibes and old school of tycoon games! Easy to play also! I recommend it!

EDIT PART 2 : 16.4 HOURS OF PLAYING AFTER 2 DAYS OF OWNING THE GAME. What am I doing?

Stevo
Stevo

Great so far. Gives me old Bullfrog Theme Hospital vibes a bit in the way some of the newspapers articles are written and the music^^

I would like to mouse-over description on some things more such as what is wrong with employer or able to select multiple objects when deleting, selling or ...picking-up paper work(not fun).

Over-all, I am enjoying it! Great job!

The King of Pudding
The King of Pudding

i've followed this game for many years and was waiting for the day to finally have it on steam, and the moment i play it from here, i already love it.

i may update this after many more hours into the game, but right now. this is all i will post.

Antares88
Antares88

Many times at my workplace I wondered who underestimated the amount of toilets, and I referred to this person with many nice words every time I could not find a single stall available on 2 floors.

Good news is, I can now be that person and have a say on my employees nr.2! This is exciting! And I can also hire people more incompetent than me to boost my self esteem, yay!

Jokes aside, I waited for this game for long after playing some early builds.
I believe it's really a little gem for fans of tycoon/sim games and it takes me back in time with its visuals and music.

Also, I see a juicy mod support that I want to look into as soon as possible.
Many hours of fun are ahead!

pcguy87
pcguy87

Good graphics and Gameplay! Graphics reminds me of Sims 1 late 90's graphics.
Always could use improvements and updates it's is early access.

PCichigo
PCichigo

Work, Work, Work, It's Work!

Office Management is a game about managing a working company by hiring staff to work and building a suitable place for worker. It came in a good old retro style artwork that bring you back to the time before 2000, it's remind me to one of my old favorite game "Big Biz Tycoon".

Every core mechanics you could expect are there, employee needs, skill leveling, after all, it's work. Now, it is up to the developer to add something unique, something that they can be proud of, and something that we are having fun while playing it like a good old day.

Daunted
Daunted

This was a surprise! I took a little risk in hopes to scratch my itch for a business management game. Oh boy is this this a very fun and charming little game. Impressed with what I have played so far, and expecting only more good things in the future. A pleasant, helpful and communicative Dev on the Discord server. Game-play is fun with room for expressions of creativity with your office. Time for me to tab back into the game, and build my horror office of my dreams/nightmares!

SixFour
SixFour

For EA it is a fun game. Reminds me of Office Space. The Dev is friendly and responsive.

SquashedOrange
SquashedOrange

I don't normally buy early access games, especially ones that have just come out but this has been on my wishlist for years. It ticks a lot of boxes for me and reminds me of Miss Management (if you remember it). So far haven't seen any major bugs but there is a lot of scope to improve and I have sent these (12 in total) suggestions to the developers. Looking forward to seeing where this game goes. I can tell its easy(ish) to understand but hard to master.

vaahtis1
vaahtis1

Not very good game at least yet, i hope it gets better. But for now days go by clicking every second every worker to stop slacking, somehow this feels like a mobile clicker game rather than a desktop game on pc.
Would play more to see if it gets any better but constant micromanaging and clicking is not for me

Integer Man
Integer Man

Good game in its very early stages. It's still growing, but already quite fun.

A number of features are lacking that will help its longevity. Things like training employees and starting projects of your own are somewhat standard and would go a long way.

I also really wish I had a window to look over my various employees to see their active project (and assign them as needed) and maybe their mood / job satisfaction.

A Clever Marketing Ploy
A Clever Marke…

At the early stage of my playthrough, I'm not sure if there will be more automation of certain tasks as time goes (handing in contracts when complete, automatically assigning people to contracts, etc). Entirely possible these things are handled by the 'manager' in the game - at this point, I've played less than an hour and haven't checked that yet. If that automation piece is sorted, that will help things immeasurably.

The core reason I'm writing the review is that on a whim, I submitted a feature request for a very simple (in my mind) change that assists accessibility (map scrolling sensitivity) and the dev team implemented it less than 24 hours later...... I've procrastinated on chores for longer than it takes this developer to go from feature suggestion to shipping live. Very impressive and honestly with the responsiveness shown, I'm surprised this hasn't reached a larger audience. Engaging in a collaborative effort with the community to gain viewpoints on what makes a game "better," and then putting those in play is a key factor in taking a game from yet another indie into a cult hit. I really hope this game reaches that point because they simply deserve it.

Abrams11(Roblox edition)
Abrams11(Roblo…

I've played the game before when it was on Itch.Io. Pretty cool u can simulate amazon working conditions

Zeturtle
Zeturtle

i like this type of pixel tycoon simulation reminds me of those flash games

Max Rockatansky
Max Rockatansky

I like it. Around thirty minutes in I considered refunding because it felt like it pulled me in really quick without knowing what precisely I was supposed to do, but it's fun and interesting to poke around the office and see what I can do differently instead of looking it up on a fully developed wikia page. I do however expect to run out of things to do pretty soon as its early access. I also have yet to turn a very large profit and Grubmeister Inc. is not looking good

Edit: Anyone whos into simulation games will get a kick out of this. It is very well done, visually appealing, light-hearted, and a feel good game that motivates you to go as far as you can. It wasn't my cup of tea in the end as I'm relatively new in simulation games, but this is exactly what it looks like and the dev deserves the support of anyone interested.

TheRealBestMan
TheRealBestMan

I really enjoy this Office Management 101 its fast pace so if you mess something you can start again.
pretty good early access game its worth the price.

Milu
Milu

I feel like I'm back in 1996, I'm a kid again and have discovered an awesome new management sim to play while dreaming of building my own company. It's fantastic fun!

The retro authenticity here is off the charts, but at the same time it's a brilliant little modern indie game with steam workshop support for mods and everything else you'd expect.

It's of course early access though. You can feel this with the not yet that high amount of different job types your underlings can have, maybe not super high amounts of furniture etc. But even with these limitations I'm hooked and the updates are coming fast.

Sarah
Sarah

I struggle a bit with how to manage the employers correctly but i like the game overall : 3.
hope we get more furniture soon.

Its a calming cute game but the price is a bit high tho.

paranoid nendoroid
paranoid nendoroid

Very charming tycoon style game, and actually fairly challenging if you keep pushing for growth. Definitely recommend it and I can't wait to see what else the developers have in store for this game.

kingazuraz
kingazuraz

Cheap pixely graphics. I regret buying this game.

Randy_Lahey
Randy_Lahey

I enjoy the game as it is at this time, however, I feel there could be alot more content. I'd like to see more employee types, and different company products. I think it would be alot more enjoyable if there was some more input on the contracts as well, maybe even be able to get more involved on the agreement of a contract (charge more or less).

At this stage I enjoy it, but i do see room for improvement.

Jayvees
Jayvees

Pretty good and relaxing game to play.

I_love_bob_ross
I_love_bob_ross

Pretty fun few hours, I would get it on sale for sure as 20 is a bit steep for what is available rn, but there is a lot of promise and I look forward to seeing the next updates and what mods people come up with for this game!

taimatCompany
taimatCompany

Oh God I love this fucking game. Paperwork is so awesome. I wish I had this much paperwork at my real job. Please never stop developing this. You are a solo developer who built this from nothing but passion. Do you know what that makes you? A big damn hero.

N[i]Ms
N[i]Ms

Lots of potential to improve and you can tell it's a very early access game The game it was very addicting but very short game play. Needs more mechanics to the game and more challenging goals when it comes with spending star points. Otherwise, I did enjoy it and can't wait for more upcoming updates!

Reborn Muse
Reborn Muse

I bought this game the moment it came out. I was really excited to play but, after the tutorial ended I have to say I was disappointed. I'm really trying to give it a shot but in it's current condition I wouldn't recommend it.

Pros:
* The art: This is what drew me to this game to begin with. This art is pleasing to look at and the foundation is there to do some pretty wacky stuff
* Workshop: The devs were smart to add a workshop, their game can have so much added to it from their community. I think in the future, when this game takes off. The workshop will be the bread and butter.
* Good music: I think some would argue with me on this, but I like elevator music. And this game is full of it. With the dystopian capitalism vibes it's all too fitting to have elevator music throughout your stay.
* Funny news letters: The game released has about 10-15 news letters that rotate as time goes on. But they are amusing to read and really set the tone for corporate slavery in their universe. Then the occasional good vibes sent your way.

Cons:
* Mass deleting objects: This doesn't exist... or I haven't come across it yet. Either way the way to delete objects is painful. When you finish enough jobs you can unlock better quality furniture. At the moment you have to delete things one by one if you want to replace it. It can get frustrating. FAST.
* The garbage: Oh god the never-ending piles of litter on the floor. They will never be truly gone. At the moment there is a bug that the janitors just don't detect trash/ if they clean it it doesn't register and it will be on the ground forever. This pile of trash, be it a pizza box , a soda can, ect. Can stop you from placing furniture or walls down. I hope they add a mechanic to displace the trash. But my god one soda can is just the be all end all if you want to maintain a clean and tidy establishment.
* The garbage pt 2: If you leave garbage long enough people will get angry with you and not want to work. They outright refuse to even look at the computers. What makes it worse is when your janitors don't want to clean because it's too dirty. H E L P
* It's not as quirky as I believed: This is on the consumers fault here. When buying the game I expected quirky interactions between the co-workers. For example, the pizza box in the center of the room. What about a summoning circle around it to summon a pizza demon. And this pizza demon forever holds pizza parties? I suppose I was expecting something over the top. But truly there is nothing zany going on other than the "x likes y, ROFL" reports you get at the end of the week and the news letters.

All and all the game is OKAY. I wouldn't say it's memorable or interesting in it's current state. Honestly I probably won't touch this game for another year or some big update comes out. I do think these devs have a lot of potential and they seem pretty chill. I wish them luck in the future and hope there will be more to see and explore soon.

Paladin
Paladin

Cool concept for a management sim. Obviously still in the early stages but I've found no bugs and there is plenty to do. Lots of room for growth and the developer is great at listening to feedback. Looking forward to watching this game grow and get a few balancing tweaks :) Worth your money if you like management sims!

Lord Strong
Lord Strong

I like this game. Seems it will bring me hours of enjoyment. Managing an office and seeing it grow feels rewarding. it seems it will be getting some TLC from the developer. Just needs more content then it will be a gem. a few more scenarios and maybe more furniture etc.