Ticarium: Business Tycoon

What happens the second you open it

The app loads to a busy main screen showing your current company status, a list of available actions, and a prominent "CEO Competition" banner. No tutorial pops up. No introductory walkthrough explains the production chains, the logistics network, or the restaurant system. You are dropped directly into a live economy where other players are already trading, producing, and competing. The interface is dense — buttons for shops, production, mines, land, logistics, and restaurants fill the screen. The currency counter shows your virtual money, and a small notification icon hints at unread messages. The game does not ask for any permissions at startup. It does not request location, storage, or contacts. It simply assumes you know what to do. The first few minutes are overwhelming: you are presented with multiple options but no clear direction. The "Side Jobs" tab offers simple tasks that earn small amounts of currency, but the main progression — building a production chain from raw materials to finished goods — is not explained. A user review on Google Play noted: "At first it was difficult to understand how the game works" . The game's chat feature is mostly dead, as one App Store reviewer observed: "A mostly dead chat begging for someone to buy an egg" . The social features feel like an afterthought, yet the game encourages gift-giving and friendship-building. The CEO Competition leaderboard is prominently displayed, showing the top players and their wealth. This is where the game's true nature begins to reveal itself.

When the CEO Competition meets the in-app purchase system — a pay-to-win dynamic

The CEO Competition is a leaderboard that ranks players by their total company value. The top players are displayed prominently, and the game encourages you to climb the ranks. However, the leaderboard is heavily influenced by in-app purchases. Players who spend real money on premium items, production boosts, and currency packs gain a significant advantage over free players. The in-app purchases range from $0.99 to $99.99 per item , with some items costing as much as ₺3,699.99 in Turkey . A Foxdata report describes the game as "tam bir p2w oyun" — completely a pay-to-win game . The game's economy is designed to encourage spending: production chains require significant investment, and the time gates for production and logistics can be bypassed with premium currency. Free players can grind through side jobs and daily rewards, but the progress is slow. The daily rewards system, as noted in the changelog, offers incremental bonuses, but they are not enough to compete with paying players . The leaderboard becomes a showcase for spenders, not a measure of strategic skill. This creates a frustrating experience for free players who want to compete on equal footing. One reviewer noted: "this game is great! just don't spend any money on it" , suggesting that while the game is enjoyable, the monetization model undermines the competitive integrity. The game's description on Google Play emphasizes strategic decision-making and becoming the "most successful CEO," but it does not mention the pay-to-win mechanics that dominate the leaderboard. The interaction between the CEO Competition and the in-app purchase system is the core tension in Ticarium: the game presents itself as a strategy simulation, but it functions as a spending competition.

Real-world performance — bugs, crashes, and the loading screen problem

The game's performance is a major point of contention. Multiple reviews report frequent bugs, crashes, and freezing issues. One App Store reviewer stated: "This game is full of bugs and rarely runs properly. About half the time, the app won't even open" . Another user reported: "I can't load past 30% anymore rip it's been fun" , indicating a persistent loading screen issue that prevents access to the game. A Chrome-Stats review notes: "Common issues reported include bugs like freezing and crashes, unresponsive customer support, and certain confusing mechanics" . The game's stability appears to degrade with each major update, as one user observed: "With each major update, the experience has gotten noticeably worse" . The app's size is around 78.8 MB for version 2.16.0 and 180.23 MB for the iOS version , which is reasonable for a simulation game. However, the technical issues overshadow the gameplay. The game does not have a robust error handling system; when a crash occurs, the app simply closes without warning. The loading screen problem is particularly frustrating because it prevents users from even accessing the game. Some users have resorted to downloading older versions of the APK to bypass the issues . The developer, Yuyuto Games, has released multiple updates with "bug fixes" in the changelog , but the problems persist. The game's support team is reportedly unresponsive, according to user complaints . The combination of technical instability and poor support creates a negative user experience that undermines the game's potential.

The permission that reveals the game's true nature

The app requests only the internet permission. It does not request location, storage, or camera access. The internet permission is used for multiplayer functionality, leaderboard updates, and in-app purchases. The app's data safety section on Google Play states that no data is shared with third parties, and data is encrypted in transit . Users can request deletion of their data. This is a positive privacy policy. However, the app's reliance on internet connectivity means that it is not playable offline. The multiplayer aspect is central to the game's design, but the chat feature is mostly dead, and the social features feel underdeveloped. The game's Turkish developer, Yuyuto Games Teknoloji Anonim Sirketi, is based in Istanbul . The app is available in over 30 countries , but the English translations are reportedly poor . The game's privacy policy is not explicitly linked in the Play Store listing, but the data safety section provides some assurance. The app's lack of permissions is a double-edged sword: it is good for privacy, but it limits the app's functionality. The app cannot access the device's storage to save offline progress or cache game data. The game's economy is entirely server-side, which means that progress is not saved locally. This is typical for multiplayer games, but it also means that if the servers go down or the app crashes, progress may be lost. The app's design choices suggest that it is a server-dependent multiplayer game with a focus on in-app purchases. The pay-to-win mechanics, the leaderboard, and the social features all point to a game designed to generate revenue through microtransactions. The internet permission is the gateway to this monetization model, and the game's technical instability is a byproduct of its server-dependent architecture.