TCG Card Shop Simulator is stupid but I can’t stop playing the Pokémon mod

Conceptually, I hate games that revolve around the idea of “numbers go up.” Sure, your level and damage output go up in an RPG, but the story is what ties you to the experience. Grinding gear by repeating endgame raids or, heaven forbid, getting stuck into Cookie Clicker? This sounds like hell to me. And yet, here I am, thinking about TCG Card Shop Simulator. TCG Card Shop Simulator is the definition of “numbers go up.” You buy merchandise, sell it for a slight markup, and use that money to gain access to new ways to make money, further increasing the rate at which your number goes up. There’s some nuance with market value fluctuations, but the basic premise remains intact from start to finish. Do a capitalism in order to do capitalism bigger, better, faster. There was no way I was going to buy this game, I’m not a mark. But then I saw streamers playing with Pokémod by REDH3XO . TCG Card Shop Simulator was launched on September 15, but had its peak player count (so far) on October 6, a few days after the lau