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#1
Idle Nightclub Tycoon
iOSAndroid Iteration One · Free, ads and optional in-app purchases
The closest match today: run and upgrade nightclubs.
Iteration One’s idle tycoon puts you in charge of the club. Its Google Play listing has you “upgrade your DJ booth, sound systems, and VIP lounges to keep the dance floor packed,” “run and upgrade multiple clubs, from tiny bars to an epic mega-discotheque,” and “attract famous VIPs and celebrities to your club.” You can automate a club so it earns while you are away.
It is the nearest current game to Nightclub City’s idea, and it is actively updated: both store listings were updated in the past month. Google Play lists more than 5 million downloads.
Best forNightclub City players who want to run a club again, with DJs, VIPs and celebrities.
Weak spotFree with ads and in-app purchases; Google Play labels some purchases as including random items. Removing ads costs $19.99 on the App Store.
Verdict: The first game to try.
Available on iOS and Android.
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#2
Nightclub Story
Android TeamLava · Free, ads and optional in-app purchases
The closest design: build a club, mix drinks and visit friends.
TeamLava’s Nightclub Story is the closest in design to the Facebook original. Its listing has you “design and build a nightclub with special lighting effects and hip decorations,” “mix drinks on a variety of customizable bars” and “visit your friends and dance at their clubs.”
If decorating the club and visiting friends were your favourite parts of Nightclub City, this is the one that still has them. Google Play lists more than 5 million downloads.
Best forPlayers who want to decorate a club and visit friends’ clubs, the way Nightclub City worked.
Weak spotAndroid only, and its Google Play listing was last updated in January 2016. Its Google Play rating is 3.8.
Verdict: The closest design, if you are on Android.
Available on Android.
#3
Idle Distiller Tycoon
Our gameiOSAndroidMac Kano Games · Free, optional in-app purchases
Our game: a drinks business with a comic-strip story and weekly events.
Our game. Instead of the club, you own the drinks it serves. You start with one small still, brew and sell your first batches, and reinvest in new production lines: beer first, then spirits and, later, wine. Customer milestones raise each line’s income, and once a line is automated (a named character at a set level, plus cash) it keeps earning while the app is closed.
Two things connect it to Nightclub City. A comic-strip story about a corrupt mayor runs across the seasons, and Main and Mini events run every week, each with a global leaderboard and a friends leaderboard. Free on iPhone and Android.
Best forNightclub City players who liked the drinks and the business side, and want a story and friends to compete with.
Weak spotYou run a brewery and distillery, not a club: there is no dance floor or DJ booth, and customers and cash reset at the end of each season (cards and bottle caps carry over). Rated Teen on Google Play for alcohol references.
Verdict: The pick for the drinks business, with a story.
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#4
Idle Brewery: Beer Tycoon
iOSAndroid Tiny Gigantic Games · Free, optional in-app purchases
Run a brewery and choose how to sell the beer.
Tiny Gigantic Games’ brewery tycoon has you “experiment with 3 strategies: Taprooms, Wholesale, and Merchandise,” “brew with different tanks each with a unique specialty” and “invest profits back into research, marketing and sales.”
The taproom option is the link to Nightclub City: you decide how the drinks reach customers, not only how they are made.
Best forPlayers who want a brewery business with choices about where the beer is sold.
Weak spotFree with ads and in-app purchases. Rated Teen on Google Play and 18+ on the App Store for alcohol references.
Verdict: The brewery strategy pick. Our
idle brewery game page compares more brewery games.
Available on iOS and Android.
