$19.99Tower Networking Inc. Cables, Chaos and Co-Op
Patch a growing tower's network back together, keep the clients online and the board calm, and call in a friend when the floors outgrow one sysadmin.
Is Tower Networking Inc. worth it?
Tower Networking Inc. is worth it if…
- you like tycoon games where the business is something specific and hands-on, not just numbers going up
- you enjoy troubleshooting and the slow satisfaction of a network that finally works
- you want runs that end, so every new tower plays out differently
- you have friends who would enjoy arguing about cable routing with you
- you liked the terminal in games like Hacknet and wished there was more plumbing to manage
Screenshots
Cables, switches and spaghetti
Every client in the tower needs a physical connection, and you are the one who makes it. You patch network cables of different types and lengths into switches, routers and data risers, floor by floor, and the tower keeps adding new residences and offices with new needs. Order the wrong cable length and it goes on the pile anyway. There is a trolley for hauling equipment, and the physics of dragging gear around is part of the charm: it is equal parts fiddly and funny. The core loop of wiring people up and watching the network grow is genuinely hard to put down.
The terminal is your best friend
A command line interface runs the whole operation. You trace connectivity between machines, scan for devices, install server applications and hunt down faults, all typed into the console. The command set is well designed and grows as a run continues, so it starts simple and gets more capable as your network does. Clients want web forums, social media, streaming, digital banking and web hosting to actually work, which means hosting the right applications on the right servers. When something breaks, you will find yourself staring at the terminal wondering why, and then figuring it out. That is the whole appeal.
Budgets, boards and staying profitable
This is a business, and the business side bites. You work on a limited budget, investing in equipment and managing daily operating costs while the tower demands more capacity. The board of directors has one rule: never go over budget, or you are out of a job. Some clients hold service level agreements, so their connection and services have to stay up, and a single formal complaint ends the run. Every purchase, every upgrade and every corner cut is a bet on whether the tower keeps paying. Profit is the score, and the tower is always hungry.
Bring a friend, you will need the hands
Co-op lets several of you run the ISP together, on a harder difficulty setting to match the extra help. One person can be up a ladder of floors patching cables while another sits at the terminal troubleshooting, and when a power surge and a cyberattack land on the same day, having someone to shout "check the router" at is worth a lot. It is the same game, just with more chaos and more people to blame when the DNS goes down. Sessions are easy to join and built around working the same network as a team.
Questions before you start?
Can you play it solo?
Yes. There is a single-player mode tailored for one operator, and plenty of people run the tower alone. Co-op is there when you want it, with a harder difficulty to balance the extra hands, but nothing in the game requires a second person. Solo is the default way to play.
Do you need to know real networking to play?
No, but it helps. The game simplifies real networking, and the tutorial plus a well-designed command language teach the fundamentals as you go. People without any background have picked it up and learned from it, though the early hours can be rough while things click. If you already work in IT, expect to re-learn the game's own simplified logic rather than copy your job.
What happens when a run goes wrong?
It ends, and you start a new tower. A client complaint, a blown budget or an SLA you failed to keep will finish you, and the tower's random floors plus the disasters that hit your network mean no two runs look alike. Losing is built in: the game is about throwing yourself at a fresh set of problems each time, not perfecting one eternal network. There are also relaxed options without time pressure if you would rather work through problems at your own pace.
What kind of disasters can hit the network?
Power outages and cyberattacks, among others, and disaster recovery is your job. When the lights go out or something malicious spreads through your equipment, you have to get clients back online before their service agreements and patience run out. Some days stack problems on top of each other, which is exactly when the game is at its most tense and its funniest in hindsight.
