The Fence: Pawn Shop Tycoon

You run a pawn shop. People come to your counter with things they want to turn into money, and a story about where those things came from. Some of the stories are true. The best margins are on the items you should not have taken.

A career runs four years, one day at a time. Each day somebody puts an object on your counter. You get a look at it, a look at them, and a price to argue over. Buy it or pass, put it in the window or the back room, and find out on the day a police officer walks in with a property list.

A clean shop makes a living. A dirty shop makes money right up until the morning somebody arrives with a list and starts reading it out. The tools tell you what a thing is worth. Nothing tells you where it has been except the person holding it, and they came here to be believed.

What's in it

• Four years running a shop where half the stock has a history
• Appraise by eye first, then with tools you buy: a loupe, a scale, a serial lookup, a shelf of specialist books
• Every seller is a person with a story, and nervous is not the same as lying
• Haggle hard: a lowball usually lands, but sellers remember
• Hot goods are cheap, profitable, and traceable
• Police arrive with a list, and what is on your shelves is on you
• A back room and out-of-town runners for stock you would rather not display
• English and Spanish
• Plays offline. No account, no sign-in.

The itch.io version

• No ads. No in-app purchases. The full game, once.
• Mouse and keyboard. Esc goes back.
• A portrait window (540x960) that you can resize.

Credits

Pixel art by LimeZu (limezu.itch.io). UI by Kenney. Made with Godot.