~B
Board Game Top Shop Complete Strategy
Tyler Wright
Mercenary@Greatestgamers.com
2001
c. Copyright, 2001, Tyler Wright. All rights reserved.
If I find this document duplicated without my permission, I will sue.
Contents
I. Introduction
II. Characters
III. Shops
IV. Gameplay/Directions/Strategies
V. Secrets
VI. My Thoughts
VII. Credits
I. Introduction
Board Game Top Shop has to be one of my favorite games, and I wanted to share
some of the game's basics with all of you. Board Game Top Shop is a game
where you control very strange characters against each other to reach a
certain amount of money by making business, and when reaching the amount
needed to win, it ends. It sounds easy, but truely, it can be a challenge. At
the same time your opponents give you money, buying things from your shops,
so are you, so watch out. The game plays similar to Monopoly, or Dice De
Chocobo, and has many memorable characters.
II. Characters
There are a total of 11 characters you can start out with, and 3 secret
characters. I will first state the information on each character found
directly from the manual, then my view of them, or, a more specific
description.
Manual
1. Meower
Gender- Male
Personality- Friendly
2. Gummi
Gender- Male
Personality- Cool-looking amphibian
3. Maiko
Gender- Female
Personality- Modern Teenager
4. Merlin
Gender- Male
Personality- Portrays himself as a migician
5. Rob
Gender- Male
Personality- Reckless
6. Ryoko
Gender- Female
Personality- Pleasent and energetic
7. Bro
Gender- Male
Personality- Mature Surfer dude
8. Oilow
Gender- Unknown
Personality- Gentle and shy
9. Dona
Gender- Unknown
Personality- Unusual and peculiar
10. Cindy
Gender- Female
Personality- A modern younglady
11. Chat
Gender- Unknown
Personality- Talkative and lively
(The three secret characters Santa, Squosh, and Colin aren't in the manual.)
Me
1. Meower
Meower is a cat that is the complete opposite of friendly, in my opinion. He
is rude, and you play as him throughout the story mode. He is greedy, and
loves money. Makes a striking resemblence to Nicollo from Legend of Mana.
2. Gummi
Gummi looks like a little boy (More like a girl) in a frog suit, but is
really a frog himself, or so I am told. He is the "Frog" Prince, and wants to
make the king, his "father" proud. He wears a crown, and ribbits. That's
about it...
3. Maiko
Maiko is a tennage girl, that loves cute things. She is just a standard
sophmore, and wears a flower in her hair, and hates rudeness, thus explaining
why she challenged Meower.
4. Merlin
Merlin is a little boy that has a runny nose constantly, and thinks of
himself as a magician. He wears a cape, and gets insulted easily. His hat has
a little squirrel face on it, that moves its mouth in a mimicking manner
while Merlin speaks. I estimate he is 3 years old.
5. Rob
Rob is a boy with a beanie, headphones, and a skateboard. He goes nowhere
without his skateboard. Not much is known about him because he and Cindy are
the two default characters that are not a role in story mode, but rather just
competitors on each level.
6. Ryoko/Patty
I am assuming her real name is Patty, because in the game her name is Patty,
in the manual its Ryoko, or vice-versa. That, or it was a mistake, intending
her name to be Patty, but forgot to scratch the name out in the manual.
Anyways, Ryoko is a blue-haired average girl that looks to be a movie star,
and is very energetic and childish. I wouldn't be surprised if you see her
squirting pedestrians with a squirt gun, or ding-dong -ditching.
7. Bro
Bro is supposed to be a surfer with a beard, lowered eyes, a medallion, and
into throwing his fist around. My first impression was him being a Kung-Fu
man, or a disco dancer, but what the manual and game says, goes. A rather
dull character, I don't like Bro much. He is even shown always doing karate
chops. His part of the story is confusing, and I don't understand one bit of
it.
8. Oilow
My favorite character along with Colin, the little alien Oilow. He is a
small, flabby, black-eyed "jellybean" carrying an umbrella, and wearing a
bow-tie. He is a bit shy, and speaks little, and if so, he speaks properly,
and doesn't make a fool of himself. He has a little white ghost doll dangling
off his umbrella that mimicks his speaking, in a manner resembling Merlin's
hat. He works for his boss, along with others just like him, in a futuristic
shopping mall.
9. Dona
Dona is a little cactus in a pot-on-wheels. A flower blossoming on his/her
head, and he/she can roll quite fast. "It" seems to be annoying, and bears a
weird name. That is all I know about Dona.
10. Cindy
A female with brown hair, Cindy is one of the two default characters, along
with Rob, that has no real story behind her, because she is not encountered
in story mode, but rather as an appearence in stages, like Rob. She loves her
hair and beauty, and makes that seem to be her life. She is quite pretty, and
enjoys showing it off. She has been known to be a challenging character, so
do not underestimate her.
11. Chat
Chat is a TV with small legs, and loves to chat, thus explaining why he is
named "Chat". He is a salesman, and is an annoyence when it comes to
speaking. Why doesn't somebody change the channel?
12. Santa
A robot that has steam coming out from pipes located on his back, and red,
glowing eyes, Santa is the only character in the game that looks threatening.
And, for that matter, the only robot, if you don't consider Chat a robot.
Santa is one of three secret characters, and, to obtain him, refer to the
"Secrets" section of this document.When playing as Santa in 1 Player mode,
all characters get a little tougher.
13. Squosh
Squosh appears to be a green rock that lives in the sea. She says she was
ridded from her lake, and forced to live in the sea, and wishes to go back to
freshwater life. She wears a bow on her head, and has a smaller companion,
identical to her, that does the same as Merlin's hat, and Oilow's doll. She
is another secret character. When playing as Squosh in 1 Player mode, all
characters get a little tougher.
14. Colin
One of my favorite characters, Colin is a snowman with a small smile, a coned
hat, and a fishing pole, or a candy cane sticking out of his back! Play as
him for a challenge, because he is hard mode, and I call that an
understatement. When playing as him in 1 Player mode, all the characters are
tougher than usual, and can murdalize you easily, unless you have much
experience. Colin is a secret character.
III. Shops
This is a list of all the shops you are able to open in Top Shop, there are
44...
Candy Store
Bakery
Burger Shop
Johnston Books
Cookin' Fun
Flower Heart
Meat Land
Corner Deli Cafe
Comic Boy
Bobsons
Pancake House
Pharmacy
Kiss
Camera Shop
Gameland
Office Needs
George Video
Tokyo Resturaunt
Curry India
Fruits Market
Men's Clothes
Noodle House
Fish Market
Star Coffee
Sports Shop
Saving Groceries
Juice Pub
Italian
Aesthetics Julia
Arcade Games
Fun Toys
Home Needs
Fishing Gear
Electrical Goods
BBQ House
Fancy Dress
Auto Parts
KID
Animal World
Yamato
Tour Tours
Movie Theater
Golden Jewelry
Fresh Estate
VI. Gameplay/Directions/Strategies
At the start you are to pick the amount of money one needs to acheive victory
before everyone else, unless in story mode, it is give to you.
The Basic directions are to reach that goal first.
When it is your turn, you have 5 options...
1. Picture of Hand and Pencil- This is the Di. You roll it to see how many
steps you advance, or if you must pull a card.
2. Picture of a Line Graph- This shows the statistics of assets in the past
year for each player.
3. Picture of Text, "Map"- This allows you to look around the stage with the
directional buttons ahead of time, to see where players are located, or where
you are about to land.
4. Picture of PSX controller- This changes the general settings.
5. Picture of Magnifying glass- This shows you the statistics of players such
as their stores, and items for sale.
When you begin, you roll the di, and land on a lot. If this lot is open, you
may purchase it, and open a store. The store prices vary.
If you land on a person's store, you are forced to choose an item to buy from
the store. It is a good Idea to buy the cheapest item available.
If you land on your store, you are givin the option to ship an item to other
stores out of stock, or unfilled. The more money opponents must spend on an
item, the more you pay to ship it, yet it is cheaper than the opponents'
money spent, because otherwise you will lose money.
If you land on an elevator, you may use it, but the floor you landon is
random, you may land on the same floor.
If you land on the bank, you get bonus money, and options to exchange for
points later explained. If you land on it, but have other steps to take
after, you will gain your standard amount, and given different options in
exchange for points you previously received. You gain points when buying
items. The more the points, the better the options. It is possible to have a
quick voctory if you gain 99 points, and use the option to claim victory.
If your di lands on an "E", that means to pull a card. You have three cards
placed upside-down, and you are to choose one of them. Some cards may be
good, some bad. Just to name a few...
Gives you money
Makes every step go "Chirp-Chirp"
Allows you to sell a store for 2-3 times as much as bought
Have everyone take 100-300 dollars away from you
Have elevators closed 1 turn
Have shops closed 2 turns
Have all stores except Cindy's open
Have 50% discount on all stores
Lose a store
Have everyone have the same amount of money as you
Flip another card
Miss
Go up 7 steps
Open a store
There are many more, but those are the most common.
You may also run if you wish to move quicker. Just hold R1 while your
character moves.
Also, if you land on an open lot next to one of your stores, you will be
asked if you wish to use that lot as a continuation of the store next to it.
It is highly recommended you increase the sizes of your stores, because the
bigger, the more items you have each lot, and the more of a chance an
opponent will land on it. It may be pricey, but it turns out to be worth it.
Try opening as many stores as you can, but try not to go too overboard, you
can go bankrupt, and be forced to sell one of your stores.
Also, in some cases, you or an opponent will randomly have a refund when
buying items, most commonly meats, and this will increase the buyer's money a
bit, and decrease the seller's money a bit.
If you wish to be able to have the option next turn to switch any direction
you please, you can try risking the elevator. If it manages to keep you on
the same floor, you can move any direction. If it takes you to another floor,
you may do the same, but you might not enjoy being on that floor to begin
with.
V. Secrets
I have found a few secrets that most would think of as important...
1. To play as Squosh and Santa, beat story mode once.
2. To play as Colin, beat story mode a second time.
I have tried to get another secret third time, but have found nothing new...
VI. My Thoughts
The game was great, but there are a few things I would add/change...
1. I would add some more secrets, such as different modes.
2. I would take out alot of the glitches in the game.
3. I would add more levels, and more... stuff...
4. I would have a closing movie cinema.
Favorites (A list of my favorites)
Character(s)-
Oilow and Colin
Stage(s)-
Oilow's stage and Patty's
Least Favorites-
Character(s)-
Bro, Dona and Squosh
Stage(s)-
Squosh's and Santa's
VII. Credits
I Give thanks to my bro for help in the game, me, for writing the FAQ, and A1
games for creating this great game!
