Builder Simulator – Tips and Tricks

I, like many of you, just recently started playing and am really enjoying this game!

What are some building tips and tricks you’ve picked up since playing? Things that may not be too obvious initially but will make it faster to build smarter.

Gameplay Tips and Tricks

A few I’ve discovered:

Tutorial

1. Press “Q” if you feel stuck – the tutorial prevents you from doing any task but the next one, so if it looks like you should be able to do something but can’t, check the “Q” menu to see if it’s expecting you to do something else first. For example, when building the foundation, you have to buy all materials before you’re allowed to place any despite the holograms showing up when you select the forms if you haven’t bought the reinforcement yet.

Foundations

1. When you’re carrying the wheelbarrow and the left mouse button is clicked, you’re pouring material out. If your target isn’t where it should be, you’re wasting material.
2. You don’t need to leave the cement mixer on with cement/mortar in it. Once it’s finished mixing, it doesn’t harden inside of the mixer (as least that I’ve seen so far), so you can shut it off immediately after it hits 100% even though you’ll get 2.5 wheelbarrows full of material.

Walls

1. If you’re like me and used geometry to calculate the amount of concrete/mortar being created vs. the size of the wheelbarrow, you’re probably wasting a lot of material. Each notch you turn the wheel fills the wheelbarrow 50% which you may not notice depending on how you position the barrow.
2. Once you level up your foundation wall ability, you should only apply mortar to every other block. When you place the hollow blocks, you place 2 at a time and automagically add mortar to the second.
3. On Contract #4, you’re not finding where to apply the mortar because you’re supposed to build a second story. Starting with the ceiling made me wonder if the contract was bugged and already added the walls, but eventually tried putting up a scaffolding and discovered all the holograms on top of the ceiling I’d just placed.

Getting High

1. The work platforms don’t actually cost you money to place. You also don’t get any money when selling them. Apply liberally!
2. Jump building can be faster than placing a work platform or scaffolding, but it depends on what you’re doing and your mouse skills.
3. Applying mortar is typically faster with a work platform. If you have 1 last bit to do, jumping is generally faster than moving a platform – the best way to do it is to get up against the wall, look down and jump so you maximize your click time when trying to apply the mortar.
4. Brick placing is generally faster jumping than moving a work platform around for me. The bricks are large and you have a larger opportunity to click the mouse in your jump to place them than you do with the thin strip of mortar.

Doors and Windows

1. Assembly line type setup is much faster than completing each individually. First get a count, buy everything, then place all the windows and doors. Following that, switch to the drill and take care of all the screws. Next, take care of the windows’ wedges and interior windowsills (both done with the hand), then exit the building and add the wedges to the doors and take care of the windows’ exterior windowsills. It’ll knock several minutes off of your building process!

Roofs

1. Your reach is EXTREMELY far when working on roofs as opposed to other areas. You can typically place everything you can see on screen without having to move and generally don’t need scaffolding. That may not be true of two story buildings – I’m in the process of building my first and haven’t gotten to the second floor yet.

Contracts

1. Your budget doesn’t carry over – it’s a set amount for working on that contract and doesn’t seem to influence any other contract.