Getting started: your first winter
What to build first, what it costs to run, and how a game day works.
You start with an empty mountain and a budget (1,000,000 € on easy, 500,000 € on standard, 200,000 € on hard). Everything you build costs money up front and money every day, so the first winter is about building only what pays for itself.
What brings skiers
Slopes. Every open slope attracts skiers: about 30 a day plus one more per 40 m of length, so a 1,000 m run draws around 55. A worn slope draws fewer (down to 60% at 0% condition), and the whole region only has room for about 3,000 skiers a day before extra demand flattens out.
Lifts. Skiers need lifts to reach the slopes. Without any lift you only get about 100 walk-up skiers a day; with lifts, your daily ceiling is what they can carry (see the lifts guide).
A sensible first build
- One or two slopes of moderate length near the base.
- A lift that serves them. A fixed chair carries up to 2,400 skiers an hour.
- Ticket prices close to the reference prices (a full day around 55 €).
- A restaurant: about 70% of your skiers use one.
- A groomer and someone to drive it, so your slopes don't wear out.
How a game day works
Every night the game runs a "tick" for every resort: it counts the day's skiers from your open slopes, prices, weather and lift capacity, collects ticket and building income, pays salaries and running costs, wears down slopes, lifts and machines, and runs the night grooming shift. The next morning your dashboard shows what happened. Small, steady improvements matter more than big gambles.