Mall Rivals store planner

Use this planner before you walk to a for-sale sign. It will not click buy for you. It will stop the classic wipe: Sports + Sports in FFA, or a $11,000 second unit with zero cashiers. Pair it with the tier list and store types. After you sign, the expansion guide is the physical how-to.

Step 1 — Name the lobby

Write down the game mode:

• Mall Buyout — types and cash both matter. Plan three licenses if time allows, not eight.
• Cash target — one or two high-velocity shops. Skip vanity.
• Short match — one shop. Stop planning.
• Co-op — assign types per person so you do not share a tag war.
• FFA — never mirror the rival’s license unless you are picking a fight.

If AI fill is on, treat NPC shops as occupied licenses. You cannot “take Sports because nobody picked it” if an AI already did.

Step 2 — First lease filter

Your first type should pass all four:

1. You can explain the SKUs in one sentence.
2. Remaining cash after the lease still buys opening stock. Starting money varies ($15k–$30k+); read the HUD, not this sentence.
3. A cashier exists in your plan, even if that cashier is you for day one. Employees.
4. Storage size on the buy panel is not a joke. Tiny storage means constant wholesale walks — only fine if you took Mobility perks.

Default first picks: Sports, Fashion, Electronics. Pharmacy is a strong 1.0 first if you can handle the ladder and the serious restock.

Step 3 — Second license rule

The second type should do one of these jobs:

• Cover a hole the tier panel is nagging you about.
• Share a wholesale trip with shop one (Hardware + Home Goods, Fashion + Beauty).
• Avoid your own tag (do not open a second Sports in FFA).

It should not exist to “have more keys.” Adjacent floor expansion is cheaper than a bad second license if your only problem is space.

Step 4 — Wage spreadsheet (ugly but real)

For each planned shop write:

• Hiring fees (early examples: $500, later $2,500).
• Daily wages (early ~$120, later higher).
• Number of roles: cashier required, stocker if you leave, cleaner if food/butcher/beauty.

If the sum of wages is a third of your daily profit on shop one, you are not ready. 1.0 managers exist so shop two can live. They are not free. Training time is closed-hours work.

Step 5 — Crime surface area

Every extra door is another lock to pick — yours or theirs. Electronics, liquor, and pharmacy storage are tasty. If your lobby is FFA, budget a bat, a bodyguard, or a decision to stay poor and hidden. Crime.

Example malls (templates, not commandments)

Solo buyout: Sports → Pharmacy → Hardware. Commerce/Labor perks. No casino until the till is boring.

Duo co-op: Player A Fashion + Beauty. Player B Sports + Electronics. Shared cleaner. One Social voter for the board.

FFA gremlin: One Electronics for fences, Mobility/Crime perks, no second shop until you can survive police. This is a specialist run, not a beginner plan.

Short match: One Sports. You. A cashier if you get lucky on the benches. Done.

After you plan, execute in order

1. Lease.
2. Haul starter boxes inside. Getting started.
3. Price at market. Price helper.
4. Hire and assign.
5. Only then decorate or Workshop.

If a patch adds a type, insert it in step 3 as a diversity option, not as a reason to delete Sports. The planner is a habit, not a screenshot of August 2026 forever.

Host a sticky note if you run the lobby: name the mode, name the first lease, name the wage cap. Friends skip the wage line and then ping you when both tills are empty. After this list, read the Mall Buyout guide so the plan actually points at a finish line.