Little Big Workshop

nifty game

I really wanted to like this game. It seemed like a great concept with a fun art style. Unfortunately the game is bogged down by horrible AI. You cannot directly assign workers to jobs, and even though I have 4 of the same workstations, and 20 workers, 19 of the workers are just standing around or hanging out in breakrooms while you watch your deadline tick away and your account drain while 1 worker makes 2 parts and has to take a break himself. It feels like it takes longer for tired workers to recharge than it does for them to get tired from working. Most of the time half of your potential profit is eaten away by time while making the products, so while the game may tell you that making 12 of this will give you 10k profit, it doesn't take into account the cost of running the factory while making the products, and only take into account the cost of making the product itself. Adding to the problems of running a factory, you always need to be expanding and moving workstations. This is also hampered by AI taking their sweet time to do literally anything, all the while during your remodel, your bank account is draining away, so while you think this remodel will cost you X amount of money, the time it takes to move everything and build, will cost way more than you expect. While some people may enjoy this uphill battle style of challenge, I was hoping for more of a chill management game, but instead I got a management game that goes out of its way to be difficult and frustrating for issues that should have been balanced better, but instead feels like the developers said "meh, good enough" and moved on. Sad thing is this game would be a banger with a tweak to AI and remodeling through mods.

Got the game with a big discount, I did not expected much.
The game scratch that itch for something similar to Anno and Satisfactory, without being close to either of them. Perhaps I never played many other management sims like it, but I felt surprised by it in a positive way.
My only gripe is with how much experience is required after level 12~14 onward: you want the perk points to unlock new stuff, but you may be stuck making 50 maxed clients orders before you level up, making it a very long time, which is less about skill/scaling up and more about waiting.
Regardless, recommended.

Really cool and a lot of fun, but SERIOUS performance issues after I build new halls in a newly purchased area (crashes all the time now). This really kills the end game and the excitement of building large production halls in order to have ideal halls for every product.

Fun game. Small, but cute and fun to plan. A real challenge at the end.

Absolutely addicted to this game. So much fun and not so complicated that you need to be an engineer to play.

seems like a tapping a waiting game but on pc and missing the key ingredient that is speeding up with money. first impressions rather poor but will update if i try again and not hate it.

great game

The feeling of showing Nemesis who's boss...

Fun for a little while, but it becomes apparent that the game hasn't been balanced, or likely thoroughly tested.

1. I had all techs unlocked, all workers busy making top-tier, and I was still hemorrhaging money. This is to say nothing of the difficulty spikes when ramping up your factory. Reminds me of the insane and unbalanced difficulty of Cities in Motion.
2. Bad performance issues; game ran at 100% CPU at all time, and the lag got so bad when I expanded the factory to only half the empty lots.
3. Workers spend frustratingly little time actually at the workstations, always seeming to go on break just after arriving.
4. Idle workers will literally mill around half-finished work, while the game randomly decided Joe who's all the way on the other side of the factory needs to come over to do the task.
5. Lack of comfortable controls surrounding re-prioritizing or redistributing work to other workstations. Especially frustrating if I clicked Batch Mode -- instead of having to move 1 job, it's broken up into 15 different jobs that I have to move individually.
6. Workstations can become dependency-deadlocked. I had to manage queues just to get a job that was stuck at 99% across the finish line.
7. No good way to clear out unused parts; I had to wait until the factory was completely idle to see what was left over.
8. I unlocked the entire tech tree, and was still getting tech points every level. The 40 levels achievement is absurd since levels become useless long before that point.
9. Multiple issues and visibility problems when building rooms; I accidentally made a room 1 square too big, and there's no apparent fix without completely destroying the room.
10. Could use scenarios (ala Theme Hospital) to make gameplay less boring.
11. It's an absolute boring slog to use the planner over and over again. Felt like filling out a government form. Look, I only have ONE forge, would it be too much to ask to just always send the forge jobs there? Don't make me click on it every single time. For perspective, this was DOZENS of times during the campaign.

100% in around 35h. very fun little game + dlc. Get it on sale for a few bucks! Definitley worth it :D

build stuff, watch gnomes run around, objective failed, move stuff. Nice

The Good:
Alright, let’s give credit where it’s due—Little Big Workshop is like a fever dream where you’re a tiny god ruling over a tabletop factory, and honestly, that’s dope as hell. The idea of managing adorable little workers who churn out rubber ducks and electric guitars while you cackle like a supervillain is pure gold. It’s got that cozy, sandbox vibe where you feel like you’re building something epic, and the cute art style makes you wanna hug the screen—or at least not smash it immediately. The premise? Chef’s kiss. I mean, who doesn’t wanna play Tycoon Barbie Dreamhouse but with production lines?

The Bad:
Here’s where the wheels fall off this wobbly little cart. The execution is like someone handed a toddler a blueprint and said, “Go nuts, kiddo.” The idea’s great, but it plays like a management sim that forgot how to manage itself. The pacing’s slower than a sloth on a treadmill—you’re sitting there twiddling your thumbs waiting for cash to trickle in while your workers nap on the job. And the tutorials? They’re about as helpful as a chocolate teapot. You’re thrown into this chaotic mess of menus and production lines with no lifeline, and it’s like, “Figure it out, loser!” It’s got all the charm of a good game but none of the polish to make it actually fun for more than 20 minutes.

The Ugly:
Oh boy, the design flaws are a circus fire waiting to happen. The UI looks like it was designed by a committee of drunk monkeys—tiny text, cluttered screens, and buttons that feel like they’re playing hide-and-seek. Bugs? Glitches? You bet your sweet bippy. Workers get stuck in walls like they’re auditioning for a haunted house and sometimes the game just forgets what you told it to do—like a rebellious teenager with a factory fetish. It’s not broken beyond repair, but it’s definitely coughing up smoke while pretending everything’s fine.

The Verdict:
6/10 simulation game with a heart of gold and the execution of a drunk karaoke night. The concept’s a banger, but it’s buried under clunky mechanics and a design that screams “we ran out of budget.” If you’re into management sims and have the patience of a saint, you might squeeze some joy out of this. Otherwise, it’s a cute idea that forgot to grow up.

gud game

I loved it so much, I am buying the DLC to support them!

A large number of the negative reviews are from people with over 50 hours, some closer to 70 hours. No-one spends 50 hours on a game if they don't like it. It is scratching the Factorio / Satisfactory itch, while not being as intense.

Замечательная игрушка. Не смотря на то, что она старенькая, она отлично выглядит и играется в 2025 году. С такой скидкой просто сказка.

Devs, please make sequel!

VERY poorly balanced game that just makes it unfun to play.

Building: The building is... okay. Aside from the fact shifting things around is made utterly unbearable by the fact that if something is in that spot you have to move it first and doors don't even get me started. It turns into a week long project just to move things around.

Upgrades: The level up upgrades after level 1 which unlocks machines seem very unintuitive and are honestly just not great.

Difficulty: If you like suffering even though you seemingly are doing everything right this is your game. Did you build a break room? Is every single one of your work rooms happy with enough decor? Yes and Yes Fantastic! Then go make some money oh wait the project that is available for you needs to be done in 2 days and for some reason it takes your machines two weeks to do it even though you have everything available?....

Don't buy this game it's not worth your money.

Good and cute game. I got exhausted of having to constantly assign the workstations for the plans. I am aware of the double click to assign the same type, with this it was still irritating.

This game has so much potential for continued DLC, new locations, products and more. Unfortunately 1 DLC release and nothing else has prevented that potential from being realized. It is a great casual game, but it can loose interest quicker than it should.

this 1 is pretty fun and the characters r funny for a building factory game atleast they look like people and not aliens

Best simulator game , burning all your life time

I enjoy the game very much it does help time pass on boring days.

mehh, bem sem gracinha. extremamente bonito e com uma ideia muito legal, mas nao pegou

Yes game is fun to play

Too buggy in the way that blocks your progress. The game is quite fun, but when things just stop working for no reason and there's nothing you can do about it, well, spoils the fun. Releasing an even buggier DLC instead of fixing the bugs is a no-go. It's a shame, a bit more effort and the game would be a good one.

The game would be fun if it had a sandbox mode or more forgiving dynamics, such as the ability to take out loans. This is a simple solution to its problem that would increase its player base and boost sales. But that common sense is nowhere to be found. The bigger issue is that the game was poorly play tested (or play tested with trainers and developer commands that players will not normally have access to). The workers tire too rapidly, work too slowly, and overall the game is just unbalanced. Now, all that could be forgiven if there was a sandbox mode, but unlike what it says on their official webpage, it is not "an open-ended sandbox-experience" <-- false advertising. It is 100% hardcore challenge mode on every playthrough, and there is exactly one formula to achieve victory and you have to try and fail to figure that out. Save often (but not too often) because your amazing factory can tank overnight with some bad luck from the market, literally wasting hours of your precious gaming time. The devs have not even attempted to add a sandbox mode since this came out 6 years ago. The only way to make it enjoyable is to pay real money to shady websites offering "subscription trainers" to hack the game for you. This game is representative of the type of developer that Mirage Game Studios has become. For the love of God, please listen to the player community and follow suit. They are your market, they know what they want. Until the devs figure this out and update this game and resubmit it to the publisher, I cannot recommend it. It is fun for a minute, but every playthrough ends with your factory going broke no matter how far you advance. Maybe a skill issue, sure, but if I were looking for a challenging game, I would not have purchased one that claimed to be "an open-ended sandbox-experience". Similar issues with their other game Space for Sale. A mediocrity that was too early even for early access.

Nice game. It becomes less menagable as you expand and there will be bugs, but main game loop is quite satisfying, to plan a production and then execute on it.

The stock is so poorly handled that it ruins the experience with ineficiency. Parts can only be used in the scheduled production, so if you waned to change the production or piritize another one you could not use the parts that you already crafted.
You have no information regarding the costs of production and margins.
Creating a blueprint for a product is tedious, not a creative or strategic process. You need to click on each part to chose the material and the crafting station. You can't select multiple equal materials or equal manufacturing process. It's ok to be able to pick up to the small detail but if that's the only option, products that need lots of parts is a pain in the balls to blueprint each time.
Handling the queues is tedious, you have to select each part and process by hand. Given they are all individuals you can't stack productions (you can split them in half but can't join them)

Buy it at 80-90% discount if you want, otherwise i don't think it worths the money

haha slaves work for my money

Little Big Workshop is a delightful blend of charm and challenge that kept me hooked from the moment I named my factory. Balancing the perfect mix of frustration and satisfaction, the game turns every little mishap into an opportunity to optimise and grow. You'll find yourself obsessing over every detail, from worker efficiency to product design, as the gameplay is incredibly rewarding when everything goes to plan by your design (and when you learn to bypass the occasional small bugs).

The aesthetic is irresistibly cute and simple, with vibrant visuals and a toy-like world that feels alive with character. It's more than a factory game, it's a cozy little escape where every success, big or small, feels deeply gratifying. Whether you're troubleshooting bottlenecks or enjoying a smooth production line, the game makes the grind feel good. Highly recommend for those who love a balance of strategy, creativity, simplicity, and charm!

I'm absolutely obsessed. Such a nice way to build worlds (The customer team is super prompt in case you need help too)

This game is a weird mix between Banished and Factory Town without being satisfying.
I bought it for the graphics, but after just 30 hours in, I encounter bugs and got often irritated playing. It's difficult to optimise anything, not because of the thinking needed, but the lack of information from the devs.
I do not recommend for experience gamers. If you have more than 50 hours playing CIV, you'll be disappointed.

About the management experience
Like banished, you cannot control your work force and they need to take breaks. However, the IA cannot stick to a task long enough, so your workers just run around and take breaks. You can make it better with more haulers and some upgrades like Workplace training, but it stays unsatisfying.

Each time you start a new production, you'll have to create a new blueprint. At first, it seems interesting, but if you want to try various items, it can get annoying. Since you have multiple ways to build items to change their stats, you often have to redo your blueprints for the same item. The worst part is to update your blueprints each time you add something to your workshop to keep the new flow.

About the optimisation experience
You can optimise your blueprints, but since your profit is always way higher than the parts needed to build products, it doesn't make a great difference. After 30 hours, my materials cost around 2,000$ and sell 15,000. I did not care to optimise the materials at this point.

The Help Menu is completely useless, is only explains general mechanics without any numbers or brackets. For example, there is no info on the max limit of happiness (more than 100 is useless). You can always try to find info online. This is far from the CIV 5 Wiki I am used to.

The game will limit you often. You want 2 different zones assigned for one machine? You can't, you'll have either leave a lot of useless space or let your workers being slowed by stuff everywhere. You want to start with everything available? You can't, you have to start from scratch. You want to have a save to test assembly lines and your workshop? You can't, when you start a new game you erase all your previous saves. You want to save some materials or start a production ahead? You can't, everything needs to be rebuild each time you plan a product. Useless parts cannot be reused. you want to build a bit more in case something happens? You can, but know that you'll be stuck forever with useless parts.

About the ambiance
Sadly, it doesn't have the peacefull ambiance like Banished. You have to accept not being in control at all while having strict timelines and visual triggers to keep you alert, like broken equipment and phone calls. Note that you can disable random events as they don't matter at all (I wish I knew that firsthand).
At the same time, it's not like PlateUp where you have to perform. If you don't deliver, you just miss XP. So there is no threat to finish or not your productions.

About the bugs
When you need more than one copy of an item to build something, every copy needs to be stacked together for your assembly worker to grab it. Which means endless waiting for you haulers to do their job.

Sometimes parts become unreachable and cannot be used ever again. It happens to me while building a robot, which is a known and common bug. It has stopped my production (I was hoping someone would finish by getting the part) and I was stuck with the robot arm on the floor.

I recommend playing Banished, PlateUp, Factory Town, Frostpunk, CIV (any one), Rollercoaster Tycoon Classic, TD Bloons, even Plague before buying this. And when you do, you are sure to be disappointed.

love it

Please add an option to invert your mouse3 look around!! I've gotten the game on console and pc and both of them have this problem. I can not stand games that have crappy controls and even more when YOU CANT CHANGE THEM! Because literally why?..as much time as you spend developing the game, you cant add the options to change your controls??? Like what??? its just the press down mouse3 look around that has this problem for this game, but still?

for those who say "eh, just get use to it"
1. go duck yourself
2. yea ok, let me just take your call of duty, or gta, or any other game that you use a joystick or mouse to look around, and invert that.......it feels icky and uncomfortable as duck, doesnt it? So literally why would they not just add that as an option to enable/disable?
3. out of all the games in the world, this is one of the few that, by default, your look around is inverted...ok...so you should be able to change that right? Especially because pretty much the entire world is use to it not being inverted.........Nope. And why? How do you go through the entire development process of the game and not think of or add that as an option?

im just tired of game developers dropping goated ahh games and they get ruined by something like this. it truly boggles my mind how you just didnt add that as an option to begin with, let alone make the look around inverted in the first place! The game does look really fun and im sure it is, i like games like this, and id like to play it, but i just cant get use to that inverted look around.

Good little game. Relaxing

This is a fun factory game. Lots of great recipes and it has an ending. However, it doesnt take very long to get to it and while I'm enjoying building out my factory, I have a ton of money with nothing to do with it. I wish there was a late game goal to achieve. Worth the money though and a great add to the genre.

big shop

Really good game, but the building/demolishing is broken.

Even after playing it again and again and again it is still lotta fun!

Enjoying watching these lil workoholics struggling all day.
The difficulty is decent but not too much for just enjoyable relaxing moments.

I love observing after a stressful, hard workday. Definately 10/10 chill points!

Highly recommended!

really fun game with awsome UI and game ply

I don't know what they do in Sweeden, but the rest of thr world doesn't take a break every few minutes