Welcome to Shortanomics! This guide explains how the game works, how each difficulty changes play, and the key systems you need to survive the pandemic economy.
Actions per Round: Each round you may work, visit the store, sell, trade, check shortages online, or review the news. After you finish an action, the round advances automatically.
Essential Supplies: Food, Water, and (when sick) Medicine are required every round. Falling short increases an out-of-stock counter; hitting the limit ends the game.
Boost Items: Gas, Toilet Paper, Batteries, Face Masks, Desserts, and (on tougher modes) Laptops provide passive bonuses and slowly expire based on their timers. Batteries can stave off non-essential decay for one round and still recharge laptops when they would otherwise die.
News & Events: All major events appear as 5-second toasts and are stored in the News feed for later review.
Difficulty Overview
Easy
Start with $35-$70 and earn $35-$90 per job.
Sickness chance: 1 in 5 (1 in 8 with masks).
Lose after 3 consecutive rounds without essential stock.
No shelter upkeep or robberies.
Normal
Start with $10-$30 and earn $20-$70 per job.
Sickness chance: 1 in 3 (1 in 5 with masks).
Lose after 3 consecutive rounds without essentials.
Shelter upkeep: pay $10 every 2 rounds or lose after 3 missed payments.
Optional laptop: lasts 7 rounds and boosts work pay by 40% (keep spare batteries to extend it).
Dessert: lasts 3 rounds and halves food consumption while stocked.
Store stock: essentials refill in batches of 10–15 units, non-essentials in batches of 2–5, refreshing every 2–3 rounds.
No robberies.
Hard
Start with $5-$20 and earn $15-$50 per job.
Sickness chance: 1 in 2 (1 in 3 with masks).
Lose after 2 consecutive rounds without essentials.
Shelter upkeep: pay $20 every 2 rounds or lose after 2 missed payments.
Optional laptop: lasts 7 rounds and boosts work pay by 40% (keep spare batteries to extend it).
Dessert: lasts 3 rounds and halves food consumption while stocked.
Store stock: essentials refill in batches of 8–12 units, non-essentials in batches of 2–3, refreshing every 2–3 rounds.
Robbery chance: 25% every 5 rounds, stealing a random item.
Victory arrives at Round 50.
Sickness & Medicine
Checks occur on rounds 7 and 14. If sick, Medicine becomes essential.
Sickness lasts 3 rounds and increases Food and Water consumption by 50%.
Face Masks reduce sickness odds at each checkpoint and halve Medicine usage while sick.
Recovering automatically resets the Medicine out-of-stock counter.
Shelter System
Shelter is active on Normal and Hard difficulties. When a payment is due, the game attempts to deduct funds:
If the payment succeeds, the miss streak resets.
If you cannot afford it, the miss streak increases and you receive a warning.
Reach the miss streak limit (3 on Normal, 2 on Hard) and the shelter collapses — instant defeat.
Store Stock
On tougher modes, shop shelves are limited. Plan purchases around these constraints:
Normal: Essentials restock in lots of 10–15 units, non-essentials in lots of 2–5. Supplies refresh every 2–3 rounds.
Hard: Essentials restock in lots of 8–12 units, non-essentials in lots of 2–3. Supplies refresh every 2–3 rounds.
When an item hits zero stock you cannot buy more until the next restock cycle. Watch the stock label in the Store and Online Marketplace.
Gear Synergies
Batteries now last 10 rounds. When a non-essential boost (like Dessert, Toilet Paper, or Gas) is about to expire, one Battery grants it a single extra day; laptops still consume a Battery for a fresh 7-round charge.
The Laptop’s 40% income boost stacks with the 25% Gas bonus and Dessert’s food cut, letting you pull in major paydays while eating less.
Tips
Keep a cash buffer for shelter payments and unavoidable shortages.
Monitor decay timers on boost items so their benefits do not disappear unexpectedly — Desserts in particular make food stretch further.
Keep a spare Battery if you depend on multiple boosts or a Laptop; it buys an extra day for boosters and keeps the laptop powered.
Use trades to convert surplus goods into essentials before the end of each round.
Check the News feed regularly; shortages and recoveries can swing prices dramatically.
Plan to reach your goal: Round 30 on Easy/Normal, Round 50 on Hard.