Laundry Store Simulator is a first person shop management game from Indonesian studio Akhir Pekan Studio, published by PlayWay and released on 9 December 2024. You start with a small laundromat, a handful of second hand machines and a stack of decorations you can sell for startup cash, and you build it into a business with coin operated self service, a minimart, a screen printing bench, carpet and shoe cleaning and a bakso cart out front. Progress runs on a Laundry Rank that rises as you serve customers, and each rank up hands you a challenge asking for a set number of repetitions of a specific task before it unlocks. Machines matter more than they first appear: the starting Cheap Used washer costs eleven dollars and takes 45 minutes a cycle, while the Waffles Series 77B costs 786 dollars, needs Rank 8 and cuts that to about 20 minutes. There are 75 achievements, a skill tree, phone based quests and a rotating cast of troublesome customers, and the whole thing is far denser than the storefront screenshots suggest.
These tips go beyond the basics. They're the strategies experienced players use to play more efficiently, the hidden mechanics most people miss, and the optimizations that compound over a full playthrough. If you're just starting, check our beginner's guide first.
Essential Tips
1. Sell the decorations that come with the starting shop before your first customer arrives, because furniture resells for roughly ten percent of its purchase price and that first lump of cash buys your first proper washer
Sell the decorations that come with the starting shop before your first customer arrives, because furniture resells for roughly ten percent of its purchase price and that first lump of cash buys your first proper washer.
2. Coin washers cost between 39 and 201 dollars and customers pay a fixed rate regardless of machine quality, so buying the cheapest coin machines and filling the room beats buying one expensive unit
Coin washers cost between 39 and 201 dollars and customers pay a fixed rate regardless of machine quality, so buying the cheapest coin machines and filling the room beats buying one expensive unit.
3. Every employee costs two dollars a day, which is small enough that hiring as soon as staff become available pays for itself within a single shift
Every employee costs two dollars a day, which is small enough that hiring as soon as staff become available pays for itself within a single shift.
4. Ellen is the strongest early hire for folding and ironing, Tannahill becomes a five star cashier once the 1,100 dollar minimart upgrade is installed, and Alva is slow enough at washing and drying that most players leave her on the bench
Ellen is the strongest early hire for folding and ironing, Tannahill becomes a five star cashier once the 1,100 dollar minimart upgrade is installed, and Alva is slow enough at washing and drying that most players leave her on the bench.
5. Open the challenges app on your phone every one or two shifts, because quests pay roughly six to twenty dollars each and they expire if you leave them unclaimed
Open the challenges app on your phone every one or two shifts, because quests pay roughly six to twenty dollars each and they expire if you leave them unclaimed.
6. Movement speed upgrades in the skill tree run up to 225 percent, and on a shop with several rooms that is worth more than an extra machine because it cuts walking time on every single order
Movement speed upgrades in the skill tree run up to 225 percent, and on a shop with several rooms that is worth more than an extra machine because it cuts walking time on every single order.
7. Higher quality machines break down less often, so if you are chasing repair based achievements keep some level 1 coin washers around deliberately until those achievements are done
Higher quality machines break down less often, so if you are chasing repair based achievements keep some level 1 coin washers around deliberately until those achievements are done.
8. Clothes left in coin machines sell for a dollar or two each at the secondhand shop across the street, and empty cardboard boxes go for about ten cents, so sweep the coin room on every pass
Clothes left in coin machines sell for a dollar or two each at the secondhand shop across the street, and empty cardboard boxes go for about ten cents, so sweep the coin room on every pass.
9. The minimart employee needs Laundry Rank 6 and the storage room unlocked together, so plan both before you expect the counter to run itself
The minimart employee needs Laundry Rank 6 and the storage room unlocked together, so plan both before you expect the counter to run itself.
10. Fully upgrading the bakso cart unlocks a dedicated bakso employee, which is the only way to serve bakso customers without standing at the cart yourself
Fully upgrading the bakso cart unlocks a dedicated bakso employee, which is the only way to serve bakso customers without standing at the cart yourself.
Advanced Strategies
Build Optimization
The difference between an average build and an optimized one is massive. See our builds guide for full breakdowns.
For Cashier (A-Tier):
- Focus on Laundry Rank and rank up challenges combinations for maximum output.
- Core gear: Cheap Used washing machine
- Stat priority: Offensive stats first
For Washing and drying staff (A-Tier):
- Versatile approach that handles any situation.
- Core gear: Waffles Series 77B washing machine
- Stat priority: Balanced stats
Mechanic Interactions
Understanding how Laundry Store Simulator's systems interact is where the real optimization lives. Our combat guide covers this in detail.
Laundry Rank and rank up challenges + Washer and dryer tiers: Every completed transaction awards experience, and hitting the threshold triggers a challenge rather than an instant promotion. Combined with Washer and dryer tiers, washing machines run from the cheap used unit at eleven dollars with a 45 minute cycle up to the waffles series 77b at 786 dollars, which drops the cycle to roughly 20 minutes.
Coin laundry self service + Employees at two dollars a day: The Coin Wash Room is the single best early unlock because coin washers earn without you touching them. When paired with Employees at two dollars a day, every employee costs two dollars a day, which is trivial against what they earn, so hiring early is close to free money.
Side businesses and the minimart scaling: The laundry itself is only part of the income. A minimart sells retail products at prices you set daily, screen printing lets you make custom shirts with variable ink costs, carpet cleaning and shoe cleaning unlock as separate services, and a bakso cart sells food to a separate customer type. Fully upgrading the bakso cart unlocks a dedicated bakso employee. Setting up the minimart early is the standard advice because it produces steady income that does not compete with your machine time.
Equipment Efficiency
| Equipment | Best Use Case | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Cheap Used washing machine | The opening shift before you have sold enough decorations to afford anything better. | The eleven dollar starter unit with a 45 minute cycle, and the machine most players are stuck with for the first shift or two. |
| Waffles Series 77B washing machine | A full service laundry where washer throughput is the bottleneck on how many orders you can accept. | The top tier washer at 786 dollars, gated behind Laundry Rank 8, cutting the wash cycle to roughly 20 minutes. |
| Coin washer | Passive income while you work the service counter, and the single best early investment in the game. | Self service machines costing between 39 and 201 dollars with cycles between two hours and one hour twenty. |
| Dryer | Any shop where clean laundry is piling up waiting for a free drum. | The second stage of every service order and the place your queue backs up once washers are fast. |
| Screen printing press | A second income stream that runs between wash cycles rather than competing with them. | The custom shirt equipment in the back room, producing printed apparel for customers who order it. |
Location Efficiency
Coin Wash Room (Unlocks early, prioritise it over service side upgrades): The self service area, and the most valuable expansion in the early game because coin washers earn money without your attention. Customers regularly leave clothes and underwear behind in these machines, which becomes free stock to sell.
Minimart counter (Minimart upgrade costs 1,100 dollars, employee needs Rank 6): Retail shelves at the front of the shop selling cleaning supplies and other goods, with prices you can adjust every day. The 1,100 dollar upgrade also makes the cashier employee Tannahill considerably more effective at the counter.
Storage room (Required together with Rank 6 for the minimart employee): The back room that holds stock and is a prerequisite for the minimart employee alongside Laundry Rank 6. Without it you are restocking shelves by hand between every customer, which eats the time you should be spending on machines.
Screen printing area (Unlocks through shop expansion): The back of the shop where custom shirt orders are printed. Ink is consumed per design, so this space rewards batching several orders together rather than running one print at a time between other tasks.
Secondhand shop across the street (Available from the start): Not part of your business, but the place you convert junk into cash. Clothes left behind in coin machines sell for a dollar or two each here, and empty cardboard boxes go for about ten cents, which adds up across a long shift.
Mistakes Even Veterans Make
- Buying expensive manual washers before you unlock the Coin Wash Room, when coin machines earn without your attention and cost a fraction as much.
- Leaving the starting decorations in place instead of selling them, which delays your first real machine purchase by a full shift.
- Skipping employees because two dollars a day sounds like an ongoing cost, when a single staff member clears more than that in one shift.
- Upgrading washers while ignoring dryers, which just moves the bottleneck one stage down the line and leaves clean laundry stacked up.
- Ignoring the phone quests, which pay six to twenty dollars each and are the steadiest early income in the game outside coin machines.
Pro Quick Tips
- Sell the decorations that come with the starting shop before your first customer arrives, because furniture resells for roughly ten percent of its purchase price and that first lump of cash buys your first proper washer.
- Coin washers cost between 39 and 201 dollars and customers pay a fixed rate regardless of machine quality, so buying the cheapest coin machines and filling the room beats buying one expensive unit.
- Every employee costs two dollars a day, which is small enough that hiring as soon as staff become available pays for itself within a single shift.
- Start with Washing and drying staff, switch to Cashier when ready
- Invest in Cheap Used washing machine above everything else
- Clear areas in order: Coin Wash Room → Minimart counter → Storage room → Screen printing area → Secondhand shop across the street. See our maps guide
- Laundry Rank and rank up challenges + Washer and dryer tiers together are stronger than either alone
More Laundry Store Simulator Guides
- Laundry Store Simulator Laundry Store Simulator Overview
- Laundry Store Simulator Best Builds
- Laundry Store Simulator Tier List
- Laundry Store Simulator Walkthrough
- Laundry Store Simulator Beginner's Guide
- Laundry Store Simulator Weapons Guide
- Laundry Store Simulator Combat Guide
- Laundry Store Simulator Boss Guide
- Laundry Store Simulator Maps & Locations
- Laundry Store Simulator Crafting Guide
- Laundry Store Simulator Classes & Characters
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