Rock Bottom Challenge: Plan the First Week

Scenario and difficulty are separate choices

Rock Bottom determines what you start with: the store and no equipment or sale stock. Difficulty controls the economic rules around that start. The release has four difficulty choices, replacing the old demo's Hard Mode switch. NPC Tips' release scenario table makes the distinction explicit.

A guide or challenge video using the phrase Rock Bottom does not establish its difficulty or house rules. Check the setup before copying a route. A run that allows reporting wanted customers is not directly comparable with one that bans it.

Read the economic pressure before starting

Wikily reports faster rent growth and higher costs in the harder modes. These differences matter when the shop begins with nothing to sell: a technique that barely covers a Mark Up bill may fail under Thin Margins. Read your current difficulty card rather than carrying a demo budget into the release. Difficulty reference.

Establish the first source of stock

Scavenging is a route to initial inventory, but it is not a guaranteed valuable find. The Dumping Ground can return junk, a useful object, a wound or nothing. Prepare carrying space when you can, and evaluate what each find can actually do for the store before discarding it.

Wikily reports one fewer random customer the day after a night trip unless Short Sleeper applies. That creates a trade-off: another search opportunity can reduce tomorrow's normal trade. It also lists Wednesday Fresh Dump conditions, but a better loot distribution is still not a promise of a particular item. Dumping Ground reference.

Turn the opening into a repeatable business

Use early cash to solve the next bottleneck. If you have stock but no likely buyer, think about demand. If customers arrive with useful goods but you cannot afford them, preserve operating cash. If production is the plan, price the machine, inputs, containers and power together.

This is a planning framework, not a tested fastest route. Random visitors, perks and the chosen difficulty change the opening. No source reviewed here establishes a guaranteed day-by-day win.

Keep the first Sunday visible

Treat a missed payment as a game rule to verify, not a recovery step to assume. On harder settings the lack of starting grace makes the first bill especially consequential. Make the business cover its routine obligations before adding optional restrictions or another negative perk. The buyout guide explains the later ownership routes once the opening is stable.