Guest

Lore & Background

In the RollerCoaster Tycoon world, guests are the lifeblood of the amusement park industry. They arrive at the park entrance with a certain amount of money, a baseline energy level, and a set of preferences for the types of rides they enjoy. As they wander the park, their internal meters shift: a thrilling coaster might spike their happiness but also their nausea; a long queue might drain their energy; a scorching afternoon might make them desperately thirsty.

Guests are not a monolith. They have individual budgets, and their spending habits reflect how much they have on hand. A guest with a full wallet will happily buy a large meal and a premium drink, while a guest with a few coins left will settle for a small snack. Their happiness is a composite of many small experiences — the quality of the rides, the cleanliness of the park, the availability of restrooms, and whether they've been stuck in a queue for too long.

The most dramatic guest behavior is the 'sick' state. After riding several intense coasters in quick succession, a guest's nausea meter can max out, causing them to vomit on the pathway. This is not merely a visual gag; it lowers their happiness, can make other nearby guests uncomfortable, and generates a negative news headline that deters future visitors. Managing nausea through pacing, rest areas, and gentle rides between thrill coasters is a core strategic concern.

Reader's Guide

Guests are the core economic engine of your park. Every ride ticket, every snack, every drink sold is a guest transaction, and your park value is heavily weighted by guest count and average happiness. Keep an eye on the guest statistics panel to see how many visitors are in the park and what their overall mood is.

The most common guest complaints revolve around three things: long queues, nausea from intense rides, and lack of amenities (toilets, food, drinks). If your guests are spending more time in queues than on rides, their happiness will plummet. If your thrill coasters are too close together with no gentle rides in between, nausea will build and you'll start seeing splatters on your pathways.

Practical tips: Space your thrill rides with milder attractions to let nausea reset. Place food, drink, and toilet facilities near high-traffic areas. Keep pathways clean — a sick guest vomiting nearby will lower the mood of everyone in the area. Monitor your guest count after major news events; a negative headline can cause a sudden drop in visitors. And remember: guests with more money spend more, so keeping their overall experience positive encourages them to stay longer and spend more per visit.

Did You Know?

• A guest's nausea meter is shared across all rides — riding three intense coasters back-to-back can push even the most thrill-seeking visitor to the point of vomiting on the pathway.
• Guests have individual money values, meaning not every visitor will spend the same amount on food, drinks, or ride tickets. A well-funded guest and a nearly-broke guest will make very different purchasing decisions.
• The guest count displayed in the park statistics directly influences your park's overall value rating, which is what the in-game investors and news reporters use to judge your success.