Narration Room: Papa's Freezeria (time management, skill)

Since I have been sick the past few days, I spent quite some time playing Papa's Freezeria by Flipline Studios. It was mainly because of the Yo Dawg quest over at Kongregate. Otherwise, I would not have considered playing the game.

Customers in the shop.

Papa's Freezeria is a time-management game where the player prepares sundaes to serve to customers. Putting together a sundae requires reflexes, time-keeping and some cursor-moving skill. The customer judges the quality of the final product and tips accordingly. Tips are used to upgrade the equipment and buy decorations for the shop.

The topping is the hardest part for me.

Basically, the customer comes to the store and makes an order. Some customers take forever to tell their orders - this can be improved by pleasing specific customers repeatedly. Then it is off to creating the sundae according to the customer's specifications.

There are three processes involved in the creation of a sundae. The Build process is a game of reflexes where the player has to select the right items and syrups (the easy part) and push a button when a moving arrow is on the green part of the bar (the hard part, when in a hurry). The next process is the Mix, where the sundae is to be blended a set amount of time according to the customer's order. This can take a while so the player may do something else while waiting. It is a little annoying to forget about a sundae left blending. That is, until alarm upgrades are bought.

The last process is to add the Topping. This is a true test of cursor mastery to squeeze all the toppings on top of the sundae. Evenly, in the specified order and arrangement. And without spilling anything. Needless to say that this step of the process is where I have the most trouble.

The customer approves, despite the lop-sided topping.

The final product is then presented to the customer for approval. Each part of the build process, as well as the time taken, will be considered. Points and tips are awarded based on the final result.

However, it is tougher than it looks. Because the mix process takes time and the customers keep coming, it is best for the player to manage the creation of several sundaes at once.

My favorite customer, because she order's an easy topping!

I find Papa's Freezeria quite interesting because of the skill involved. It is always a challenge to get that sundae just right, while managing the creation of a few others at the same time. It is fun to master the system and it is very satisfying to get a Perfect with a 100% score on each of the four categories.

Besides the sundae creation, there are achievements to fulfill and customers to please. Repeatedly pleased customers will be upgraded to a higher star award, which means more tips and more importantly, they will speak their orders faster. In addition, there are store decorations to buy with the tip money along with upgrades to help with sundae creation.

To summarize, Papa's Freezeria is a game of time-management and skill. It is easy to play, but the fun part is in mastering the game.

I wish I could have one of those sundaes. They really do look yummy!