Okay, listen up. The dinner rush has arrived and we have lots of hungry creatures waiting for their meals. You’re the lead server though, so you’ve got this, right? If not, well maybe one of the other lead servers will. Make sure you serve your customers quickly so that they leave you bigger tips! If you make the most tips by the end of the night, you’ll earn the title of most legendary server of the land!

What Is It?

A very basic worker placement game where players fill their cafe with customers little by little, collect food for the requested orders, and, of course, serve those customers to receive tips. Players can gather 3, 2, or 1 of their selected foods with a worker, but must keep in mind that the last player in a line may be able to tip the chef to move ahead in line, which may mess with what they thought they would get, giving the game a small take-that element. At the end of the game, players lose tips for any customers who walked out, and any leftover food they have. The player with the most points after that wins!

Who Is It For?

  • Families / kids (Ages 7+)
  • Players looking for a very introductory worker placement game

PROS

  • Really nice artwork / aesthetics
  • Very simple and quick to learn and play
  • Easy to teach to and play with just about anyone
  • AI Player in the 2-player game did not feel disruptive
  • I like that the number of rounds changes with the number of players so that players have equal turns going first

CONS

  • 2-player game (even with AI) doesn’t have enough competition for spots
  • There’s a lot of luck in what customer comes out of your deck next, and no way to prepare. If a big order comes out in the last round, it means you’re forced to take food in that round that will count as negative points, which was out of your control
  • The worker placement aspect isn’t very interesting. The spots give you different numbers of food tokens, and the last spot (if you’re not the only player in line) let’s you tip to move ahead in line, but otherwise, all the spots are functionally the same – let you collect food – so it gets repetitive

Final Thoughts

To be honest, it was a little difficult for me to judge this game off of my plays. I have a prototype copy, so I know the overall component quality isn’t final, which is fine (though the art/graphic design is very polished and looks awesome, so I still give it points for that), but I also didn’t feel like I was able to play the full game. I was missing components mentioned in the rulebook that felt fundamental to play. I didn’t have the once per game cards, which can let players rearrange customers in their cafe, to maximize tips, or copy the order and position of an opponent’s customer if it suits them better. I also didn’t have the event cards that go into each player’s customer deck, which definitely could have impacted gameplay, or even potential strategies. These weren’t cards mentioned for a variant, they were meant to be main components, so not having them left me feeling like the game was missing something.

As it stands, based on what I played, I thought the look was great, but the gameplay left something to be desired. I felt like it was too basic/bare bones, at least for me; there just wasn’t enough to keep me interested. Having the additional cards might have helped that, but I can’t be sure either way.

If you’re looking for a super introductory worker placement, possibly to play with kids, it might be a good choice for you! But, if you’re familiar with the mechanic, and aren’t looking to scale it down, then you might want to pass on this one.

Additional Information:
Designed by – Lennon & Chip Cole
Artist – Chip Cole
Publisher – Squatchy Games
MSRP – $29 (basic); $39 (deluxe)
BGG
Kickstarter

*I was provided a prototype copy of this game to do this preview*
*All components shown are subject to change*