What makes a good neighbour (part 3 - deleting)

The interaction with other establishments plays a large part in making Restaurant Story the game that it is. Over time you will add many neighbours who you can visit, tip and gift, as well as request parts from for building certain appliances. But how can you be a good neighbour?

I've already covered tipping and gifting in this special feature, and today will conclude with some thoughts on the dreadful act of deleting neighbours. Or is it so dreadful? Discuss...

To delete a neighbour, you should tap Menu, go to the Social section and tap the Neighbours tab. There you will find a list of your neighbours and an 'EDIT' button at the top which, when pressed, flips the list into delete mode. Here you can opt to remove any one your neighbours.

Neighbours list in delete mode

Beware that there is no confirmation box appears when you hit 'remove'! I actually deleted a neighbour accidentally once but was quickly able to re-add them as they regularly post on my wall. But if you delete a neighbour who doesn't post on your wall or has not tipped or sent a gift recently, you may never be able to communicate with them again.

Anyway, I want to discuss whether deleting neighbours is something you should consider. Personally, I do delete neighbours, but only if they have quit the game. The only other motivation I would have for erasing a neighbour would be if there was some form of bullying or abusive language in force, but fortunately I've yet to experience this in Restaurant Story.

So at what point can we be certain that a neighbour has quit the game? If they post on their wall that they have packed it in then fine, but otherwise I would suggest that the following four factors are all indicators of an inactive neighbour:

• Tables are full of tips ... this shows that the neighbour hasn't collected their tips recently. Of course they may just have been inundated with tips of late - this indicator is less influential if the neighbour doesn't have many tables for tipping.
• Food on appliances is ruined ... clearly the neighbour hasn't returned to serve their food in time. They may just have forgotten (I have many a time!) but if they've abandoned the game this is often soemthing to spot. Particularly look for long-term dishes (1-2 days) which have spoilt as this shows the neighbour hasn't been active for at least that time.
• No food on appliances ... cooking food is the fundamental action of the game, so to not be cooking food tends to be a bad sign. However it could be that the neighbour's counters are full and so there isn't space for any new food, so take a look at their counters as an additional precaution.
• Door is blocked ... obviously blocking the door will prevent customers from entering the restaurant and thus the player has no cashflow. This points towards someone who has quit, although some people do like to block the door while they fill up their counters so bear that in mind.

Now clearly if all of the points above are prevalent then it is likely that the player in question has quit the game. However, I suggest holding back for two or three weeks to see if they return. It is possible the neighbour is on holiday or is preoccupied with matters in the real world.

And so this brings me on to a final point - if you are going to be unavailable to play for an extended period of time, it is best to post on your wall that this is the case. Then neighbours will know you haven't abandoned the game.

Just remember, with this being a game and all, don't take it too seriously. I'm particularly referring to fear of being given a hard time by a player who you have deleted. At the end of the day, it is your game, and you are free to do whatever you  want regarding deletion of neighbours.