Game update: 21/08/13

The seaside theme continues this week, with the pirates continuing to rule shores.

Notification for latest under the sea update

The centrepiece of this update is a limited time offer, but there are a few other addition too. All are listed below:

Tables:

• Pirate Table - 78,500 coins

Chairs:

• Pirate Chair - 2 gems

Wall decorations:

• Anchor Clock - 32,500 coins

Floor decorations:

• Pirate Fountain - 23 gems (LTO)
• Pirate Equipment - 35,000 coins

Floor tiles:

•  Black Pearl - 1 gem

Counters:

• Chest Counter - 9 gems

The TeamLava Blog has a picture previewing the new content:

Items from latest under the sea update as shown on TeamLava Blog

My immediate reaction is of concern at the price of the Pirate Table. They cost 78,500 coins each, which is a new record. The inflation of prices of tables and chairs has not gone away over the last few months, but this latest development is way over the line in my book.

The costly content continues with the Chest Counter which is 9 gems. This isn't a record as there are several counters which cost 10 gems, but it is still well over the odds for a counter.

 Previous under the sea theme updates

 14/08/13 Pirate Chest

 07/08/13 Goals

Then there's the Anchor Clock and Pirate Equipment. I don't have a quibble with the price tag on these. Instead I'm impressed by the game's designers - a couple of really good pieces. The Pirate Equipment is particularly nice, and is all the more impressive when you consider that it's a 2x2 item. I might even buy one of these at some point as it would fit well in my posh section as a vintage decoration.

The Pirate Fountain is a limited time offer which expires in 5 days (from today, Wed).

Pirate Fountain limited time offer

A word of warning - the blog image above does not show this item to scale. The version shown looks to be 2x2 in size, but I can confirm that it is 4x4. So with the incentives of having a colossal and rare decoration, I suspect there will be plenty of takers on this one. Plus it's a detailed item which looks superb. I won't be among them though as I'm broke following my latest expansion and purchases.

As well as the range of new items for sale, there are also two new recipes for your cooking pleasure:

First new recipe
for Basic Oven

Second new recipe
for Basic Oven

As the captions indicate, both of these new dishes are on the Basic Oven, and are currently positioned at the very start of the recipe list. In a week or two they'll be shifted to its depths.

Both have now been moved - they are positioned between Smoked Salmon Potato and Rack of Lamb.

Thanks to Vamsee Chandra for notifying me that these two recipes only unlock at level 57.

Let's start with the Smoked Turkey Leg (not to be confused with the Turkey Leg which is a recipe on the Carnival Stove). The 4 hour recipes are a competitive bunch, yet this dish compares favourably. Its stats for profit and portions are unremarkable without being a letdown, but its XP gain is a beast - only the recently released Garlic Noodles (Basic Grill) has a better XP. The Smoked Turkey Leg edges it on both profit and portions so may just be the best 4 hour dish to cook, especially if you're aiming to level up.

My only issue with the Smoked Turkey Leg is that it has nothing to do with pirates or the sea as far as I'm aware. But I'll get over that!

In contrast, the Pirate Cupcakes are bang on-topic, even if not such an exceptional recipe. There are very few 9 hour recipes, so if we add the 8 and 10 hour dishes into the mix, then a comparison can be made. The 1675 portions is very high - only Plum Pudding (Basic Stove) and Gravlax (Swedish Stove) have greater portion sizes for 8-10 hour recipes. Plus Gravlax is the only dish with a higher profit as it provides a net 6,420 coins for every time you cook it versus 4,910 coins for the Pirate Cupcakes. The only con here is XP - Stuffed Lamb (Basic Oven) may take an hour more to prepare, but with 160 XP is a world beater and thus the go to recipe.

In conclusion, if you need to keep the counters occupied then this is a good choice of dish, as not only will it do just that but it will also pull in the coins.

So two new top drawer recipes and some intriguing (and expensive!) new items for your consideration. A good update overall I'd say.