Black Friday 2013 analysis

Yesterday was Black Friday, and Restaurant Story was very much included in the shopping chaos!

Notification for Black Friday 2013 sales

I've been building up to it for months, and on Thursday some players got a notification to tune in over the weekend for 'something special'. From the moment I saw this teaser, I knew we wouldn't be let down.

So I opened the app with baited breath on Friday. The first thing to meet my eyes was this pop-up:

Limited time 40% off gems offer

Normally 20% and 30% gem sales are distributed randomly among players, but yesterday everybody got this special deal for one day only.

And to encourage players to invest in some gems, TeamLava came up with two features. The first was a Thanksgiving Sweepstake:

Thanksgiving Sweepstakes

So the more you spent, the better your odds became of being a lucky winner of 250 gems. The small print in the above message refers to the rules for the sweepstake, which I hope players did read. This is because the contest was actually restricted to US players (excluding several territories) who are 18 or older.

So that first special was underwhelming for a lot of folks who either weren't eligible or not keen to purchase gems. But the second feature was very special indeed. Just for Black Friday, 21 items were made available to all players for gems. These consisted of past limited time offers, box items and removed items.

Black Friday 2013 sale items

A very healthy list of goodies! Here's a table presenting these items a little more cleanly, with some extra information on each:

Item	Cost	Notes
Rainbow Table	3 gems	Removed in Jan 2013
Picnic Party	49 gems	First prize in Picnic Surprise
Robot Waiter	10 gems	Limited time offer in Apr 2012
Pink Tree	7 gems	Limited time offer in Dec 2011
Bowling Alley	35 gems	First prize in 50's Diner Box
Indoor Zen Garden	35 gems	First prize in Asian Fusion Chest
Sauce Counter	18 gems	Limited time offer in Sep 2011
Swedish Kitchen	13 gems	First prize in Swedish Gift
Jousting Arena	49 gems	First prize in Renaissance Chest
Football Field	49 gems	First prize in Football Chest
Cider Bar	27 gems	Limited time offer in Sep 2013
Fall Garden	49 gems	First prize in Autumn Gift Box
Action Dining	13 gems	First prize in Action Chef Box
Food Display	39 gems	Limited time offer in July 2011
Autumn Cupcake Stand	11 gems	Limited time offer in Nov 2013
Super Drop	49 gems	First prize in Carnival Box
Giant Snowman	14 gems	Limited time offer in Dec 2011
Brass Choir	35 gems	First prize in Music Box
Baroque Column	7 gems	Limited time offer in Aug 2012
Pearl Fountain	68 gems	First prize in Magic Shell
Digital Solar System	28 gems	First prize in Futuristic Box

A great wealth of decorations to choose from, with a satisfying range of price tags. So what did I think of these sale items?

Well, the first thing that hit me was the shear number of first prize box items up for grabs. I vaguely remember that in past sales only a few first prizes have been offered, with some second prizes thrown into the ring too. Not this time though! And to put the cherry on the icing there's some unbelievable bargains among these first prizes. The Swedish Kitchen and Action Dining are massive items and to have the opportunity to pick them up for just 13 gems is amazing.

But there are also some items which I reckon were seriously overpriced. The Pearl Fountain is a first prize, but 68 gems is daylight robbery in my view - after all it is only 2x2 in size. I also think the Food Display - which is 2x1 - is too dear. However other than those two I can understand why the other content commands premium prices.

The Food Display is one of several ancient LTOs. It's great to see some of these return - most of them are from before my time, and haven't seen the light of day for an age. This was surely the last ever chance to buy those.

So what did I go for? I'd managed to save up 130 gems over the last few months in anticipation of this day, so was ready for a real shopping spree, without the need to buy the discounted gems. My first port of call were the Swedish Kitchen and Action Dining. As I said earlier, they are just incredible value - remember that your chances of getting a first prize from a box are one in a hundred. The Action Dining will fit nicely in a beach themed area, which is something I've been thinking about doing for a while, and will now definitely do. Meanwhile I've got no idea what to do with the Swedish Kitchen, but just couldn't turn it down!

The next item caught in my crosshairs was the Bowling Alley. I already have a retro diner section (currently in storage) so the first prize from the 50's Diner Box is the feather in the cap for that area. At 35 gems, I'd now spent 61 gems in total.

With the possibility of a similar sale over Christmas (there was last year), I didn't really want to spend all my hard-earned gems on Black Friday, so now had to be selective. Yeah right! Next to be welcomed into The Garlic Tree was the Digital Solar System. Similarly to the Bowling Alley, this one becomes the jewel in the crown in my futuristic section:

Futuristic section of The Garlic Tree

I was surprised to find that the Digital Solar System is only a 1x1 sized piece, but it does spread out as it gets higher, so looks quite large overall. My futuristic area is getting rather cramped now!

With 41 gems remaining, I opted for one more purchase. I've previously called on the game's developers to produce more kitchen related content via the Suggestions Box, and so the Sauce Counter was very appealing to me. At 18 gems it wasn't too expensive, and can slot in-between my appliances:

Kitchen section of The Garlic Tree

And with that, my gem purse is closing for the night! Five items bought and 107 gems spent, I'm thoroughly satisfied with my results from Black Friday. My only regret was missing out on the Autumn Garden which is a beautiful decoration. But I just couldn't fit it into my budget. I hope you were able to get some great stuff yesterday like I did!

My next challenge is to find a way to accomodate the sizable pieces I purchased! Until I got the Cider Bar in September, I'd never really had any large items, so hadn't had this dilemma, but now it's going to become an issue!

And before I sign off, it's worth noting that a few of the Black Friday items were retained for a second day, but with greater prices. Those available are the Picnic Party (70 gems), Swedish Kitchen (18 gems), Super Drop (70 gems), Brass Counter (50 gems) and Digital Solar System (40 gems). Interestingly, the Picnic Party was available out of the box already for 70 gems, but with the countdown clock now on it, it looks like it's going to be removed. I just wonder if the other Picnic Surprise items will also be erased. We'll see.

Update: Some of the Black Friday items also returned on Sunday and Monday. On Sunday the following were available at higher prices - Pink Tree (10 gems), Bowling Alley (50 gems), Jousing Arena (70 gems), Football Field (70 gems) and Action Dining (18 gems). On Monday the following were available at higher prices - Indoor Zen Garden (50 gems), Sauce Counter (25 gems), Fall Garden (70 gems), Food Display (55 gems) and Baroque Column (10 gems). Also, another 40% off gems sale was available on Cyber Monday.

Enjoy the rest of the holiday weekend!