Tea party goals content report

This week's update was a tea party theme, and with it came a new set of goals. Some of the new content can only be unlocked by working through the goals, and here I'll attempt to persuade you that the goals are worth investing time and coins in with a look at the rewards.

But before that, I want to discuss the goals themselves. The first point of note is that the goals were actually a little late in appearing. The update went live at the usual sort of time on Wednesday but without the goals included. Only around half an hour later did the clipboard arrive, allowing us to commence the quest. Not a big problem, but this kind of thing never fills me with confidence in the gamemakers' ability to provide reliable and fault-free updates.

Within the goals, there are only four unlockables. This is very unusual and may even be a first. Usually five or six pieces are under lock and key, but that's not the case here. As a result the goals are structured slightly differently from normal - using my layout for them there are only two 'sidesteps' which actually feed into the main strand of goals (there's one other which gives a gem reward instead).

 Tea party

 07/05/14 Goals

 07/05/14 Goals update

I quite like the subtle change to the structure as it keeps things fresh and interesting, but fewer items to unlock is obviously a shame - the non-goal stuff won't feel as exclusive to own because you won't have to have been around at the time of the goals to obtain them. A greedy view perhaps, but there you have it.

Now on to the goal content in-depth. The Lace Counter is unlocked via the first goal, and compliments the other lace items nicely. The goal updates tend to be the only ones where we have the triple play of table, chairs and counters all for coins, and it's very rare to have them all matching so well, so make the most of it!

Also early on in the goals is the opportunity to unlock the Lace Chair. At 6,100 coins each they're pretty affordable, and as I've already covered, are a good match for the table and Lace Counter, another goal prize. Playing into the unorthodox goal structure, you won't need to buy any of the chairs until a latter stage of the goals, but if you purchase some at the point of unlock they'll still be counted.

The final goal prize is the only floor decoration up for grabs. Having finally unlocked the Tea Party, I've placed it straight into my garden section:

Tea Party in garden section of The Garlic Tree

This is one of my favourite goal rewards ever. It's colourful, full of detail, and fits perfectly in my garden area. The only issue is the difference in shades of green between the grass of the Tea Party and the Dandelion Fields floor tile. I'd substitute in the Spring Meadow flooring which is a brighter shade of green, but that would contradict the darker tone of my Blossom Grove. What a dilemma!

As well as the new items, there are six recipes to work on. Only the first is readily available - the other five all have to be unlocked. We start with the Lace Oven which much like the Infused Water Fountain last month, isn't locked by goal. Among the parts needed to build it is Sturdy Wood. This just reinforces my last point in the parts post I made last weekend, that you never know that's going to be required for appliance construction! The Sturdy Wood has only been utilised for one other cooker, and that was the Fire Pit Grill back in the Summer of 2012!

So what to make of the three recipes on the Lace Oven?

Recipes on Lace Oven

Well using the recipe ratings, I can dismiss all three in a flash:

Lemon Tea Cookies
Profit	XP gain	Portions	Profit per plate	Availability	Rating
5	3	2	10	5	4.3

Orange Tea Cake
Profit	XP gain	Portions	Profit per plate	Availability	Rating
2	3	2	7	5	3.0

Lemon Bars
Profit	XP gain	Portions	Profit per plate	Availability	Rating
3	3	2	10	5	3.6

Hmm. These dishes are frankly rubbish. Even many of the other goal recipes over the last few months trump these, with the Orange Tea Cake performing particularly poorly - it is the second worst all-rounder out of 20 dishes of 5 hour duration. Get your mastery gems folks, and then bin this appliance!

Moving swiftly on, can the drinks on the Tea Dispenser fare any better?

Recipes on Tea Dispenser

As ever, I always like getting a drink machine since I do feel drinks are underdeveloped in the game.

Sweet Tea
Profit	XP gain	Portions	Profit per plate	Availability	Rating
1	3	1	10	5	2.7

Peach Tea
Profit	XP gain	Portions	Profit per plate	Availability	Rating
4	2	3	9	5	3.8

Lemon Tea
Profit	XP gain	Portions	Profit per plate	Availability	Rating
3	1	4	3	5	2.7

Here's a little analysis (all negative!) Based on recipe rating alone, the Sweet Tea and Lemon Tea are the joint seventh worst recipes to be released on a goal appliance ever. And that's out of close to 100. The Peach Tea is identical in every way to the Fruit Parfait (Fruit Bar) released in last month's goals, so there's a real lack of variety there. Ouch.

So the recipes are the pits, but we can all raise our hearty cups of tea to the decorations which are really good!