Game update: 23/07/14

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!

Notification for Ice Cream update

This is a box update with the delicious theme of ice cream. The only new item is the Ice Cream Crate, a 24 gem purchase which when selected will provide you with a lucky dip. What you get depends on how lucky you are (or perhaps how rich!)

So what could you win? Well the the TeamLava Blog has a glimpse of all the new content:

Items from Ice Cream Crate as shown on TeamLava Blog

We can usually draw up a distribution list based on the size of the items, so here goes:

First Prize (1% chance)

• Ice Cream Parlor

Second Prize (10% chance)

• Ice Cream Truck
• Ice Cream Stand

Third Prize (35% chance)

• Waffle Cone Bench
• Sundae Station

Fourth Prize (54% chance)

• Ice Cream Balloons
• Giant Ice Cream Cone
• Giant Milkshake
• Giant Root Beer Float
• Ice Cream Girl

If you find that any of the above items are incorrectly named then please feel free to leave a comment at the bottom of this post and I'll update the list.

At present there are 10 items listed which might be a mistake as there are usually only nine up for grabs. At first I thought the Ice Cream Balloons were part of the Ice Cream Truck but apparently they are not, so I can't see any other way of avoiding having 10 pieces in total!

All in all I quite like this box. The first and second prizes are really cool, with plenty going on - they're sort of a snapshot of a scene, and could really add some vibrancy to a restaurant. In particular I love the Ice Cream Truck. It would be a great return for 24 gems what with having four kids and the truck itself with the spilt ice cream decoration on top. But your chances of getting it at the first attempt are clearly slim.

The other second prize also catches my attention. The Ice Cream Stand isn't overly complicated, but looks nice and would work in any outdoor environment. Plus combined with the Farmers Market Stand from a few weeks ago you'd have yourself a full on market area.

The third prizes I could take or leave. The Waffle Cone Bench is pretty damn ugly and would leave me fuming if that was my result from a box attempt. And I think the Sundae Station has a pretty naff tablecloth, which makes it look out of place wherever it's put.

However the fourth prizes aren't all that bad. The three giant foods obviously lack realism, but there's something about them which I find quite adorable. Maybe I just crave a massive beer! And the Ice Cream Girl is flexible in that she could fit into any summery theme, whether it be the seaside or a riverboat scene.

And that's a point which actually stands for everything in this box. You don't have to create an ice cream themed area to house any of these decorations - any outdoor theme with a hot outlook will suffice. Indeed I'd love to be able to add to my beach theme with just about any of these items (except the bench!) But I'm already starting to think about saving for Black Friday so will refrain from spending the gems on this occasion. I'm certainly campaigning for this box to be opened up for Thanksgiving!

Now that I've done the usual analysis, it's time to get deep with a few Easter eggs. Any of you who play Bakery Story may have already caught them, but I can reveal that some of the box content is actually partially recycled from over in Bakery! For example let's take the Ice Cream Parlor. It is also a floor decoration in TeamLava's sister game:

Preview of Ice Cream Parlor from Bakery Story

It has been altered somewhat, but note that the cabinet of ice cream has been lifted straight up with only the colour of the work 'ICE CREAM' on the side changed. Even the flavours of ice cream in each trough are the same! At least the rest of the first prize has been adjusted, although following on from last week's discussion I'd have liked the floor to have been removed rather than simply re-coloured!

A much more blatant copy is the Waffle Cone Bench, which has been reused identically. Interestingly it cost 15 gems over in Bakery, so I guess that tells you that it isn't a financially sound third prize! Then there's the Giant Milkshake which is a replica of the Strawberry Milkshake from Bakery. This time there are changes, with the straw rotated in the opposite direction and the colour of the milkshake given a shake-up (ahem!)

We've seen the copying of content before from a fellow TeamLava game, and it's something I don't personally have a problem with, especially when the stuff being reused is from what was a very popular update in the sister game.

So that's it. The Ice Cream Crate is your lot for this week - either keep saving up those precious gems or go crazy opening the box!