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| Notification for latest Christmas update |
There's a wealth of new content this week, so without any further ado, here's the comprehensive list:
Tables:
- Santa Table - 5 gems
- Santa Chair - 5,000 coins
- Santa Hat Garland - 10,000 coins
- Bag of Gifts - 30 gems
- Gift Opening - 45 gems
- Gilded Tree - 30 gems
- Little Helper - 50,000 coins
- Snow Globe Fountain - 75,000 coins
- Santa Wallpaper - 7,500 coins
- Santa Hat Tile - 3,500 coins
- Santa Counter - 10 gems
- Winter Crate - 24 gems
That's a pretty big list! So big in fact that the lack of any new recipes or re-releases of old goodies isn't all that disappointing - I can deal with that considering how much else there is to look at!
A preview of a number of the new decorations has been posted on the TeamLava Blog:
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| Items from update as shown on TeamLava Blog |
So where to start? Well, the best place to commence is probably with the remnants of last week's update. The Holiday Tree which was re-released last week without any 'new' banner nor a timer is still around, so it looks likely to remain for the duration of the festive season. However the same cannot be said of the Holiday Gift box, which has now been removed from the market. For the sake of completeness, here's the distribution list for this box:
First Prize (1% chance)
- Ice Castle
- Santa's Sleigh
- Santa
- Snowman
- Holiday Tree
- Gift Pile
- Coat Rack
- Candy Cane Statue
- Gingerbread House
The Holiday Tree listed is the same one which is available in the market (for 40 gems), so at least it's still gettable if you fancy it. Thanks so much to everyone who has contributed to this list, including Works of Wonder, Fat Bear, purple rest, Adam's Apple, Black Pepper and fruit v. And the TeamLava Forum users deserve some credit too.
Now that that is out of the way, time to focus on this week's offerings. The coin-gem split is exactly 50:50, but it doesn't really feel that way since the gem products are expensive, particularly the three floor decorations. The Bag of Gifts is the most overpriced at 30 gems, considering that all you're getting is a 1x1 piece. It's a shame because it does look quite nice, but not something I'd fork out 30 gems for!
The Gift Opening isn't much better. There's definitely some scaling down gone on here, as this item is only 2x2 in size. For 45 gems you expect to get a weighty decoration which is the envy of the community. If scaled up this one could perhaps achieve that, but at its current size is just not a plausible candidate for my shopping basket.
The last gem addition in the floor decoration bracket is the Gilded Tree. It's also 2x2, but at least is more competitively priced at 30 gems. I have to say, I love it! The tree itself is a shimmering gold colour, and is adorned with glittering silver baubles. As if that wasn't glorious enough, there's a number of presents including a trio of teddy bears nestled under the tree, plus the whole thing is on a round rug. Woah! I didn't really envisage spending any more gems this Christmas if I'm honest, but I just have!
Next for inspection are the remaining two floor items. The Little Helper is a happy little cat in a Santa hat, but being rather diminutive is very poor value at 50,000 coins. Not having any expansions to save for now, I'm not too bothered so have bought the kitty anyway. The Snow Globe Fountain is the polar opposite (metaphorically speaking, everything Christmassy is near the North Pole of course!) as it is a 4x4 colossus. This is a piece which many will be buying simply because it's worthy of being a high placed box prize and yet is up for coins. I've certainly invested in it despite having nowhere to house it! Maybe next year!
Christmas 2014
Elsewhere, the Santa Table is another addition which is expensive. The design is quite nice in my opinion, with a really clean finish, but the 5 gem price is such a turn off. The accompanying Santa Counter is also a bit of a rip off at 10 gems. At least the Santa Chair is only 5,000 coins, although without the table it's difficult to see how it can be placed effectively. If you are lucky enough to have any of the Twinkle Tables, Twinkle Chairs and Twinkle Counters from 2012 then stick with them - they're a similar concept but are much more affordable!
Continuing the Santa theme, the Santa Hat Tile is slightly strange. It consists of a red and white chequered tile with a Santa Hat printed over the top. The checks sort of spoil it for me, as it looks like something that belongs to a pizzeria. Maybe I need to lighten up! At least the red and white goes along with some of the other stuff we've had - specifically the North Pole content from last week.
The Santa Wallpaper doesn't have the chequered pattern, but instead features a generous amount of Santa's beard! Hmm. Not sure I'm too keen to have this covering my walls this Christmas! I suspect some players will find a cool way to fit it in though. Also new for the walls is the Santa Hat Banner. This I do like, and have installed it in my kitchen area. There's nothing too intricate about it, but for 10,000 coins is something fresh for my brick walls.
All that remains is the new box. I really convinced myself following the Holiday Gift's re-release last week that we were going to get a vintage box returned every Wednesday (for a discounted price!) throughout the rest of December. After all there has been one every year so there's plenty for the players to blow their gems on. But my prophecy lies in bits, as it's a brand new box called the Winter Crate that's been added to the market.
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| Notification for Winter Crate |
For 24 gems you get a single dip and either emerge jubilant having bagged a rare and mighty item for a snip or furious at your lack of self-control having been lumped with a dud. The odds are against you, but there's always a chance of glory! I've managed to draw up a complete list of the box's contents:
First Prize (1% chance)
- Winter Carriage
- Tree Globe
- 'Candy Tree'
- Candy Cane Lamp
- Reindeer Display
- Boy Helper
- Girl Helper
- Candy Cane Divider
- 'Winter Dogs'
The items in inverted commas are yet to be officially named, so if you open the box and gain something not yet given its proper title then I'd really appreciate if you could leave a comment! Thanks to Fat Bear for coming up trumps once again with some of the details. For screenshots of some of the prizes, head over to the TeamLava Forum, where an associate producer has been kind enough to provide some images.
There it is then. The lateness of Halloween and Autumn updates had me seriously worried that Christmas wouldn't be getting the full treatment in Restaurant Story this year, but my fears have been banished in the grand manner. The game's developers have done an excellent job this festive season and deserve some praise for that.
But we're not done yet! The next two updates are on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve. Considering that 12 months ago we got updates on Christmas Day and New Year's Day (both Wednesdays) I think we can actually expect new content on the two Eves. That would be really nice, especially if there are one or two extra little presents to be had...
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