Game update: 15/06/16

Father's Day is on Sunday, and if you haven't yet decided how to treat your Dad, how about a barbecue?

Introduction to Father's Day goals

This week's update is a topical way of bringing us into Summer, with not only a range of new content but also a brand spanking new goal set. More details on the goals can be found here. In the meantime, let's peruse the additions with the usual list:

Tables:

• Patio Table - 16,000 coins

Chairs:

• Charcoal Patio Chair - 12,000 coins

Wall decorations:

• World's Best Dad Picture - 11,000 coins

Floor decorations:

• Hightop Seating Area - locked by goal
• Crystal Fire Pit - locked by goal
• BBQ Island - locked by goal

Wallpapers:

• Striped Wallpaper - 8,000 coins

Floor tiles:

• Wood Deck - 5,000 coins

Appliances:

• Grill - locked by goal
• Smoker - locked by goal

Counters:

• BBQ Counter - 14,000 coins

Upon seeing this week's theme my interest immediately spiked. We've flirted with barbecue themed updates many a time in the Summer months, but have never really had a theme dedicated to it. It's definitely a worthy theme, with lots of possibilities which are highly relevant to a restaurant. I'm hoping that we could be getting barbecue based stuff for a few weeks, what with the fine dining content running for several weeks recently.

To the teaser then, and the Storm8 Blog offers a glimpse of the new goodies, including those currently hidden behind padlocks in the market.

Items from update as shown on Storm8 Blog

I'll provide extensive analysis of the goal items in the goals content report when the time comes, but at a glance this looks intriguing. I like how the three floor decorations are of the same style, meaning that they blend together seamlessly. You could quite easily mistake the arrangement of them in the above screenshot as a massive 5x4 sized item.

The BBQ Counter has a similar appearance, with various tones of grey brickwork giving for a nice finish. It's not often that I find myself digging a counter, but this is one which does impress me. It can actually sit in an outdoor area without looking awkward or unrealistic, as opposed to many of the counters in the game.

The Patio Table doesn't score quite so well with me. I'm not exactly sure why, but it might be something to do with the pristine look of it. Next to the higglety-pigglety brick pattern of the BBQ Counter this table is sharp and clean. I'm not sure it's what I'd want in an outdoor section.

But then again I do like the Charcoal Patio Chair. It's got a clean appearance to it as well, but this is tempered somewhat by a plush cushion perched against the back. This brings some homeliness and charm to this chair, which is maybe the quality the table is lacking.

The stripes of the chair's cushion are repeated with the Striped Wallpaper. Mixing different shades of blue with a sliver or two of green and yellow, this is certainly a distinctive wallpaper. I can't envisage how to utilise it at present, but I get the sense it could come in handy sometime.

Then there's the Wood Deck flooring. For a goal tile it it very expensive at 5,000 coins each, but it is an excellent addition in my view. It's such a versatile flooring - not only could it be used for a decking layout but also in any scenario where you wish to have a spotless wooden floor. Definitely one I'll be making use of at some point.

Lastly we have the World's Best Dad Picture. It's quite possibly the world's worst wall decoration. For Mother's Day I could imagine such a lovey-dovey piece, but for Father's Day, really?! I certainly couldn't begin to imagine giving my Dad something like this for Father's Day - I'd probably be disowned in the ensuing embarrassment. I guess it could make for a good sneaky inclusion in Valentine's Day decorating, but otherwise this one is a no-no.

Before I pack it in for tonight we have the usual special deals to discuss. First up is the limited time offer that comes with this update.

Notification for sale on Greek Garden

The Greek Garden is 20% off for a short period (reduced to 45 gems from 56). You'll have to tap your way through the market to find this 4x4 floor decoration, and it hasn't got an orange banner to indicate the price is reduced for a limited time.

This is a quality item, although even on sale it's still quite the commitment. I won't be partaking but I wouldn't be surprised to find quite a few players taking the bait.

Now is when I'd usually introduce the Value Pack that iOS users had the opportunity to gorge upon last Friday. But there wasn't one! For the first time since the Value Packs returned in mid-February all was quiet on Friday evening. We'd had 17 consecutive weeks of Value Packs until now, with all manner of content included.

It will be a shame if Storm8 have decided to stop offering them. I realise that Android players would probably be pleased to see the back of them given how they don't get the opportunity, but at the end of the day this did provide an additional way to harness premium content for iOS players, and it was an additional method for the gamemakers to make more dough. Who knows, maybe the final touches are being made to an Android version...

So it's off to get the barbecue lit then. Lots of goal steps to work through, and at a glance some enticing decor to unearth along the way. I'm envisaging that this goal set might just inspire the next edition of the outdoor area in The Garlic Tree!