Game update: 10/02/18

What is this, an update on a Saturday?! Love is finally blossoming in Restaurant Story with a massive sale featuring a wide range of related decor from throughout the years.

Notification for Valentine's Day 2018 sale

This isn't actually the first weekend update the game has seen. Indeed it's not even the first Valentine's Day themed weekend update - back in 2013 goals were released on a Sunday, and in June 2011 there was a meagre update on a Saturday. Nevertheless it is a very rare thing.

As for the content, there are a remarkable 67 items have been framed in orange, with a five day timer applied. That means that this sale should conclude on Thursday 15th February, the day after Valentine's. And because I'm ever so slightly mad, here's a complete list of the discounted stuff:

Item	Category	Cost
Love Table	Tables	20,000 coins
Romantic Table	Tables	8 gems
Heart Host Table	Tables	18,000 coins
Red Heart Table	Tables	4 gems
Heart Anchor	Tables	4 gems
Love Chair	Chairs	10,000 coins
Romantic Chair	Chairs	5 gems
Sweetheart Stool	Chairs	12,000 coins
Love Boat Chair	Chairs	12,000 coins
Red Heart	Chairs	5,000 coins
Heart Lights	Wall decorations	6,900 coins
Love Candy	Wall decorations	28,500 coins
Movie Poster	Wall decorations	28,000 coins
Cross My Heart	Wall decorations	9,000 coins
Cupid's Arrows	Wall decorations	14,000 coins
Neon Lights	Wall decorations	16,000 coins
Heart Swirls	Floor decorations	2,400 coins
Pink Couch	Floor decorations	11 gems
Love Pug	Floor decorations	7,700 coins
Cupid's Arrow	Floor decorations	29 gems
Kissing Booth	Floor decorations	13 gems
Valentine Candy	Floor decorations	15 gems
Romantic Dinner	Floor decorations	31 gems
Valentine Divider	Floor decorations	12,000 coins
Kissing Statue	Floor decorations	26 gems
Heart Statue	Floor decorations	14 gems
Valentine Candelabra	Floor decorations	6 gems
Romantic Park Bench	Floor decorations	23 gems
Amethyst Heart	Floor decorations	14 gems
Love Birds	Floor decorations	42,000 coins
Teddy Bear	Floor decorations	6 gems
Be Mine	Floor decorations	14 gems
Love Boat Crew	Floor decorations	65,000 coins
Love Boat Cafe	Floor decorations	34 gems
Love Boat Treats	Floor decorations	15 gems
Love Boat Pup	Floor decorations	6 gems
Little Love Boat	Floor decorations	40,000 coins
Valentine Robot	Floor decorations	35,000 coins
Valentine Fountain	Floor decorations	32 gems
Heart Floor Lamp	Floor decorations	6 gems
Heart Piano	Floor decorations	36 gems
Valentine Kitten	Floor decorations	9 gems
Love Snow Globe	Floor decorations	24 gems
Kissing Swans	Floor decorations	23 gems
Table of Romance	Floor decorations	24,000 coins
Layered Hearts	Wallpapers	1,000 coins
Flying Heart	Wallpapers	6,000 coins
Hearts	Wallpapers	7,000 coins
Heart	Wallpapers	5,900 coins
Sweetheart Print	Wallpapers	8,000 coins
Hearts and Anchors	Wallpapers	8,000 coins
Heart Anchor	Floor tiles	5,000 coins
Sweetheart Tile	Floor tiles	1,000 coins
Love Boat Stove	Appliances	30,000 coins
Fondue for Two	Appliances	10,000 coins
Valentine	Counters	5 gems
Sweetheart Counter	Counters	9,000 coins
Love Boat Counter	Counters	4 gems
Date Night	Counters	12,500 coins
Love Counter	Counters	8,000 coins
Romantic Counter	Counters	8 gems
Valentine's Box (2011)	Boxes	18 gems
Chinese Celebration	Boxes	18 gems
Puppy Love Crate	Boxes	18 gems
Take Out Box	Boxes	18 gems
Love Chest (2014)	Boxes	18 gems
Valentine Chest (2012)	Boxes	18 gems

It's a whopper of a sale. There's a fantastic split of coin and gem decor - 33 for coins and 34 for gems - and with 29 floor decorations on offer this is a great opportunity to enhance your diner this Valentine's Day.

Pinpointing the best of the selection available is very difficult, but inevitably my thoughts turn to what are some of the most expensive inclusions. The likes of the Romantic Dinner, Heart Piano and Kissing Swans are all vintage Restaurant Story items, but they will also burn a hole in your gem purse. The latter is a particularly interesting inclusion given that it is the prize we were striving for (and mostly failing to gain) in the Chocolate Maker goals. Of course it could in theory be obtained for coins in that, but this is a nice alternative for the countless players who were unable to complete those goals.

However my personal favourite piece experiencing the orange border treatment is the Romantic Park Bench. It was initially released in 2012 and has made plenty of repeat appearances for sales in the years since. And yet I've never made the investment. It depicts a happy couple cuddled on a park bench surrounded by roses and really encapsulates the joy and cuteness of Valentine's. It would also fit in perfectly with my current set-up, but alas I've already spent heavily on another item so will have to restrain myself... again.

With regard to the two appliance included in the sale, I believe that they have both been in the market ever since their initial releases. And at the prices indicated presently. So really they shouldn't be advertised as part of a sale, but I doubt Storm8 care. The issue now is that they could well be removed at the end of the five day window, so as a precaution you should look to purchase all of the copies of them that you desire.

Update: Thanks to Monkey House for pointing out that they in fact were not available prior to the sale!

There are six boxes have been included (with a rather more modest 25% discount than the 50% we've become accustomed to), although only three of these are actually Valentine's themed. It's a funny little quirk of Restaurant Story that in all the years the game has been operational we've only witnessed the introduction of three Valentine's based crates. And consequently the gamemakers have decided to throw in a further three, including the very topical Chinese Celebration as Chinese New Year approaches. Remember to visit my Crate Catalogue for details on what lies within each of the boxes marked down.

 Crate Catalogue

 All the details on all the boxes

As wide-ranging as this collection of deals is, I can't help but feel that the game's developers have left it a little late. After all it is only four days until Valentine's Day and most players have already done their redecorating (and possibly their gem spending). It would have been a better call if Storm8 had issued this sale at the beginning of the week or even the week before when the five day goal set based around the Chocolate Maker was launched.

And at this point I think it's probably safe to say that this is our lot for Valentine's in 2018. There has been no full length quest, with the Chinese New Year goals preferred. That's a first in the game and frankly disappoints me. I'm not a big fan of Valentine's Day but I do recognise it as one of the pillars of the Restaurant Story calendar, so to see it neglected in terms of a proper batch of goals is saddening. This is only added to when we consider the difficulty of that Chocolate Maker oriented quest - it was brutally difficult given the time constraints, with very few players finishing it.

 Valentine's Day 2018

 02/02/18 Goals
 02/02/18 Update

So it's not all positive news surrounding this update, but I must admit the sale itself is a beauty. Storm8 have provided us with a colossal amount of content, and that is something which should never be scoffed at.

The Valentine's Day fun and games are only just beginning on here, because there are two more posts on the way. Originally I'd planned to give an overview of my place to you today, but have pushed that back following this update, probably until tomorrow. And then there's the one you've all been waiting for... the showcase. My inspiring neighbours will be taking centre stage on the 14th - I can feel the love already!