Game update: 01/02/17

Super Bowl LI is just around the corner, and you can be sure that your restaurant will be packed out come Sunday for the climax of the American football season. So make sure that your sports crazed customers feel right at home!

Notification for Game Day Crate

The notification above calls it the Big Game Crate, but I'm going with the market's title of the Game Day Crate. Whatever the case, this chest is this week's only totally new addition, and is available at 50% off for a limited time. Usually boxes are a 24 gem investment but as a special treat for its release, this crate is just 12 gems.

In truth with February having crept up on us I expected this update to be purely a Valentine's Day affair, but given that what we have got is still topical I don't have any complaints. It's also nice to move on from a prolonged spell of winter themed updates.

Incredibly this is the first time that the game's developers have pushed out a Super Bowl themed update - we already have a decent selection of stuff with the Football Chest a particularly notable source, but never before has such content been released to coincide with Super Bowl week.

Before we go any further I have to remind everyone that I am in the UK where this weekend's sporting excitement is likely to stem from the start of this year's Six Nations (come on Scotland!) I'm neither knowledgeable nor particularly interested in American sports, although I will likely tune into some of the Super Bowl on Sunday (and will no doubt have no idea what's going on!)

Bearing all that in mind, I still think this is a decent box. For anyone who is a big American football fan this update is surely a huge hit, especially because there's already a nice haul of related content in the market. Indeed I currently have a sports themed section in my diner with the likes of the Sports Bar and Halftime Snacks prominent.

But is it worth the gamble of 12 gems to further enhance my hallowed turf? Well, the first thing we need to decide that is a glimpse of all the prizes in the Game Day Crate. Fortunately the Storm8 Blog's weekly teaser provided just that yesterday:

Items from update as shown on Storm8 Blog

There appear to be the standard eight prizes in all, with a range of different shapes and sizes probably corresponding to the rarity of the prize. Here's my best guess at the distribution of the prizes by tier:

First Prize

• Touch Down Dance

Second Prize

• Cheering Fans
• 'Game Day Cheerleaders'

Third Prize

• Game Day Fans
• 'Game Day Buffet'

Fourth Prize

• Game Day Player
• Referee
• Goal Post

This list is not set in stone by any means so if you find any errors or can provide any official titles for the decorations please do go ahead in the comments below. Thanks to Stephen Hopkins for doing just that!

For me it's the Cheering Fans which is the standout prize. Up until now I've used the Jolly Jockeys goal prize from the derby day goals in 2015 on the rare occasions when I've needed to have a watching crowd, but they're standing or sitting quite regimentally since they're presumably getting the obligatory pre-race photo. The Cheering Fans on the other hand enjoys much more action, with the eight bots depicted as being properly engaged in whatever they're watching. Well, except for one guy on the front who is operating a selfie stick!

Sandwiching two Cheering Fans stands in the teaser above is the 'Game Day Cheerleaders'. Dressed immaculately in blue and white, five girls are showing much more flexibility than I ever have. If you have access to some of the goodies from the basketball goals from three years ago then I imagine these cheerleaders would look great on a basketball court. In fact the same goes for the Cheering Fans too.

The top prize is a little disappointing in my opinion. The Touch Down Dance involves four kids having a caper with a football on a marked mat, and just leaves me wondering why Storm8 didn't go for a group of actual players in action. Maybe it's just because this item has been displayed in the middle of the pitch in the teaser, but it just lacks the credibility I'm looking for in a first prize.

Elsewhere it's the fourth prizes which I'm most attracted to. The Game Day Player, Referee and Goal Post are all nice components which when put together could really help form a high quality sporting scene. I suppose that's the only issue - they're only really effective as a collective and that means a high gem expenditure. At least if you get the ref there's scope for some cross-theme fun ahead of Valentine's if you pair him with the Referee Waitress already on the market!

The two third prizes are something of a letdown for me, even if the Game Day Fans is sizeable for a third prize. At 3x3 there's potential, but I think the gamemakers have done a botched job of designing the characters' legs, with them being too short as they perch on the stools. I'm also slightly baffled by the guy in the Arab headdress. Am I misinterpreting something here? It just seems a strange place to include such a garment for the first time.

The other third prize, the 'Game Day Buffet', is very odd looking. It's clearly intended to be a model sports stadium made out of food, but there's too much detail being crammed into too small a space here. Beyond the sandwiches around the perimeter I'm struggling to make out anything else, which leaves me feeling that a traditional buffet decoration would have been the wiser option.

That covers the box, but it's not the only item on sale presently. First of all there's the Football Arcade which - unless I am mistaken - is enjoying its first ever airing out of its box for the next seven days.

Notification for Football Arcade limited time offer

A second prize from the Football Chest, the Football Arcade is only 2x1 in size which is not really sufficient for a second prize. And I feel like we have a number of similar decorations which are much cheaper so why bother with this one? Sorry but this isn't a limited time offer I'll be going for.

Luckily there's still time to turn my frown upside down because there's a mega sale has been launched today which runs through to 15th February.

Notification for Valentine's Day sale

Valentine's Day is approaching, and Storm8 have kindly provided a sale on a range of related content. There are 69 items included in all, although it's worth noting that to my knowledge everything that appears in this sale was already in the market so there are no re-releases as such. It's just about good discounts, but be wary - I believe the special deals are restricted to the gem content which is 25% off, with the exception of the three boxes which are 50% off, much like the Game Day Crate.

So for the coin decor in this sale there's not really a sale at all. Just a banner counting down. That's rather misleading, and leads to the question of whether all this stuff will be removed from the market in 14 days time. I suggest erring on the side of caution and buying up anything you like the look of pronto. And in fairness there's not much point in making Valentine's purchases after the event anyway.

As ever I'm pleased to see newer players get a shot at this seasonal selection, even if it was already in the market. The reduced prices for the gem content is the attraction, and since long timers have had ample opportunity in the past to bag such decorations at a lowered cost, it's only right that the game's developers repeated their past exploits. What we need now of course is some brand new Valentine's content which fulfils everyone's needs.

So in summary we have a new box which is well timed ahead of the Super Bowl and a Valentine's Day sale to appease those players who are either not interested in sport or are itching to deck their place out with those romantic touches.

But the final thought for this update has to go to the characters appearing in the various prizes. Never before have I seen a greater show of ethnic diversity in an update. It truly appears that Storm8 have made an effort to include some black figures which is something they have not had form for in the past. Indeed this has been a long running campaign from various members of the community, not least blog favourite Nibble and Noms. There's always a chance that it's just a coincidence, but I don't think so! Credit to the gamemakers for finally reflecting the diverse nature of society, and congratulations to those determined players who have been pushing for this for so long!