Christmas 2017 goals content report

Time for one last goals content report in 2017! The Christmas goals expired on Thursday, and so now is a good time to look back at what Santa got us this year.

Introduction to Christmas 2017 goals

The structure of this full length quest wasn't out of the ordinary, but the choice of content to include most certainly was. The green Father Christmas decoration that was part of the release and readily available to purchase gave an early insight into what we could expect - Christmas around the world was explored. Although an interesting concept, this did give me concerns since I do have rather traditional tendencies when it comes to Christmas in Restaurant Story.

The first of the items unlocked via the goals was the Grandfather Frost, a character of Russian origin who is known for handing out presents on New Year's Eve. The blue coat and magical staff are both classic features of Grandfather Frost. In this depiction he is accompanied by his granddaughter the Snow Maiden. The result is a piece which from my perspective looks like a bride being brought down the aisle by her overdressed father. This does make it a potentially effective item for a winter wedding theme.

 Christmas 2017

 25/12/17 Showcase

 24/12/17 Christmas fun at The Garlic Tree

 23/12/17 Sale update

 14/12/17 Goals

 14/12/17 Goals update

Next up is the Sinterklaas Shoes. This one is based off the Dutch figure of Saint Nicholas with the feast of Sinterklaas taking place on 6th December. Strictly speaking he's not a Christmas related guy, but Saint Nicholas is credited as one of the original sources of the modern day Santa Claus. Rather than a stocking being put out by the children they leave a pair of shoes which are each filled with gifts.

I like how there are sweets scattered all around this decoration, thus emphasising that the shoes are stuffed full of goodies. But I'm a little confused by the apparently solid gold material the shoes are made from. Perhaps this is a part of the Sinterklaas tradition that I have overlooked - it certainly gives the impression that we are dealing with some very well off kids here!

The final goal prize is the Ole Christmas Feast which involves a number of traditional festive figures from around the globe gathering for a special meal. Sinterklaas appears to be among them with that now familiar headgear, while the modern day Santa that we all know and love is also present and giving a cheeky wave. This is a really rich decoration with the table covered in food and drink and presents sitting invitingly on the mantelpiece at the back.

The cultural lesson didn't stop with the floor decor unlocked along the goals path. It was also very prevalent with the numerous recipes opened up too. The first three such dishes were situated on the North Pole Fountain. Taking 10 Red Ornaments, 6 Wiring and 6 Holly Screwdrivers to build, this appliance was the first to call for the Holly Screwdriver since both of the cookers involved in the 2014 Christmas goal set.

Here are the three recipes situated herein:

North Pole Fountain recipes

The Cola de Mono originates from Chile and translates as 'Monkey's Tail'. Apparently it's similar to a White Russian, just with the vodka replaced by a liquor called aguardiente.

Meanwhile the Poppy Seed Milk is a drink or soup that comes from Lithuania where it is served on Christmas Eve. And the Hot Wassail is supposedly a hot mulled cider of English origin which is often enjoyed at Christmas. Fair to say that we stick to Baileys in my house!

Here are some ratings:

Cola De Mono
Profit	XP gain	Portions	Profit per plate	Availability	Rating
2	5	1	5	5	3.2

Poppy Seed Milk
Profit	XP gain	Portions	Profit per plate	Availability	Rating
2	5	2	5	5	3.4

Hot Wassail
Profit	XP gain	Portions	Profit per plate	Availability	Rating
5	3	2	7	5	4.0

Staggeringly the cola shares it's statistical make-up with 11 other recipes of 3 hour length. The milk only has two fellows with the same numbers, while the wassail is one of six matching 1 hour efforts.

The numerical duplication really is tiresome and needs addressing. Then again I've said that enough times now that my complaints about the matter are probably tiresome for you readers!

Moving swiftly on, the North Pole Oven requires 8 Fuses, 8 Snowflakes and 12 Blue Ornaments to construct, with the latter being the new part. There's a similar situation here to what we had with the North Pole Fountain's need for Holly Screwdrivers - the Snowflake is making a first appearance since being introduced alongside the 2014 Christmas goals. And there's also a sign of a pattern with the Fuse (and Wiring on the North Pole Fountain) as they have each been called for three times in the past three months.

Taking a step back, there's something of a gaffe with this appliance. We already have a cooker named 'North Pole Oven', with this being one of those two from the 2014 quest. They are luckily of a different design and contain different foods, but it's still a silly error and one which you'd have expected to be rectified promptly. Alas, perhaps because of the limited support available during the festive season there's no alteration been made at the time of writing, meaning that we have two appliances with the same name.

Anyway, here are the trio of dishes within:

North Pole Oven recipes

There's more learning to be had here, starting with the Lutefisk which is typically a whitefish cured with lye. This is a traditional Christmas dish in some Nordic nations such as Sweden and Finland.

The Ensaymada is a pastry which takes its roots from Mallorca. It is consumed in South America but also in the Philippines where an Edam cheese topped version (as depicted in the game) is consumed at Christmas, often alongside hot chocolate and strawberries. There's a winning combination right there!

Lastly there's the Tamales. Mexico is the source of this entry, with the food eaten during a number of notable events including Independence Day, the Day of the Dead and, of course, Christmas. There's another nomenclature anomaly here (well done to eeveldoll and VanaCatu on the Storm8 Forum for spotting it!) since the Tamales is actually already in the game - it appears on the Food Cart Grill, albeit with a different design. Nevertheless it's another schoolboy error which you just wouldn't have seen from the gamemakers in yesteryear.

Now to the recipe ratings:

Lutefisk
Profit	XP gain	Portions	Profit per plate	Availability	Rating
2	6	1	5	5	3.5

Ensaymada
Profit	XP gain	Portions	Profit per plate	Availability	Rating
1	6	1	3	5	3.5

Tamales
Profit	XP gain	Portions	Profit per plate	Availability	Rating
3	5	2	9	5	4.1

There is more duplication witnessed here - the Lutefisk has seven doppelgangers and the Tamales is identical statistically to the Long Life Noodles (Dim Sum Stove) added back in 2014 for Chinese New Year.

Fortunately the Ensaymada is unique on the numbers front (hurray!) It's only just though - it shares the lowest profit for a 7 hour candidate with the Crab Cakes (Marine Oven) and Cove Clams (Creepy Stove) and also has the same XP gain as both of them. Where it differs is the portions factor where the 400 yielded is a first in the duration. However this is still only marginally better than the two aforementioned dishes and the School Lunch (Basic Stove).

The Ensaymada is slightly stronger when it comes to XP. I pointed out that it has the same XP as both the crab and clams, but that is enough to tie for the sixth best in the duration. However it should be said that among the five which produce more XP are the Gumbo (Basic Stove) and Beignet (Basic Oven) which are available from the early levels.

Overall I'm more satisfied with this goal set than I expected to be. I am a stickler for tradition at Christmas time and so expected to see reindeer grazing in the snow and kids opening presents in front of a log fire. But this taster of festive ways around the world was fascinating and gave us a memorable Christmas quest which is far removed from what we typically get at this time of year. So on reflection it's a happy thumbs up from me!