Parents' Guide to My Cafe

Gamers wear many hats as they work to get a coffee shop up and running, but the pacing issues keep it from being a treat. In My Cafe, players make equipment purchasing decisions, fulfill orders, get new recipes, and perform other tasks. The pace can slow down, though, at times when all customers are eating or you're waiting for a menu item to replenish before it can be served. You can use the game's gem currency to speed that up, but diamonds are given out far more sparingly than coins, so you can easily run out. That means you either buy additional diamonds using real-world cash or keep trying to fill orders with available items until you earn more.

Periodically, you're choices as you play, such as asking a customer what they want to eat or drink or posing a conversational question, which adds some complexity and engagement. The ongoing narrative through conversations, which involves mysterious circumstances in some characters' lives, also adds a touch of intrigue to the experience. But trying to figure out the process involved in serving customers may cause some frustration initially -- you get prompts as new portions of the game are introduced, but detailed instructions on how to assemble orders aren't really provided, so they'll need to figure things out by trial and error. For example, handing multiple items can't be done at once, but have to be done individually, which can start to feel overly slow and repetitive. Customers also ask for items you can't serve because you haven't added one of the ingredients or the recipe. Your avatar will sometimes tell them that, but there’s no way to ask what else they'd like until you have made it through several levels -- and even then, they may decline to answer until you're at a higher level. The inconsistent pace can pose a significant challenge, because technically, you can play My Cafe fairly without buying anything, but you have to be willing to accept some lags in action if you choose to avoid spending money.