The Crazy World of Coffee

I've worked in the food business. Now, I'm sure it's different for everybody, but for me, that was not my idea of fun. You have all the hassles of retail with the added pressure of health codes and what not. I think it's safe to say that nobody really has "fun" working in the food service industry. Oddly enough, however, computer games based around these exact occupations are doing very well right now and their popularity continues to soar. It's very weird how members of the workforce play computer games to escape reality - when these games do nothing more than throw us back into a virtual workforce. But, this is all very much over my head and a philosophical debate for another time. Let's get to the part you all came for - Coffee Rush.

Evil Corporations 101

The story in Coffee Rush is far from a classic Shakespearean tale but it gets the job done fine. In fact, I've seen much, much worse storytelling in products of this sort.

The Smokestack Coffee Company is everything you would expect in an evil monopolizing corporation. The CEO takes pride in his ability to pump out the lowest quality coffee for the most ridiculously outrageous prices. What's worse, he's slowly running all the other coffee shops out of business, leaving customers with no other choice but then to buy the expensive swill that they're selling.

Somebody has to do something about it, and that somebody is you. That's right. It's time to man (or woman) up and put your best foot forward so that you can show these corporate fat cats just what a real businessman (or businesswoman!) does.

A Cup of Joe

One might expect this product to play similar to Diner Dash because of its presentation, but it's actually a match-3 puzzler. Match-3 games are arguably the heart of the puzzle game community and it feels like we haven't seen a lot of them lately, which is why it's so nice to see a good, solid attempt at bringing them back.

Customers will come into your shop and order a coffee-based drink. The ingredients needed will show in the top right corner. You must collect these ingredients by matching them on the main board. Matching three or more pieces is what it takes. At first, you'll only be matching coffee beans, but as time goes by and you expand your menu, you'll start matching all sorts of things.

After you give a customer their order - provided they didn't get impatient and leave - they'll leave the money on the counter, along with a tip based on how quickly they were served. Simply click the money to collect it.

That's the gameplay in a nutshell. As you progress, you can add more and more selections to your menu that will bring in an ever higher profit.

A Surprisingly Deep Experience

At first glance, Coffee Rush may look like nothing more than a standard puzzle game, but I urge you to take a second look. What you have here is a simple yet surprisingly complex traditional match-3 puzzler that deserves more acclaim than it's likely to get. It gets my whole-hearted recommendation.