Café Rush

Café Rush is a cozy 3D café tycoon played on a small street diorama. You start with one little café on Maple Lane, a leafy street, with an espresso machine and a register. Customers walk in, queue to order, take a seat and wait for their tray. When it arrives they pay, add a tip and leave a rating. Keep someone waiting too long and they leave unhappy.

In the opening minutes the work is hands-on: tap the register to take an order, tap the espresso machine to brew faster and tap the pass to serve. Space does whichever of these helps most. As coins come in you hire a cashier, baristas, bakers and servers, and each one takes over a step; training makes them quicker. A goal card always shows the next thing to do, and tapping it jumps straight to the panel where it is done. There are 196 goals in all.

The counter has seven spots for four kinds of station: espresso machine, pastry oven, brunch griddle and dessert case. Every station levels up to 60 and its prices double at every tenth level. Menu research unlocks 20 recipes, from americano to tiramisu, and each one works in every café you own. Tables grow from a bistro table to four seats and a deluxe setting, and ten lines of decor, including plants, rugs, a record player, fairy lights and café cats, raise appeal for more walk-ins and bigger tips. Each day brings an event such as rain, a street festival, a heatwave, exam week, a supplier sale or a visiting food critic.

Later you open cafés in Old Town, Harbor Walk, the Garden Quarter and on the Skyline Roof, each with higher prices and costs. A manager covers missing staff and keeps a café earning while you are away, for a couple of hours at first and longer as the manager levels up. With three cafés open you can franchise the chain for Brand Stars: each star adds 10% to all prices for good, and perks unlock along the way.

A few tips: claim goals as soon as they are done, since their rewards fund early upgrades. Watch for the level where a station's prices double and push it over that line. Save big upgrades for a supplier sale day, and serve the food critic quickly for a large rating boost. Hire a manager before you close the game.

The economy is tuned so the first franchise arrives after roughly three to four hours, and it suits short visits as well as long sessions. It plays with mouse, keyboard or touch, in portrait or landscape, and your café is saved to your Benerits account.

A journey of 196 goals guides you from your first espresso to a chain of legends. Tap the goal card and it takes you to where the job gets done. Upgrade machines, hire staff, grow the menu and open new cafés. Managers keep a café earning while you are away.

When the chain is big enough, franchise it for Brand Stars that raise every price forever and unlock perks. Your café is saved to your Benerits account.