Limes with Orange

I don't know if it's synchronicity, coincidence or a case of once you notice something you notice the same thing everywhere...

I rewatched the episode of Buffy where she starts work at a burger joint (Doublemeat Palace, Season 6) on the same day that I discovered the SpongeBob SquarePants game: Flip or Flop, where you spend three shifts making Krabby Patties (my high score is 9,913). I found myself marvelling that a job so mundane and boring in real life could be so addictive as a computer game.

The next day, I discovered Diner Dash over at Yahoo! Games. I had so much fun with it that I went in search of a crack so I could play the full version.

A couple days later, I came across Taco Joe. Not quite as good as the others, but still kinda fun. Which made me wonder... why?

What is the appeal of these fast food restaurant games? Maybe it's the whole sim game thing in general, though I've never really been into those (though perhaps I just haven't given them a proper chance). Or maybe it's some kind of cultural fascination with the whole time and motion study sort of thing.

If you're expecting some sort of fascinating sociological conclusion here, you're going to be sorely disappointed. No conclusions, just rambling. And the vague memory of the time-obsessed character, Vernon Hines, from the musical The Pajama Game (fyi... I played Gladys in my high school production) and the songs that show his obsession: Racing with the Clock & Think of the Time I Save...

"Tick tock, tick tock
Tempus fugit.
Tick tock, tick tock
Time goes by.
I'll be sitting counting seconds
Til the day I die..."

(Memory is a funny thing... I could have sworn that the lyrics to that last line were: "How I love to sit and watch the seconds multiply." But my Google search showed differently: "die" not "multiply." I can't help but wonder if my faulty recollection suggests that my inner math geek is stronger than my inner Goth. Hmm...)

Diner Dash Hints:

1. Chaining Bonuses — Think time and motion study efficiency stuff... do the same thing 2, 3 or 4 or more times in a row (and save a restaurant full of dirty tables to the very end).

2. Colour Matching — As in, seat a red person in a red chair and watch the points roll in.

3. Podium — Once you've got a podium, only seat four tables at a time and wait at the podium after you've served their food (even if they're asking for crab sticks or samosas). And make sure you wait until the heart finishes growing and everybody in line does the wave of happiness before you do anything else.

Labels: games