It may not have "Tycoon" in its name, but Cake Mania runs like a Tycoon game. You're Jill (sorry, guys, no Jack), the owner of a bakery who just graduated from culinary school. Jill's grandparents' bakery closed thanks to the new Mega-Mart nearby. The goal is to operate a new bakery and earn enough bucks to re-open Jill's grandparents' bakery.
Every level requires meeting a financial goal prior to moving to the next level. You can watch your progress at the bottom of the screen, which indicates how much cash you've earned in the level and the goal you need to reach. The game has over 45 levels (months) and four different styles of bakeries. As you earn money in each level, you can use it to buy more equipment and operate faster.
You don't simply take customer orders. You also give them a menu, bake their cakes to their requirements, serve customer, and collect money. Some customers require faster service than others. When you get a new kind of customer, the game tells you about the customer. One example customer is the college student who doesn't have a lot of money, but has more patience than most customers.
Every cake must be baked in a certain shape and frosted with a specifically requested color. You may need to add decorations, but it depends on the customer's request. Cheer up customers who lose patience by turning on the television to a favorite station or giving them a cupcake. Of course, you have to earn enough money to buy the television and cupcake microwave.
Levels are represented by the months of the year. Level one is January. As you go through each level, you'll see characters reflecting that month's holiday. Expect heart-shaped cakes and cupid in February, a bearded Easter Bunny in the spring, and Dracula. These folks may appear another time of the year as they take vacations, too. Serve Dracula as soon as possible because he scares customers away. These characters keep the game interesting and non-monotonous, a problem that can afflict these types of games.
Article Author: Meryl
Meryl K. Evans is the content maven (AKA writer, editor, researcher, word gal, CEO, and UFO) behind meryl.net. She's the author of Brilliant Outlook Pocketbook and co-author of Adapting Web Standards. Meryl has been blogging since June 2000. …
Article comments
1 - Joan Hunt
I've tried Cake Mania and loved the concept, though I can't imagine playing more than the trial levels. However, it's a nice alternative to the shoot-em-ups normally populating video games. Great diversions are hard to come by, and Cake Mania does offer something different.
2 - meryl
Agreed! I've never been the shoot 'em up or virtual reality fan. Always prefered adventures, arcade, tycoons and so on. Just wish I could get pass June!