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Your first week: a practical playbook

This is a practical checklist for your first in-game week running a venue. It puts the other guides together in the order things matter. Each step links to the guide that explains why.

Day 1: know your customers

  1. Look up your district. Which customer groups live there, in what share, and what are their daily budgets? What are the local favorite tags? (Dish satisfaction)
  2. Decide which group to target first. Usually that's the biggest group, or the one your recipes suit best. Low-budget customers care about price, high-budget customers care about rarity.
  3. Check your price caps. At level 1 the cap multiplier is ×1, and it rises with each level up to ×2, so some high prices only become possible later.

Day 1–2: build the first menu

  1. One standout dish per target group, ideally 90+ with at least one local favorite tag. It drives popularity, because the best dish counts squared. (Popularity)
  2. Fill the menu up to its limit, including a drink. Three items with a drink max out the menu term of popularity, and a decent drink adds revenue on top of each dish. At level 1 some venues allow only two menu items; from level 3 every venue allows 20.
  3. Keep each dish within 30 points of the best dish of the group it's meant for, or it won't sell to that group. Never price one coin above a group's budget maximum. (Customers and orders)
  4. Stock enough of everything. An out-of-stock dish is skipped, and a customer who doesn't get their whole order takes 0.5 to 1 star off the review.

Day 2–3: staff for stars, not just for coverage

  1. Your best server goes on serving. Each serving level is +0.1 stars, and a level 6 server reaches a service quality of 1.0. (Staff)
  2. Your best cook goes in the kitchen. Cooking level 5 gives a meal quality of 1.0.
  3. Somebody cleans. Below 0.3 cleanliness, reviews take an extra penalty.
  4. Cover the lunch and dinner peaks with overlapping shifts. Wages are hourly, so quiet hours can run with fewer people.

Day 3–5: read your reviews

  1. Check your average stars against the star breakdown. Fix the biggest loss first: incomplete orders, then service, comfort, meal quality, weather, and taste last. (Review stars)
  2. Replace your least comfortable tables and chairs. Comfort counts in every review and in popularity.
  3. If your area often gets rain or snow, plan for covered seating. (Weather and market)

Day 5–7: grow

  1. Level up. The first level-ups need only meals served, and they raise your table, staff and menu limits (to 20 tables, 10 staff and 20 menu items from level 3) and your price cap. Levels 4 and 5 need average stars of 4.0 and 4.5, so get the star factors right before you get there.
  2. Watch the market. Stock up before a shortage that hits your menu, and use a furniture surplus to upgrade comfort.
  3. Talk to people. Every quest starts in a conversation, and many need a bit of relationship first. Back up your save before important conversations. (Quests and choices)

Try it

  • Plan a starting menu in the Planner.
  • Load your save under My Save to get a "what to do next" list for each venue, sorted by how many stars each problem costs you.
  • Look up recipes in the recipe wiki and quests on the quest map.