Welcome to this week’s installment of F2P Friday, where we highlight our favorite Free-to-Play games. The video game market is oversaturated, and sometimes, hidden gems fall through the cracks. This is where we dig for you and feature a new F2P game we know you will enjoy every week. This week, we are clicking our way into the hearts and bellies of the hamster customers in Cookard.
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Cookard
Cookard is a cooking game where you run a restaurant by stacking cards to prepare and serve dishes to customers. Manage your bakery empire and stuff the cheeks of the hungry hamster inhabitants of your local community with starchy offerings.
The Basics
Let’s get down to the basics of Cookard by Panitia GameDev and Cliffbite Game—this cozy cooking sim mixes elements of simple clicker games with strategy resource management. The controls are responsive, with a click-and-drag mechanic for sorting cards and a clicker mechanic to progress simple tasks like pumping water or charging the hand crank.
RELATED: Love mobile video games? Check out Mobile Game Monday for your next pick…
Every dish requires a certain set of steps and ingredients, which can typically be completed by dragging ingredient cards (such as Egg, Dough, Honey) to utensil cards (such as Oven, Stove). You can always check the “Recipes” section if you’re at a loss. As the game progresses, you’ll unlock more recipes to cook and way more activities to keep track of. If your empire is growing out of control, consider hiring some workers to automate the more mundane tasks as you add farming to your repertoire.
Why Should I Play?
So why should you play Cookard? There is no tutorial for the game but the initial elements are introduced in an organic way that allows players to easily deduce how to complete tasks. Getting new stations and deciding which resources to unlock can be overwhelming with so little information, but the penalty for not serving customers is low.
Thankfully, there is a pause button to help take off a little pressure so players can organize their boards as card piles grow. The music and art make for a cozy experience that even some towering stacks of eggs can’t undermine. I love how much content is packed into this adorable game. I sat down intending to play Cookard for 30 minutes, but accidentally played for over two hours instead.
Think you can take the heat in this adorable yet increasingly stressful kitchen? You can download Cookard for free on Steam here to test your grit and gumption!
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