After taking a break from the Playdate following Season Two and the wonderfully weird experience that was Blippo+, I finally dusted off my little yellow console this week and dove back in. And what better place to start than with a couple of games about cheese? Cheese ‘n Crackers and Say When! both hit the Playdate Catalog recently, but aside from the thematic similarity, they’re two very different games. As an extra treat (unrelated to cheese), I also picked up Ware-wolf Campfire Stories, a free game on itch.io that’s actually over a dozen bite-sized games in one.
Cheese ‘n Crackers
When it comes to snacking, everyone’s got their preferences. Some crave a savory blast of umami, while for others, a sweet treat might be what always hits the spot. Or maybe you’re like me, and if you have one, it needs to be followed by the other. Creating snacks that hit just right is what Cheese ‘n Crackers is all about.
In this Playdate game, you have what is essentially a neverending charcuterie board with all the fixins you could imagine. There are meats, cheeses, spreads, spices, vegetables, fruits and various types of crackers and breads to adorn with those toppings. You have to combine ingredients to make the perfect snacks for whatever group you’re serving that round. Each group — like the Speed Daters or Grandma’s Bridge Club — has a specific set of guidelines that may include favorites, dietary restrictions or aversions to certain tastes.
A still from the Playdate game Cheese n Crackers showing a cutting board with various meats, vegetables, cheeses and crackers (Scenic Route Software)
While pairing ingredients is pretty intuitive, there are specific combinations that will earn you more points, so you’ll have to pay attention to descriptions of each food item. Or, you can turn to the Cheese ‘n Crackers Compatibility Spreadsheet for all of that information in one place. Yes, that exists, and it’s an intimidating work of culinary organization. Toppings will go bad if they sit out for too long, so you won’t want to waste too much time scouring the spreadsheet, but it’s still a relatively low-pressure game that you can play at your own pace. For the more competitive among us, though, there are leaderboards so you can challenge yourself with scores to beat.
Say When!
This is the more intense of our cheese games, with a Root Bear–like structure that sees you tending to a revolving door of restaurant patrons and trying to grate the perfect amount of cheese for their meals using the crank. And despite being called Say When!, your customers (very unhelpfully) will not actually say “when” to let you know you can stop cranking; you have to pay attention to their unique tells to know when they’re satisfied — the twitch of a mustache, a change in facial expression, etc.
A still from the Playdate game Say When! showing a man wearing dark sunglasses sitting at a table, with a dish in front of him. Grated cheese is pouring onto the dish from a cheese grater that floats above it (Smashtoad Studios)
There’s a customer satisfaction meter at the top of the screen that will take hits any time you under- or over-serve cheese, or suffer if you’re moving too slowly, and once it’s down to the bottom, you’re fired. After each shift, you’ll be given the choice to use a modifier that can help you out in areas like customer satisfaction or getting the boss off your back. To mix things up, there are also mini-games that pop up in the middle of your shift. You might be furiously grating cheese and then have to switch gears and save the life of a choking customer, for example.
It’s fast-paced, it’s silly and it’s pretty hard to put down once you get going.
Ware-wolf Campfire Stories
While the Playdate Catalog has lots of great titles to choose from, there are plenty of gems not on there that are worth checking out too. One such example is Ware-wolf Campfire Stories, a unique package of 14 tiny games that’s free on itch.io. It’s the result of a collaboration between 15 developer teams — including the developers of Off-Planet Dreams, the Life’s Too Short series, Voidblazers and other popular Playdate titles.
Per the description:
In Ware-wolf Campfire Stories, 5 kids are sitting around a fire with their counselor telling spoooooky tales! Each story launches a separate game that you may win or lose…. with consequences.
It’s a cool format, and there’s some nice variety among the games, which each only take a few minutes to get through for the most part. They’re all of the spooky sort, so expect bats, ghosts and skeletons galore. It’s a nice way to get a taste of some of the many different game styles you’ll encounter on the Playdate, and maybe discover some developers whose games you haven’t yet checked out.
