In Cake Mania 2, Jill is back, flush from her victory in the original Cake Mania. Sure, she conquered all previous venues and saved the family bakery, but laurels can get boring to rest upon, so when her friends Risha and Jack cry for help, Jill is there to heed their calls.

At its heart, Cake Mania 2 is a task-management game that exercises shape recognition, color recognition and sequencing skills. What makes Cake Mania so fun is the yummy, frosting-encrusted package.

I'm given two options of play to begin with — a story mode and an endless day. I went straight for story mode.

Jill, our heroine, is a baker. The game begins with her expressing her current restlessness to her grandmother. Saving her from a fate worse than ... boredom, she receives urgent messages from two of her friends. Risha is running a sky bar kind of dessert shop in the heart of the city. Jack is running an underground bakery at an aquatic theme park. To me, Jack appeared to be the most in need, so Jill promised Risha future assistance and went to Jack's aid.

It turns out Jack was a bit less than forthcoming about the situation at his bakery. You just don't want to have leaks in an underwater setting and don't get me started about the whole radiation thing. Initially, I get guys in hazmat suits, guys dressed up as penguin mascots and the feds (FBI by the looks of them). Once the danger is contained, we get everything from doctors and socialites to grandmas and bratty kids.

Each customer comes in the door with a certain happiness level. They each have a different patience level, meaning some get unhappy waiting faster than others. The penguin guys are unhappiest when they come in — but can you really blame them? As each customer enters, I hand them a menu and wait for them to place their order. A thought bubble shows me the shape of the cake they want and what color frosting they want on it. The faster I give them the menu and deliver their cake, the better the tip they leave me.

Each game day in the bakery is actually a game calendar month. At the end of each "month," I can use the money I've earned to buy extras, upgrade to faster equipment, or upgrade the comfort and speed of my footwear. If I don't manage to make the minimum cash goal for the month, I get to play the level over.

Initially, I get one customer at a time, and they pick one cake shape and one frosting. As things heat up and the game progresses, things get more interesting. Sometimes two people come in together and each has their own cake order. Sooner than you think, they'll be ordering layer cakes with each layer needing a different frosting color. On top of that, you can buy cake toppers that increase the value of the cake but also increase the time it takes to finish a cake.

Speed and accuracy are critical in making the monetary goals for the bakery each month. If you make the wrong cake or use the wrong frosting, the cake is generally going to go in the trash. Not only do you lose the money for the wasted cake, your customer is not going to appreciate the delay in their order. Now, one of the upgrades you can buy is a little cake display table. This lets you place a mistake cake for view in the hopes that someone will come in and ask for it. I didn't have a ton of luck with the display cake in the past, so I haven't bought the little display table. I just do my best to not make mistakes.

At the end of the year, I left Jack with a prospering underwater business. At this point, I get to decide what to do next. Do I want to be philanthropic and go help the penguins of the Antarctic, or do I want to go help my friend Risha? Given that penguin-sitting didn't sound all that appealing, I decided to go help Risha. Risha has some of the same customers as Jack, along with a few new ones. I have to say, I got a real kick out of the Goth guys ordering heart-shaped cakes with little candy sprinkles.

Once you know the basic process of give menu, bake cake, frost cake, potentially do topping, deliver cake and collect tip, you know how to play Cake Mania. I can get a good rhythm and did well for the first 35 or so levels, but the demands just keep going up. More customers wanting more elaborate cakes are showing up all the time. I can use my purchased TV and yummy cupcakes to buy some time, but things definitely get a little wild. Through it all though, Jill keeps her cool. I may be frantically trying to get all the orders right and Jill will take the time to check her reflection in a shiny cake plate and give her beautifully coiffed hair a little pat.

As I finished saving Risha's bacon (or cake, as it were), I got the option to again go help the penguins or to be part of a cooking show in Tokyo. Sorry penguins ...

I did try the endless day option a bit. Basically, I start with the minimum gear and have to meet increasing monetary goals. I will sometimes get the option to upgrade my equipment, but this mode still got pretty brutal for me. I really do prefer playing the story mode.

I have enjoyed the challenge of Cake Mania and now Cake Mania 2. I can't wait to work my way around to those penguins and see what the deal is with that option. Beyond the fun I'm having, this has been a great game for my daughter. In its own way, Cake Mania 2 is very educational. You have to recognize and match shapes. You have to match color. You have to understand sequencing. And on top of all this, you have to be fast. With an open heart and empty stomach, I highly recommend Cake Mania 2 and bid you "Allez Cuisine!"