Like puzzle games? Me too! So I was excited to see LEGO Chic Boutique, a new spin on the classic connect 3 pieces puzzle game. Here they have combined both the puzzle matching with running a “fashion empire”.You begin the game by creating your avatar and selecting the first city to start your new business in. Connect 3 or more matching pieces to create items in your inventory. Each inventory item requires a certain number of pieces. The inventory selection increases about every 3 or 4 rounds until you have a total of 16.
You also have a daily goal to reach. Points are given for matches. Customers come in the store to make purchases and those points are added to your total, making reaching your daily goal quite simple. At least for a puzzle addict like myself. Some customers enter the store with a specific purchase in mind, and this item is shown above their head. If you have one in stock they will buy it, if not, they leave empty handed.
Luckily, you only have to concentrate on the puzzle. The storefront is automated but you will want to keep an eye on your inventory so you do not run out of any items. The further you get in the game, the harder this task is. For the first half of the game, I kept 10 of each item in stock at all times. At the ѕ mark, I told myself to be happy with 5. Once I had all 16 items, I was lucky to keep 1 of the popular items on hand. I had some unhappy customers, but still managed to make my daily goals.
At the end of each day, you can spend points to customize your shop. At first, this is just upgrading your cart. Once you have a storefront, you can customize everything from floors to sofas to refreshments. The more appealing you make your store, the more customers you will have and more purchases! After 10 rounds, you expand your fashion empire by opening a store in another city, for a total of 10.
My only real complaint is that you can not turn off the tips. So if I change my mind about which piece to move, I am reminded to line up 3 or more puzzle pieces. I think I would know this by day 37, you know?
The game has catchy background music that sets the mood perfectly. Your avatar is quite helpful at letting you know when inventory is running low, out of stock and when you have reached your goal. LEGO Chic Boutique is a fantastic game for both the young girls it is obviously meant for, as well as for other self confessed puzzle addicts.
I am a 30 something year old female. I am married and have 1 son and 2 dogs. Harmakhet says I am not a "twitch" gamer. I am a casual gamer for both on and offline games. I am not very good at console games, so I tend to play the "kiddie" games there. I prefer games that have a good story that I can get caught up in.
I had an Atari 2600 growing up and begged Dad for a Nintendo which he refused to buy. He recently told me that he bought the Atari thinking video games were a passing phase. I never touched another console until I met Harmakhet. I played a few games on my Commodore 64, nothing worth remembering, and then Crystal Quest on my Mac. I used to watch a friend play Marathon on the Mac and it was then that I discovered my true calling. I am a navigator! I couldn't manage the controls myself, but I could direct players back to the health, ammo, etc. So I started doing that with Harmakhet. I'd also tell him if a game was bad. If I couldn't stand watching him play it, it must be a dud. He'd usually agree within a few weeks.
I've played some of the original Sims games and a few Nancy Drew before I got into MMOs. I can't remember who told me about Disney's Toontown Online, but I played it for several years. I even became a moderator at a fan site for the game. I'm looking forward to the munchkin being old enough to play TT.
