What Video Game Did I Play Yesterday?

Coffee Pack (Switch)

November 29th, 2024

Yesterday was a genuine day off for me, so I cleared Coffee Pack by spending too much time playing this decidedly casual game in a probably too-hardcore way. I got it in my head that it would be no good to do anything else until I had it finished, so I spent at least a couple hours curled up around my Switch, just really matching those coffee cups. I liked this game, and had fun with it as a new, deceptively tricky little pick-up-and-play puzzle game. For 16 cents, I got more than my money's worth out of it. Still, I played it so hard that once I cleared level 40, I felt an overwhelming sense of relief, as if I had been released from a curse.

From there, I wanted to play a fashion game on Switch without actually buying a new fashion game, so I redownloaded Model Debut #nicola. I'd bought this when it was first released a few years back, but hadn't made any meaningful headway in learning to read Japanese yet, so I bounced off it fast. Last night, with some shock, I learned that years worth of regular study had actually paid off, and I can now get through the text in this game with maybe one or two dictionary checks per text box. I'm very inclined to undercut this accomplishment, as it's easy text about daily life, and I'm still pretty constantly checking on words I don't know. It still feels good, though. Learning a foreign language sucks, and it's nice to make tangible progress.

November 28th, 2024

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! My family's Thanksgiving isn't until Saturday, so I am having a very laid back day. It's nice, and I'm looking forward to eating too much spaghetti for dinner.

Yesterday, I played more Coffee Pack than anything. It had a major difficulty spike and I became even more fixated upon it. My cafe, pictured below, is fully upgraded. Now, the battle is only between the puzzles and I. It's very satisfying.

I played through 100 Dino Cats from Steam, too, which felt even quicker than the other hidden cats games I've been playing recently. I think I spent less than 15 minutes on the base game. It was cute and free, so I don't really mind, but the cats were barely even hidden. This will not stop me from playing dozens more of these bits of fluff.

November 27th, 2024

Last night was busy, so I just played Coffee Pack a little more before bed. I'm over halfway done, so depending on how tricky the puzzles get, I think I'll clear this in the next couple of days.

November 26th, 2024

Sometimes, as I cheerfully click my way through casual games, I feel like I am not a very discerning gamer. Often, I am tired and just want to relax. Casual and cozy games have nice vibes and often have cats, so I'll put up with a lot from them.

I'm not very comfortable railing against something here, since even cash-ins have people making an effort behind them, but I really didn't like Anime Jigsaw Girls: Christmas so much. If the puzzles had different backgrounds, or if the pieces were cut differently between them, it would have been more relaxing than tedious, but it didn't do either of those things. Oh, well! I still wasn't stressed while I played it, which is something, and I made it through the whole thing.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, I really enjoyed my time with Coffee Pack yesterday. It's really addictive, and when I lose I generally know how I can do better my next try, making me want to press forward. I'm looking forward to playing this a bit more tonight!

November 25th, 2024

Today's post is late because I sent myself a screenshot through Hotmail, and web Outlook was down this morning. Alas, the net is but a house of cards that can tumble upon the slightest provocation!

Anyway, yesterday was fun. I had a long D&D session in the evening, but played some stuff before and after. At night, I tried a Switch game called Coffee Pack that I'd picked up for 16 cents, I think, and got pretty quickly addicted. At first, it did seem a bit boring, but once I started getting more colors on the board and saw some of the tricks to shuffle pieces around, I was locked in. It's cute, too, but the gameplay is really satisfying for me.

I got my weekly to-do list typed up in Spirit City: Lofi Sessions, too, which took away an awful, unreasonable sense of panic I'd had from dealing with my standard pen and paper list. Once I reach next Sunday, I'll be able to uncheck what's done and make some quick adjustments rather than writing the whole thing over again, which is a massive relief! I know I'm too old to be having these sorts of organizational struggles, but it's nice that something this simple has made my last couple of days feel so easy.

I did the first part of the 0 event in Jujutsu Kaisen: Phantom Parade, too. The cutscenes for it drag on and on, so I was glad to be running it during an arts and crafts session. The prizes for it are nice, though, and I'm pleased to have a slightly more powerful version of Maki on hand! I'm planning to tackle part two of this event on Wednesday or Thursday.