Chaotic kitchen management roguelike PlateUp has a lot of appeal as a couch co-op game that lets you run a restaurant with your friends. However, there are plenty of solo gamers out there who want to get it on the fun.
Whether you don’t have any gamer friends playing PlateUp on the same console as you or just prefer solo gameplay, plenty of us are trying to navigate the chaos of running our restaurant solo. The game is a ton of fun on your own, but it’s also a bit trickier to keep your customers happy when you’re on your own to cook, clean, and keep your guests happy. Thankfully, I’ve tracked down some tips that can help you survive past the first few rounds when playing PlateUp solo.
Related: PlateUp Beginner’s Guide – Tips and Tricks
Make Sure You Have Enough Tables
If you’re like me, it’s the waiting customers who always run out of patience and end your game. Avoid this problem by grabbing extra dining tables as quickly as you can, trying to make sure you’ve got enough tables for the expected customers that day.
You can see your expected customers up in the top left of the screen, which helps you plan for how many tables you’ll need. That way, you won’t wind up getting your restaurant shut down because someone got tired of waiting in the rain.
The coffee table can also be helpful here, as it gives your customers a space to wait inside and will increase the amount of time they’re willing to wait for a table.
Use Timing To Your Advantage
Customers wait at various stages while you’re trying to cook, serve, and keep the restaurant clean. One way to give yourself more time in the kitchen is to avoid taking customer orders too quickly. Instead, use their wait time to prep & clean and take their order later on.
Since their patience resets once they’re waiting for food, this will maximize the time you have to tend to other tasks. I really like this when I’ve got pizza on the menu since I can pre-prep the pizza before I take their orders.
Make Cleaning Easier On Yourself
Cleaning takes up so much time that I’m always tempted to skip it, but then I get slowed down by walking through the mess. So, as a solo PlateUp player you should take advantage of items that help you cut down on cleaning time.
The scrubbing brush and napkins are both huge time savers. The brush helps you clean up and wash dishes more quickly, while the napkins ensure your guests won’t leave behind a huge mess when they finish their food.
Set Menus You Can Prep Ahead of Time
Not all menus are created equally in PlateUp, and what you pick can have a huge impact on your solo gameplay. Items like pizza and pie, which can be prepped ahead of time and serve more than one customer, are a solid choice.
On the other hand, complicated dishes that need a lot of combined ingredients and prep space, like salad, can give solo players more of a challenge and even cost you your game.
Pick Your Upgrade Cards Wisely
As you progress in PlateUp, you’ll have to choose between two different cards with upgrades/challenges for your restaurant. Some of these are better suited to solo play than others.
For instance, grabbing a card that lessens your group size can make it easier to manage your workload. On the other hand, choosing a second complicated recipe as an appetizer or dessert might just be the extra dash of complexity that winds up sending you right back to headquarters to start again.
While PlateUp can be a ton of fun in multiplayer mode, you can enjoy the game solo and progress through all 15 levels into overtime.
