Diner Dash

From Casual Games Wiki

Diner Dash

Developer(s)	GameLab
Publisher(s)	PlayFirst
Distributor(s)	PlayFirst
Release date(s)	December 3, 2003
Genre(s)	Action/Strategy
Platform(s)	PC, Web, Mobile, Handheld

Diner Dash is a popular casual game developed by New York game development studio GameLab and published by PlayFirst. It is the original game that started the Diner Dash series. Depending on the distributor, Diner Dash is categorized as an action, puzzle, strategy, or arcade game. The game features a simple narrative story that sets the context for game play. Diner Dash is also available on cell phones, at retail, as a free browser game, and on popular handheld gaming platforms.

1 Description
2 Background & History
3 Tips & Tricks
4 Reviews
5 Official Sites
6 See Also
7 External Links

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Description

In Diner Dash, players take on the role of Flo, a stock broker who quits her job to run her own diner. The game follows Flo as she serves customers, earns money, restores her first restaurant and builds new ones.

Diner Dash game play centers around serving customers as they enter the restaurant. The player controls Flo using the mouse; Flo moves to the spot that the player clicks and performs the appropriate action. As customers arrive in the restaurant, the player must seat them at a table. Then Flo must be sent to take their order, deliver their food (when it's prepared), give them their check (when they are finished eating), and clean the table (when the customers leave). Each successful action earns the player points, and performing the same action multiple times in a row earns the player a chaining bonus.

Customers have a series of hearts over their heads that indicate their mood. The longer the customer waits, the more hearts he or she loses. When customers lose all their hearts they leave the restaurant, costing the player points. The goal of a level is earn a certain number of points. There are also expert point totals for advanced players to achieve.

The game has two modes: Flo's Career (which follows the story of Flo) and Endless Shift (a survival mode in which the player must last as long as possible in a single level).

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Background & History

Diner Dash was first released for the PC on December 3, 2003. As a top-selling game in 2004, it was recognized for the original game play mechanics and content. Even though Diner Dash was not the first casual game set in a service establishment (it was preceded by Betty's Beer Bar, a game with some overlap in the play mechanic), Diner Dash is recognized for establishing a new genre of casual games that spawned a variety of followers and several direct clones.

The popularity of Diner Dash has led to the development of versions for mobile phones (published by Glu) and handheld gaming platforms PlayStation Portable, Game Boy Advance, and Nintendo DS (published by Eidos). [1] The DS version was released on 12 January 2006 and the PSP version is expected to release May 23, 2007.[2]

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