I was able to snag a community copy of Last Tea Shop Expanded, and have been playing it every couple days since I got it. This was my first foray into the world of solo journaling RPGs, and I think it was the best way for me to be introduced to this new world of gaming.

I love how open this system is. The choice on how to set up your shop is as random or as specially curated as you'd like, and the system for rolling weather and mood for visitors allows each encounter to be quite different from the last, and even when I rolled similar moods or atmospheres, I was able to take each conversation in a completely different direction. You can make each conversation as deep or as simple as you'd like, all while progressing the narrative you continue to build.

I was also amazed by how fleshed out this game was. There are so many visitors, so many ingredients, so many recipes, and so many directions to take each conversation based off the atmosphere and the visitor's mood. Spring Villager really put their all into developing this game, and the effort shows in how well crafted the system is and how simple it manages to remain despite this.

I personally have been keeping one game running at a time, journaling about one or two visitors at a time, and then will set it down to come back to later. Last Tea Shop has challenged me to write and flex my creativity in a way I haven't been in years. Spring Villager made an absolute gem of a game with this one, and I will be keeping an eye on their future projects!