Everyone has dreamed of running their own cafe at some point in their life, and it’s easy to see why. Preparing unique food for people is creative and socially fulfilling in a way few other jobs are. Because of this common fantasy, it isn’t surprising that there are many cozy games where players are given control of a cute and quirky cafe. However, one of my favourite examples of this genre is Maid Cafe, a solo TTRPG where players run a cozy maid cafe that makes cute dishes for anyone who walks in.
Maid Cafe is a cozy solo TTRPG where you run your own cafe and cook up unique dishes for the various people who wander in. The game starts by telling you to put on fitting music and get hot drinks and snacks to set the mood.
A Cozy Shift
The game’s main flow is pretty simple. First, you roll a D6 to learn what food the customer wants (options include cookies, pancakes, and ice cream). After this, the player rolls a second D6 to discover what drink they want to pair with that item (covering everything from coffee to soda). The player then sketches the meal they would serve the customer (and the customer and your cafe too if you’re feeling adventurous).
After the customer finishes their meal, the player rolls the D6 one final time. This will decide how much the customer pays for each item they bought. Players can trade these coins at the store for toppings and upgrades for their cafe.
Toppings (like sprinkles, flowers, and fruit) can be added to the food and drink customers order. Naturally, customers are willing to pay more for these toppings, meaning that every time you use one, you get extra coins on top of what they would usually pay. Cafe enhancements (like a cat, karaoke equipment, and a water cooler) serve a similar purpose. However, rather than only giving bonus coins when used, they add extra coins to every order.
Relaxed But Not Empty
Maid Cafe is a really fun, cozy roleplaying game that will delight anyone who loves drawing-focused games. I’m a big fan of the game’s structure, because it features a few clever flourishes that make it stand out from the pack. Naturally, the game lacks a traditional failure state; customers can not reject your meals, and your cafe can never go out of business. Which is understandable, because the game aims for a cozy management tone, something that would be shattered by the risk of failure or the looming threat of an eviction.
However, by randomizing the number of coins you receive each meal, the game does add some friction. This friction helps the game feel like a story rather than just a themed drawing warm-up exercise. Meaning, it neatly avoids the repetitiveness that can cause some solo TTRPGs to quickly become repetitive.
However, because the game never actively defines what a low-paying customer means, players can approach it differently depending on their own appetite for failure. Players who want a totally cozy session can presume one coin is the default price your cafe charges and anything above that is a tip for a job well done. However, players who want a more intense story can use a low-paying round as a story prompt that could touch on their maid struggling comedically or seriously.
Similarly, I also like the upgrade system. Unlocking toppings slowly during play stops the game from becoming repetitive by drip-feeding you new things to draw every few rounds, while also making low-paying customers feel like a gentle roadblock.
Plus, the compounding effects of the various toppings and cafe upgrades mean that, despite lacking a strict structure, the game does have a nice sense of progression. This progression helps you immerse yourself by making your cafe feel like a real space, not just a collection of disconnected drawing prompts. Maid Cafe is an excellent worldbuilding tool for storytellers looking for inspiration for their next story or game.
One of Maid Cafe’s coolest elements is its design. The game is formatted like a super-cute pamphlet. In fact, it looks like a menu you would get at a maid cafe. Plus, each page is covered in little pictures of the ingredients you can use in your dishes. These pictures blend chibi and doodle aesthetics, so each one looks like something a stereotypical maid cafe maid would doodle on a spare menu during downtime, which really adds to the game’s atmosphere.
Maid Cafe is an excellent solo TTRPG that is sure to delight both cozy gamers and people who enjoy drawing-based TTRPGs. The game does a fantastic job of creating a cozy vibe while giving players enough structure to keep things moving and make each dish feel like part of a bigger narrative, which means you’ll quickly get attached to both your maid cafe and its customers.
