Burger Rush

Burger Rush is a cooking game about one counter and the queue in front of it. Every guest hands over a ticket: a stack read from the bottom up, sometimes fries, sometimes a soda filled to the line. You tap the ingredients in that order, and if your fingers get ahead of your eyes a tap on the burger lifts the wrong layer straight back off. The food is drawn like chunky glazed clay — a sesame bun, a patty with real grill marks, cheese that sags over the edge, crisp lettuce and thick tomato — so a finished burger is worth looking at before it goes.

The flat top is the part that keeps you honest. A raw patty goes on, cooks on one side, and there is a window of about a second where a flip earns a perfect sear; leave it too long and it blackens and belongs in the bin. Fries come up in a basket on a timer, and the soda fountain fills only while you hold the handle, so stopping on the red line takes a steadier hand than you would think. Each plate is scored on four things: whether the stack matches the ticket, how the patties came off the grill, whether the sides are right, and how much patience the guest had left.

Six regulars come through the door — a kid, a granny, a builder, a surfer, a robot and a cat in a tie — and their faces tell you exactly how the wait is going. Days unlock new things to put in a burger: cheese on day three, bacon on day five, sauces on day eight, double patties on day twelve, onion rings on day fifteen. Every day ends with a report worth one to three stars and a handful of in-game coins, which buy a second grill, a quicker fryer, comfier booths that slow the patience drain, or a helper who fills the cups for you. Play with a finger or with the keyboard, in portrait or landscape, and your progress and best stars are kept in your browser.