Ahead of the Game - My Tiny Shop: Relaxing Decor is sticking items in small dioramas, and very relaxing indeed
It's all about keeping everything in its place in this week's Ahead of the Game series, where we tell you about a new mobile endeavour that's playable in one form or another despite its unofficial launch. I'm starting off the month of November with plenty of cosy vibes as we head into the holiday season, and My Tiny Shop: Relaxing Decor is what's caught my eye this week. It's not only just because the word…
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Ahead of the Game - My Tiny Shop: Relaxing Decor is sticking items in small dioramas, and very relaxing indeed
It's a small and sticky life
- Open boxes and place items where they belong
- Complete tiny dioramas to grab rewards
- Design your own shop to earn money
It's all about keeping everything in its place in this week's Ahead of the Game series, where we tell you about a new mobile endeavour that's playable in one form or another despite its unofficial launch.
I'm starting off the month of November with plenty of cosy vibes as we head into the holiday season, and My Tiny Shop: Relaxing Decor is what's caught my eye this week. It's not only just because the word "relaxing" is already there in the title, but also because it's got a cute goat shopkeeper with swirly glasses as its app icon - and when it comes to the elements in a video game that make me pay attention, I'm very, very shallow.
I love the aesthetics right from the get-go, as the visuals have plenty of soft edges and that charming, hand-drawn feel. As for the gameplay itself, it actually kind of reminds me of the sticker albums I used to collect when I was a kid - I think these sticker-based scenes are becoming a trend nowadays too.
Essentially, you'll need to open a box filled with decorations and then "stick" them onto an empty scene in front of you. Each item has its own rightful place, and you can get hints as to where they're supposed to go based on their outline. There's a combo meter that dwindles down to motivate you to keep sticking, and while the larger items like pieces of furniture are easy enough to spot, the tinier things like random paintbrushes are much more challenging to place.
Eventually, figuring out where something goes gets trickier and trickier the more cluttered the space becomes, as the outlines tend to get buried under what's already there. If you do get stuck, you can opt for combo boosters and hints (which you can get more of by watching ads) to help you out, and when it's all done, you're rewarded by this lovely little scene coming to life before you.
The anthropomorphic animals in the diorama will move and tell a tiny story in that snapshot in time, which is just too wholesome not to marvel at.
Outside of the puzzle stages, you can use the resources you've earned to unlock decor for your own little shop. Whatever you place in your shop isn't just for show - these actually earn you some money periodically, so it's worth collecting these cosmetics to make your own shop thrive.