PlateUp! is an entertaining restaurant game to play either solo or with friends. With each passing day, you have more customers to serve. But that isn't the only challenge. Every few days, you must pick a card from two options. These cards will alter the status quo of your restaurant permanently. The card might add a new meal option for customers to pick, or it might mess with the cooking process in one way or another.

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The cards you pick during your run can make or break your chances of reaching the final day. They are never a positive addition. You will always be choosing the lesser of two evils. The cards you pick from are always randomized, so it is down to luck most of the time. But here is a list of cards that are more forgiving and worth picking when they appear as an option.

10 Black Coffee

PlateUp - Black Coffee Card - Coffee Machine

In a game where you need to manage a lot of different recipes and processes, this dessert option is a huge relief. To make a coffee, you must select the machine to grab a cup and place it back down to fill it up. The process is easy and does not take a lot of time either. Additionally, there is no cleanup process. Maybe the customers think it is an edible cup, as they leave without any mugs for you to clean.

Having a dessert that extends the stay of a customer isn't great. But if you must pick one, you are better off picking Black Coffee rather than more complex desserts, such as Ice cream. Plus, it does get a few extra coins per customer, which is always helpful.

9 Mashed Potato

PlateUp - Mashed Potato Card - Mashed Potato Servings

Side dish cards are usually a pain. You always need to make sure you have enough portions prepared. Out of all the starter options, Mashed Potato is on the more complex side to produce. There can be some initial stress in the morning if a customer wants mashed potato, but once it is fully prepared, you do not need to worry about producing more for quite some time. This is because it will serve 20 portions.

To create mashed potato, you need to fill a pot with water and put a potato in it. You can cook it on a hob without fear of it burning. After that, you need to chop the potato in the pot, and then it is ready to serve. With so many portions available, it is hassle-free when a customer requests it.

8 Closing Time?

PlateUp - Closing Time Card - Serving Customers

Your food is so delicious that everyone wants to barge through the door to taste it. Once the Closing Time? card is picked, as long as there are still customers inside the restaurant at night, there is a chance that more customers will walk in and be seated too.

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The number of customers arriving due to this card is not as daunting as the Morning, Lunch, and Dinner Rush cards. Those cards are really hectic. It can be easy to lose due to a long line of impatient customers. Closing Time? just gives you a few extra customers, sometimes. Fortunately, near there end of your shift, you are far more likely to be prepared for any orders.

7 Photographic Memory

PlateUp - Photographic Memory Card - No Order Above Customer's Head

Photographic Memory will make it so that you cannot see a customer's order when you are not next to them. This does mean that communication is vital when you are playing with friends. As long as they are vocal about what has been ordered, this card is no trouble.

Photographic Memory can be tricky when you have a lot of menu items. So, the best way to combat this is by making your menu as simplified as possible. For example, if you are doing a basic pizza run, everyone will always order the same meal. It does not matter that you cannot see their order on the screen. You know exactly what it is.

6 Splash Zone

PlateUp - Splash Zone Card - Spread Out Mess

The Splash Zone card will mean that customers spill mess over a larger area rather than just by their seats. Spillages are frustrating, as they will slow you down when you walk through them. But it is only when these messes are in big puddles that it becomes a severe problem. Splash Zone does not create any extra mess, unlike other mess-related cards. Having it spread out further is helpful, as the smaller puddles are easier to clean up faster.

Also, you can purchase plenty of valuable blueprints to eliminate the mess altogether. With a few kitchen floor protectors, rugs, or robot mops, you will soon not even notice that you have this card at all. The Splash Zone card is easy to make obsolete later in your run.

5 Formal Theme

PlateUp - Formal Card - Formal Perks

After your fifth day at the restaurant, you will always select your theme card. There are currently four cards to choose from: Affordable, Charming, Exclusive, and Formal. These cards will determine what decorations you can purchase throughout the game. They also give you some helpful perks to help you survive for longer. Out of all four options, Formal is the best one to pick when you can.

The formal theme makes it feel like you are running a fancy restaurant everyone is eager to dine at. At level one, customers will make less mess. At level two, customers become more patient when waiting for their food. At level three, customers will stop creating a mess at all. This is invaluable. Mess can quickly get overwhelming, so cutting it out entirely is incredibly helpful. It also means saving money instead of buying too many cleaning-related blueprints.

4 Blindfolded Chefs

PlateUp -Blindfolded Chefs Card -Process progress bar hidden

Seeing what you are doing in a kitchen is essential in a food-themed game. Fortunately, you are not really blindfolded after picking this card. All the Blindfolded Chefs card does is hide the progress bar on all cooking processes. For example, you will no longer see how long it takes to chop tomatoes.

There is hardly any downside to picking this card. It can make timings a little tricky for some recipes on the hobs. But the game will still warn you before a dish is about to be burnt. As long as you keep an eye on what you are cooking, this card will not ruin your chances of success.

3 Discounts

PlateUp -Discounts Card - Earnings deduction

The Discounts card will mean that you will earn 25 percent less money from every order. This isn't really that much of a loss - the discounts will only slightly slow you down on purchasing more blueprints, which isn't the end of the world. You can also negate this by using the Booking Desk to call in customers early for a little extra money.

Having a slower source of income isn't the greatest, but compared to other more dangerous cards, it is the lesser of two evils most of the time.

2 High Standards

PlateUp - High Standards Card - Burning A Steak

The High Standards card means food will burn 100 percent faster than usual. This might seem like a risky card to pick, but if you are vigilant, you can handle it. You will be fine if you do not leave the hob alone when something is cooking. You have even less to worry about if you fully automate the cooking process in the late game with Smart Grabbers.

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When selecting this card, investing in a Safety Hob or a Microwave is a great idea. These blueprints completely remove the risk of food burning. You just might want to avoid using the Danger Hob, which also increases the burn rate of food.

1 Simplicity

PlateUp - Simplicity Card - Research Desk Crossed Out

Upgrading your blueprints is a vital part of this cooking game. You usually use the research desk right at the beginning of the day to transform a blueprint in the blueprint cabinet into something better. The Simplicity card will make it so you can only use each desk once.

More often than not, you won't be using the desks more than once, regardless. So the consequences of this card are slim. You cannot upgrade an item with a research desk more than once per day, anyway. It is always great when Simplicity is an option to pick, as it will not hinder your progress.

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