Everyone loves a good story. Even in games, some of the most enjoyable titles are those that have a story players can follow. It makes the gameplay engaging, and unraveling what happens next can become a reward in itself. A story can keep you hooked to the game for hours, perhaps even days or months at a time.
That’s why it’s no surprise that even mobile games have stories, no matter how short or lengthy. Gone are the days when you need a hardcore gaming PC just to enjoy compelling tales that will keep you invested. Now, even the simplest mobile games can incorporate storytelling into its gameplay, with some games going so far as to “encourage” you to pay to unlock succeeding plot lines or episodes.
Though some mobile games make episodic stories more of a side quest, others tend to build their game and play mechanics around the plot. One such title is Charlotte’s Table, a restaurant-themed match-3 game from Netmarble, that follows the story of Charlotte, a young and hardworking restaurateur who aspires to become the best chef in the world.
At a glance, the plot is pretty simple, perhaps even predictable to those who make a hobby out of untangling the twists and turns of a story. In the beginning of the game, you are treated to the Prologue, which also serves as the tutorial stage.
Here, you’re taught some of the basic game mechanics, such as matching 3 tiles of the same color to eliminate them, and matching more than 3 tiles to create different power-ups that will help you progress through each level. As you play through typical match-3 stages, you’re also unraveling Charlotte’s story, which begins with “The Lost Birthday Party.”
In the Prologue, you meet a small cast of characters, particularly Charlotte’s parents, Richard and Lorraine. Richard is a famous French chef who owns what was described as the best restaurant in Paris at the time, the La Joie de Verdier. His wife Lorraine, on the other hand, is the restaurant’s hostess. The Prologue, which happened 20 years ago, was their daughter Charlotte’s first birthday.
That day, everyone was abuzz trying to prepare for this special occasion. Other than playing through the stages, your job as the player is to help Richard, Lorraine, and the rest of the restaurant’s staff in decorating the food, selecting the best table settings, and generally sprucing up the restaurant for the party.
Whenever you clear a match-3 level, you earn stars, which are spent to acquire decorations for the food, the tables, and the room. For instance, the first “decoration” you’ll be asked to pick is the type of herb to be placed on the filet mignon Richard prepared.
You’ll be given 3 choices: rosemary, thyme, or Italian parsley. Picking one comes at no cost, unlike other games that might ask you to spend gold to pick “premium” decor. You can also change these decorations anytime you please even after you’ve selected a particular item.
Little by little, as you continue playing and earning stars, you’ll be able to finish helping Richard and Lorraine come up with the best dishes, the prettiest table arrangements, and the most beautiful party setup for their little princess’ birthday.
Of course, you’d think it’s all well and good from hereon. Like our characters, you’re probably expecting the party to go smoothly and for the guests to have a good time. After all, you’ve put a lot of thought into which napkins to use, which cutlery set complements the table arrangement, or which side dishes go well with the main dish (we know we did!).
However, it seems that trouble is afoot as an uninvited guest crashes the party: Pierre, Richard’s most bitter rival.
At this point in the game, you get a peek into Richard and Pierre’s backstory, which you can say is the indirect catalyst of the plot. It appears that Richard and Pierre grew up together as sons of esteemed French restaurateurs, but the young men became rivals as adults.
Richard always bested Pierre, not only in the culinary arts, but also in matters of love as Lorraine eventually married Richard without knowing that Pierre was secretly pining for her. Jealousy and hatred consumed Pierre, especially when Richard defeated him in the World Chef Championship.
There’s a short confrontation between the two rival chefs and Pierre ultimately leaves after spouting bitter words and reminding Richard that “misfortune is always waiting to strike.” As this was taking place, little did anyone know that the nanny with whom the baby Charlotte was left took the child and disappeared.
Naturally, everyone was devastated and Charlotte’s disappearance even made headlines. Such was the blow that this incident dealt that the La Joie de Verdier closed down soon after because of poor management that led to bankruptcy. Pierre then swoops in to exact his revenge, taking this opportunity to acquire his rival’s restaurant.
But the story doesn’t end there, it’s only the beginning.
Roughly 5,000 miles away, the baby Charlotte was left in front of an orphanage in the United States with a note that had her first name on it and nothing else. Fortunately, she was adopted by loving, wonderful parents and had an amazing childhood. As if guided by the hands of destiny, Charlotte showed interest in cooking early on and studied hard to become a chef when she was old enough.
Episode 1 of Charlotte’s Table begins with Charlotte finally acquiring a suitable place to put up her budding restaurant…
Only to be offered to be bought out by a young and rich restaurateur, Rick Delaunay.
Of course, we don’t want to spoil everything about the story but we’re guessing you probably have an idea of where this is going and how Rick’s appearance unwittingly becomes the key to Charlotte’s real identity. But that’s for you to explore, enjoy, and discover.
What we do want to do is help you help Charlotte by providing tips and tricks that can earn you stars to easily complete levels, unlock decor, and access succeeding episodes. With our beginner’s guide for Charlotte’s Table, you’ll be able to plan your moves for each stage; use power-ups, combos, and boosters to your advantage; get rid of obstacles in the best ways possible; earn extra rewards; have a great gameplay experience; and even win in style with the best wardrobe pieces in-game cash can buy!
Let’s get right into it!
Approaching the Game in 2 Ways
One thing about Charlotte’s Table you’ll immediately notice is that the game appears to have 2 parts: one is where you play the match-3 levels and the other is the part where the story progresses while you design the food, tables, etc.
First, let’s have a quick recap of basic gameplay mechanics for match-3s: as its name suggests, you have to match 3 or more tiles, which is the main way to complete levels. Each level has different objectives. Completing these goals may entail collecting tiles of a certain color, eliminating obstacles, or collecting other items from the board. You may have 1 or several goals to fulfill for each level depending on its requirements and difficulty.
Like almost all match-3 games, you also have a limited number of moves to make. Not being able to complete a level within those number of moves will cause you to lose a life. It takes 30 minutes to regenerate 1 life and you have a maximum of 5 lives to spend.
When you succeed in clearing a level, you get gold, cash, and stars.
Stars are used for decoration. Progressing through the episode means continuously spending stars to access decoration. Decor items can range from food to cutlery, furniture, and the like. If you’re familiar with “home design” games, Charlotte’s Table is basically a home design game, except you don’t spend on furniture or home decorations. Instead, you “design” food and table arrangements.
Each time you spend stars for decoration, the Mission Progress bar is filled. Completing the entire episode will require you to fill up the Mission Progress bar to 100%.
As you play and earn stars, parts of the episode and story are revealed while you simultaneously pick the best decor items for the Room, Table, and Plating. These 3 tabs can either be locked or unlocked depending on where you are in the story. You can jump between each one in case you want to change any of the decor items you’ve already picked. You just have to click the icon of the specific item you want to change.
Eventually, around Episode 3, you’ll also be able to take pictures of the food and table arrangements you’ve decorated.
In addition, the dialogue between characters are interwoven into the gameplay and you get bits of the story while dialogue is exchanged or while you’re choosing decor items. Sometimes, the game might simply describe what’s happening, what’s about to happen, or what has happened.
That said, as there are 2 parts of the game, there are also 2 ways you can approach it: one is to continuously play the match-3 levels until you earn a large amount of stars. The other is to alternate between the story and levels every time you get just about enough stars to access a decor item.
Both approaches are valid and will depend on the type of player you are and how you want your overall experience to be. For those who wish to enjoy the story in a more seamless manner, we recommend the first option where you first earn a certain amount of stars before progressing through the story part without having to constantly break your immersion.
For instance, you play through several match-3 levels and when you’ve earned about, say, 5,000 stars, that’s when you start switching to the story aspect and fill up your Mission Progress bar without interruptions (until you need more stars to unlock the next decor item, that is).
Keep in mind that each level completed will give you 300 stars. In the beginning, decor items will cost about 200 stars to access but as you progress, decor items can reach up to 600 stars or more per piece.
If you’re the type who gets easily hooked to stories, we’ll give you a hint: there are currently 12 episodes (with more to come) and to clear 4 episodes (including the Prologue), you need about 33,900 stars. This is equivalent to clearing 113 levels. Now why did we stop at 4 episodes? Because this is where things get interesting: a new character is introduced and he may or may not cause a potential love triangle setup for Charlotte and Rick. This is also the point where a mysterious villain who’s out to get Rick is hinted.
There’s an episode list if you want to check out all the episodes you’ve completed and the episodes you can unlock in the future. You can also change the decor items you’ve already picked for previous episodes.
Since the game doesn’t have the typical star rating mechanic other match-3s employ, there’s no backtracking for levels that have already been cleared. You’re also not required to reach a high score so there’s really no need for backtracking. You just have to complete level goals, earn stars, and that’s it. Afterwards, you can continue the story at your own pace.
We thought to mention these 2 approaches in the guide for the benefit of players who want a more seamless or immersive gameplay experience. After all, Charlotte’s Table showcases a lot of mouthwatering food art to go with a pretty interesting story. It’s worth getting invested in, if not for the plot, then perhaps for the eye candy.
Either way, it’s ultimately your choice whether you want to frequently alternate between the match-3 gameplay and the story, or do a couple of rounds first so you can get enough stars to move the plot continuously.
Get Those Sweet Power-Ups and Combos
Now that we’ve gone over the basics of the game, let’s talk about other important details that will primarily earn you the stars you need to progress. Of course, this pertains to the match-3 aspect where you have to complete levels using only a limited number of moves.
As mentioned, you’ll encounter different objectives, which are displayed next to the board you’ll be playing with. You can reach these objectives by matching 3 or more tiles of the same color.
Even though there’s no high score to pursue, we recommend matching 4 or more tiles whenever the opportunity presents itself. This is because a match-4 or more will allow you to create power-ups or special tiles that have an area of effect. With these power-ups, you get to save more moves and hit your level goals faster.
The best thing about power-ups in this game is that unlike other titles, you can activate power-ups without having to match them with other tiles. Normally, in other similar games, some power-ups tend to retain their original color and activating them will still require you to match them with normal tiles of the same color.
However, in Charlotte’s Table, you can activate any kind of power-up by simply sliding them in any direction or by double-tapping them. You don’t need to match them with other tiles. This feature makes it so much easier for players to take advantage of power-ups, which is why it’s highly recommended to make as many of them as you can.
Aside from being able to make 4 basic power-ups, you can actually combine these 4 power-ups with each other, creating an even bigger area of effect that eliminates and collects more tiles with just one move. All you need to do to make power-up combos is to swap the position of 2 power-ups to activate them. Depending on the size of its effect, you may or may not end up activating other power-ups close by.
For your convenience, we’ve put together a quick table that outlines how you can create power-ups, combos, and their effects. As you can see from the table below, the left section focuses on basic power-ups, the center column is a list of these 4 power-ups, and the right section lists down the effects you can create when mixing and matching power-ups to make bigger, better combos.
| Basic Power-Ups | List of Power-Ups | Power-Up Combo Effects | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| How to Make | Effect |  Rocket |  Bomb |  Propeller |  Rainbow Bomb |
|
| Match 4 tiles of the same color in a horizontal or vertical line | Eliminates either 1 row or 1 column of tiles depending on the direction upon which the Rocket was matched | Rocket | Eliminates 1 row and 1 column of tiles in a cross pattern (regardless of whether both Rockets have the same direction) | Eliminates 3 rows and 3 columns of tiles in a cross pattern | The Propeller flies to 1 random tile and eliminates either 1 row or 1 column with which that tile is aligned (direction will depend on the Rocket’s original direction) | All tiles of 1 random color will turn into Rockets |
| Match 5 tiles of the same color in a T or L shape | Eliminates tiles within a small radius | Bomb | Two Bombs combined will eliminate tiles within a bigger radius compared to just 1 Bomb | The Propeller flies to 1 random tile and eliminates tiles near it within a certain radius | All tiles of 1 random color will turn into Bombs | |
| Match 4 tiles of the same color in a square shape | The Propeller flies to a random tile (often one that is connected to fulfilling your level goals) to eliminate it | Propeller | Activates 3 Propellers to eliminate 3 random tiles | All tiles of 1 random color will turn into Propellers | ||
| Match 5 tiles of the same color in a horizontal or vertical line | When swapped with a tile, it eliminates all tiles of the same color | Rainbow Bomb | Clears the entire board | |||
*Note: Propeller power-ups will often target tiles that will bring you closer to reaching level goals.
Keep in mind that while power-ups and combos can be activated just by sliding or double-tapping, activation will still count as a move so don’t activate power-ups willy-nilly. It’s a good idea to keep a handful of strategies in mind so you can use power-ups and their combos the way they’re meant to. Here are a few tips and tricks you might want to consider applying:
- Always keep your level goals in mind. As mentioned, these may vary and can range from eliminating a certain number of tiles of the same color to collecting or getting rid of different obstacles (more about this in the next section). Focusing on your level goals will allow you to decide which power-ups and combos will work best to achieve these objectives in the easiest and fastest way possible.
- Observe the board and its layout. The good news is that most of the boards you will encounter in Charlotte’s Table won’t have a wacky shape, unlike in some other match-3 games. The boards here are generally of a square or rectangle orientation with just a few variations in between.
However, there are cases when you might encounter a board where some parts are hidden beneath obstacles like tablecloths. Until you eliminate that obstacle, you might not be able to fully access the board and all its contents. That said, observe the layout to know which power-ups to use.
For instance, long, rectangular boards with a limited play space might need Rockets and Rocket-type combos. On the other hand, Bombs and Bomb-type combos might be suited to bigger or wider boards. - Be conscious of your remaining moves. It’s easy to get carried away making power-ups and combos that you might not have enough moves to actually fulfill your level goals. Remember that power-ups are tools to help you win so don’t just hoard them.
Activate them when you’ve made enough so you can clear and replenish the board for more matching opportunities. Similarly, don’t spend a big chunk of your moves trying to make power-up combos. Activating basic power-ups will work just as well with the right timing and position. - Start from the bottom. Further to activating power-ups, it’s often a good idea to start doing this from the bottom of the board (unless the current tile arrangement doesn’t allow it).
By clearing bottom tiles with power-ups and combos, you tend to affect the board’s arrangement more significantly. This way, you’ll be able to replenish a big chunk of the board and have more room for matching when you clear away obstacles.
Trash Those Obstacles
Since we’ve mentioned obstacles, this is the perfect time to discuss them! There are, of course, many different obstacles you’ll be facing as you go higher up the levels. Generally, obstacles can be eliminated and collected when they’re part of your level goals.
Obstacle tiles may be movable or fixed depending on their type. They’re normally eliminated and/or collected by making matches next to them. However, they’re best dealt with by using power-ups, combos, or boosters (more on these later).
Since this is a beginner’s guide, we’ll be discussing 13 different obstacles, all of which you’ll come across by the end of Episode 3 (or Level 113). We’ll also indicate if they have variations, as well as the power-ups and combos that can deal with these obstacles best. Let’s check out the list below:
Steak
Type: Fixed
How to Eliminate/Collect: Make matches next to the steak to cook it. Once fully cooked, it will be eliminated from the board and collected if part of your level goals.
Number of Matches Needed to Eliminate/Collect: 7
Overall effect: Unless they’re gone from the board, each steak takes up the space of about 9 tiles, thus limiting matching opportunities.
Recommended Power-Ups/Combos: Bombs and Bomb-type combos work best. Propeller and Rocket-type combos are also good, but as secondary options.
Crackers
Type: Fixed
How to Eliminate/Collect: Make matches on top of cracker tiles to pop them.
Number of Matches Needed to Eliminate/Collect: 1 (multiple matches may be needed for variants)
Overall effect: Cracker tiles don’t necessarily limit or block the board, they are merely there to be collected. However, you will encounter variants of the cracker tile that have multiple layers. This means you have to make multiple matches to eliminate all layers of the cracker tile to completely remove and collect them.
Recommended Power-Ups/Combos: All power-ups and combo types work well for cracker tiles except for Propellers (unless the Propeller is combined with a Rainbow Bomb).
Pancakes
Type: Fixed
How to Eliminate/Collect: Make matches next to pancakes to eliminate and collect them.
Number of Matches Needed to Eliminate/Collect: 1 (multiple matches may be needed for multi-layer variants)
Overall effect: Pancakes serve as temporary blockades that limit your available play area, but they’re easy enough to get rid of. However, just like cracker tiles, you will need to make multiple matches for multi-layered pancake tiles. You might not notice it immediately, but you’ll know a pancake has more than 1 layer when it has fruit toppings.
Recommended Power-Ups/Combos: Bombs, Rockets, and Bomb-type or Rocket-type combos work best. Double Rainbow Bombs are also fine to use, but they may not be as effective if the pancake has more than 1 layer.
Cake
Type: Fixed
How to Eliminate/Collect: Make matches around the cake to collect each slice. Slices will not be collected if the match is not made directly beside a slice.
Number of Matches Needed to Eliminate/Collect: 8
Overall effect: Cakes are similar to steaks in that they make the board more limited and challenging by taking up space. However, cakes consume a smaller piece of the board as it only takes up the space of 4 tiles.
Recommended Power-Ups/Combos: Propellers and Bombs, as well as similar combos, can easily get rid of cakes. A double Rainbow Bomb combo will also make short work of this obstacle.
Cat in a Basket
Type: Fixed
How to Eliminate/Collect: Make matches next to the cat’s basket. Each match will lower the number indicated on the heart. When you’ve brought the number down to 0, you will be able to remove the basket and collect the cat.
Number of Matches Needed to Eliminate/Collect: Depends on the number indicated on the heart in front of the cat’s basket
Overall effect: The cat in a basket is another blockade that limits the board’s available play area. Often, you will encounter only 1 cat in a basket obstacle, though it may be mixed with other smaller obstacles.
Recommended Power-Ups/Combos: Bombs and Bomb-type combos, especially the double Bomb combo, can reduce the heart count quickly.
Toaster
Type: Fixed
How to Eliminate/Collect: Make matches next to toasters to collect pieces of toast.
Number of Matches Needed to Eliminate/Collect: 1 match may collect multiple pieces of toast if the match made is properly aligned with toasters
Overall effect: Toasters themselves can’t be removed from the board, but they only limit the board in a small way since your primary objective is to collect pieces of toast. More toasters effectively means more chances to get toast even if the playable area is slightly limited.
Recommended Power-Ups/Combos: Rockets and Rocket-type combos work best, especially if you activate the Rocket + Bomb combo since this goes through 3 rows and 3 columns in a cross pattern. That’s an instant 6 pieces of toast at minimum if the combo is activated in an advantageous position.
Glass Jars
Type: Movable
How to Eliminate/Collect: Make matches next to glass jars to break and collect them as part of your level goals.
Number of Matches Needed to Eliminate/Collect: 1
Overall effect: Glass jars also act as blockades but they give you more leeway for movement since their positions can be swapped with other tiles.
Recommended Power-Ups/Combos: This is a fairly easy obstacle to deal with so all types of power-ups and combos will work.
Table Napkins
Type: Fixed
How to Eliminate/Collect: Make matches around table napkins to fold them into smaller pieces until they’re eliminated from the board and thereafter collected.
Number of Matches Needed to Eliminate/Collect: 3 (may need more matches if the table napkins have more than 1 layer)
Overall effect: Table napkins are similar to cakes in the sense that you need to make matches around them. The only upside to table napkins is that when they’re folded into smaller pieces, this gradually frees up the tiles they’ve previously taken up. One-layer table napkins are colored beige while 2-layer table napkins are blue, and so on.
Recommended Power-Ups/Combos: Rockets and Bombs, as well as Rocket-type and Bomb-type combos, work well. However, Rockets tend to cover more ground, especially when it’s a double Rocket combo or a Rocket + Bomb combo. Rainbow Bombs and similar combos, especially a double Rainbow Bomb, will also get rid of table napkins faster.
Cookies
Type: Movable
How to Eliminate/Collect: Make matches next to cookies to eliminate and collect them.
Number of Matches Needed to Eliminate/Collect: 1 (may need more matches if cookies have multiple layers)
Overall effect: Cookies are like glass jars but more hardy. In the early levels, cookies will only have 1 layer, but as you progress, you’ll see cookies with multiple layers. Multi-layer cookies have more toppings like a center filling or a chocolate dip.
Recommended Power-Ups/Combos: Bombs and Rainbows are great for eliminating cookies. We don’t recommend Rocket and Rocket-type combos as they tend to affect only 1 cookie tile even if the power-up goes through a line of cookies.
Bells
Type: Movable
How to Eliminate/Collect: Bells will only be collected once they reach the bottom of the board.
Number of Matches Needed to Eliminate/Collect: Multiple matches depending on how far the bell is from the bottom of the board
Overall effect: Bells can sometimes be easy and at other times tricky to collect. It’s easy to acquire them when they have a clear path to the bottom of the board with no other obstacles to serve as hindrances. However, when placed at an odd position, you may have a hard time bringing bells to the bottom. Fortunately, bells are movable tiles so you can always reposition them in your favor.
Recommended Power-Ups/Combos: Rockets, Bombs, and combos along those lines can easily bring bells closer to the bottom. These are more effective when used alongside Propellers, especially if a bell is one tile away from reaching the bottom.
Wine Crates
Type: Fixed
How to Eliminate/Collect: Make matches next to crates to break and collect them.
Number of Matches Needed to Eliminate/Collect: 1 (may need more matches for multi-layer variants)
Overall effect: Wine crates are pretty effective blockades and can be even more challenging to deal with when they come in more than 1 layer. Single-layer crates usually have the wine symbol seen clearly on their surface, while multi-layer crates have 1 or 2 bars blocking the wine symbol. Matching next to multi-layer crates will remove these bars one by one until you’re left with single-layer crates.
Recommended Power-Ups/Combos: Bombs and Rockets, as well as the Bomb + Rocket combo, work nicely against wine crates. Propellers are effective for crates positioned in hard-to-reach places.
Tablecloth
Type: Fixed
How to Eliminate/Collect: Collect the number of tiles indicated on top of the tablecloth.
Number of Matches Needed to Eliminate/Collect: Multiple matches depending on the number of tiles needed to remove the tablecloth
Overall effect: Tablecloths typically cover a significant part of the board and may be hiding other obstacles underneath. Thus, make an effort to remove tablecloths first whenever possible.
Recommended Power-Ups/Combos: All kinds of power-ups and combos will work well for tablecloths since they usually just need a number of regular tiles to be removed.
Jam
Type: Fixed
How to Eliminate/Collect: Tiles stuck in jam must be matched with other tiles of the same color to remove the jam tiles.
Number of Matches Needed to Eliminate/Collect: 1
Overall effect: Jam tiles can be a bit tricky. This is because even if you manage to eliminate, for example, a row of jam tiles, the next row will gobble up any tile that falls on an empty jam tile. This basically causes new tiles to get stuck in the jam.
Even worse is that power-ups can also get stuck in the jam so you won’t be able to activate them through sliding or double-tapping. The only way to activate power-ups stuck in jam tiles is when they get caught in the area of effect of another power-up.
Recommended Power-Ups/Combos: Jam tiles may be a bit of a challenge but they’re fortunately easy enough to eliminate with the use of any kind of power-up and combo. Rockets and Bombs, as well as the Rocket + Bomb combo or Bomb + Bomb combo, are especially useful if you want to eliminate a big chunk of jam from the board. Double Rainbow Bombs are also a great way to get jam out of the entire board.
In later levels, you’ll be playing with boards that combine a handful of obstacles for bigger and more difficult challenges. How you deal with them will, of course, depend on the situation and the available power-ups and matches you can make.
If possible, eliminate obstacles from the bottom up as this will give you the chance to affect or eliminate obstacles at the top without even having to spend any moves. As mentioned, some obstacles may be hidden underneath other obstacles. Checking out your level goals will usually hint at the obstacles you might not be seeing on the board yet.
Bank on Your Boosters
With all these obstacles you’ll encounter, there’s no guarantee that power-ups and combos will cut it. Sometimes, activating a booster also helps!
Boosters are special items that you can select either at the start of the level or while you’re in the middle of one. Upon reaching a certain level, you will be able to unlock 3 pre-game boosters that will let you choose from a Rocket, Bomb, or Rainbow Bomb. You can pick one or all of these boosters, which will be placed at random positions on the board.
With these pre-game boosters, you can enter any level with an advantage. Keep in mind that boosters are limited, though the game may occasionally be generous enough to give you an infinite number of boosters within a specific duration. Basically, these pre-game boosters are just additional power-ups that you get to have at the start of any level.
On the other hand, you may also choose boosters while you’re in the middle of playing a stage. Unlike pre-game boosters, which are essentially just extra power-ups, in-level boosters don’t spend moves to be activated. You can also use in-level boosters multiple times within a single stage provided you have enough of them to activate. Depending on the situation, your level goals, and overall stage progression, you can choose among these 3 in-level boosters:
- Fork: The Fork removes a single tile of your choice. This booster behaves similarly to a Propeller power-up, except you get to pick which tile you want to remove as opposed to eliminating a random one. The Fork is best used when you’re 1 or several moves away from completing your level goals. They’re also great for collecting tiles that are in hard-to-reach places.
- Mallet: The Mallet removes tiles within a certain radius, much like the Bomb power-up. However, with this booster, you get to select the general area you want to affect. Mallets are great for breaking blockades like wine crates, pancakes, cookies, glass jars, or even taking out a chunk of jam. It’s an excellent way to clear out more play space on the board and even get a bunch of toasters to cough up some crunchy toast.
- Candy Basket: Using the Candy Basket booster will release 5 Propellers onto the board, consequently eliminating 5 random tiles. The good thing about Propellers is that they seem to be programmed to pick tiles that will help you get closer to hitting your level goals. The downside is that the choice will still be at random and you won’t be able to control where the Propellers will go.
Still, the Candy Basket booster is pretty effective when you have multiple tiles you need to eliminate or collect but are scattered throughout the board. Of course, whether or not you’ll get to remove the tiles you want is pretty much based on your luck.
You’re probably thinking, “Aren’t these boosters going to make everything too easy?” That’s a totally valid question considering you don’t even have to match power-ups with other tiles to activate them. This feature should be enough to get you through any stage, right?
Well, that’s only partly true since you’ll be facing Hard Levels from time to time. In fact, we’ve noticed that Hard Levels usually appear on the 5th and 9th levels of every 10 levels.
In this case, there’s really no harm in using boosters so you can successfully clear a stage. You don’t even have to be in a Hard Level to face a challenging board as some regular stages can still give you a run for your money. Keep in mind that if you lose a level, you also lose a heart, which takes 30 minutes to regenerate. That said, boosters are meant to help you, so help yourself!
Have a Heart and Help Out Friends
Speaking of hearts, you have a maximum of 5 hearts to spend. While this seems like more than enough leeway to replay levels you’ve failed to clear, it’s still possible to lose all your hearts if you’re not careful.
When you lose all your hearts, you’d have to wait a total of 2.5 hours before you can get a full set replenished. Of course, you can always just wait for 1 heart to refresh after 30 minutes and simply make sure that you don’t lose any levels until such time you’ve regained all 5 hearts.
But what happens when you lose all your hearts and waiting isn’t really your strong suit?
This is where joining a team comes in handy. You can do this by accessing the community tab on the upper righthand corner of the screen.
By joining a community, you can request for hearts from other members. This effectively shaves off a lot of the time you need to wait for a full set of hearts to regenerate.
One member will be able to donate 1 heart to each player’s heart request. Similarly, you can return the favor by granting the heart requests of fellow team members.
That said, it’s always a good idea to join a team with active members so your heart requests don’t get ignored.
On the other hand, if joining a team isn’t really your cup of tea, then you can make your own team. This way, you can invite your friends who are also playing the game and lend each other a hand. You can also let random players join your team if you wish.
Either way, have a heart and share some hearts with everyone!
Save Your Gold for Extra Moves
Now if you’re the type who isn’t too keen on the idea of losing hearts, waiting long hours, or even joining a community, there’s one way you can keep your hearts intact even if you’ve been a little careless in playing. However, it’s going to cost you a lot of gold.
That’s right: in exchange for gold, you’ll be able to continue playing a level and get 5 additional moves.
The caveat is that the cost for additional moves is 900 gold, which is a pretty big sum considering the gold earnings for each level are quite modest. However, we don’t see any other viable use for gold aside from purchasing extra moves since there are other ways you can earn rewards like boosters and power-ups for free (more on this later). Thus, you may choose to save your gold solely for purchasing extra moves whenever you encounter a level that’s particularly hard to complete.
Of course, 5 more moves don’t guarantee total victory so take this route at your own risk. But while it’s something of a gamble, buying extra moves may be preferable to losing hearts and waiting for them to regenerate.
Cash is for Fash
Aside from gold, let’s talk about another currency you’ll encounter in the game: cash. Naturally, this is also something you can save up as clearing levels will get you a small cash reward.
But what is this in-game cash really for?
Why, fashion, of course!
It goes without saying that you can’t be a famous chef and restaurateur without looking the part. Fortunately, you can unlock fashion items from time to time, which you can access via your wardrobe.
Fashion items can be acquired by successfully completing levels. However, even if you’ve unlocked a certain fashion item, you still need to buy it with in-game cash, unless the game offers it for free.
Fashion items can range from different types of clothing to hairstyles, hair color, eye color, shoes, trinkets and accessories, etc. Fashion items you own and have equipped will be reflected as Charlotte’s ensemble in the game’s user interface, unless she’s wearing a predetermined outfit. An example is the chef’s outfit, which she dons whenever she prepares meals.
We’d like to say that fashion items give some kind of bonus, but they don’t. They’re purely for aesthetic purposes and your own enjoyment. If you don’t have a problem spending in-game cash on these fabulous finds, then go ahead and shop till you drop!
Our most important tip when it comes to purchasing fashion items is to wait a while before going on a shopping spree. This is because you’ll get to unlock so many more wardrobe wonders as you play, thus giving you a wider range of options.
After all, a wise buyer considers all their available choices before making one. In the same manner, it’s better to unlock as many fashion items as you can since you’re more likely to find better choices that are worth the expense.
Enjoy Events and Gobble Up Rewards
At this point, we’ve covered pretty much all the important features of the game, but there are just a few more we’d like to talk about: events and rewards!
Like most match-3 games, or any mobile game for that matter, Charlotte’s Table also has limited-time events that can let you earn extra rewards, such as:
- Extra gold and cash
- Boosters and power-ups
- Additional hearts
- Infinite hearts and/or boosters for a limited duration ranging from 15 minutes to an hour
The best part is that these rewards are stackable and you can earn them simply by completing levels. There are various limited-time events that may be active all at once, and the game automatically lets you participate in all of them. All you need to do is collect the rewards and bonuses you’ve amassed when they become available.
Limited-time events can last between several hours and a few days. They may also have different requirements for obtaining rewards. For example, the Propeller Collection event requires you to activate as many Propeller power-ups as you can for each level. Once you’ve reached the required number, you get bonuses.
On the other hand, the Abundant Autumn event simply requires you to complete a number of levels to acquire season points for additional rewards.
Of course, watching ads for extra rewards is an option occasionally offered by the game. Upon clearing a level, you may see a small button where you can watch a quick ad to double the rewards you’ve obtained.
That said, keep playing and following Charlotte’s story to help her discover her past and achieve her dream of becoming a world-class chef! With that, we conclude our beginner’s guide for Charlotte’s Table. We hope we’ve given you enough helpful tips and tricks to successfully complete levels, take advantage of power-ups and combos, work around a myriad of obstacles, get a ton of extra rewards, and have a great gameplay experience all while wearing the best bling in-game cash can buy!
Do you have more tips and tricks you can share? Are you far off into the story and would like to share some hints (not spoilers!) with other players? Feel free to drop them in our comment section below!