Chai Street

Rafiq Chai has been shut for three years. Nani says it is time to open the shutter. Chai Street is a calm, no-timer sorting puzzle set on a Lahore food street that comes alive as you play. Drag chai, samosas, jalebis and biryani onto the trays. Three of a kind go out to the customer, and the counter clears. Simple to learn, and later levels ask you to think several moves ahead. NO TIMERS, NO LIVES Take as long as you like. There is no energy meter and nothing that stops you playing. If the counter jams, boosters get you out: undo a move, open an extra slot, pack an order to go, or shuffle the counter. A STREET THAT GROWS Every win rebuilds the street behind the puzzle. Shutters go up, stalls open, lights come on, tables fill, and the neighbours turn up: Pappu the samosa-wala, Professor Sahib and his crossword, Nargis the food vlogger, and Chaudhry Gulzar from the loud tea house across the way. The street is hand-drawn in the colours of truck art, and the people in it walk, sit, chat and queue. SIX STREETS, 112 LEVELS Ride the rickshaw from the neighbourhood chai stall to Anarkali Bazaar, through the Walled City, into a rainy night market and on to a Chand Raat festival, with a sunrise nashta by the canal as a bonus street. Each has its own food, its own music and its own weather. A STORY WORTH FINISHING A full story with a proper ending, told by a cast of characters, many with spoken lines. SOMETHING TO DO EVERY DAY Daily challenges, a weekly catering gig with bronze, silver and gold stages, daily chai rewards, star chests, player levels and achievements. Your best scores are kept in the Chai Book. MADE FOR PHONES Plays in one hand, portrait only. Works offline. Light enough for older phones, with a reduced-motion setting and vibration you can switch off.