Tavernier

Tavernier
N/A
Metacritic
78
Steam
59.858
xDR
Our rating is calculated based on the reviews and popularity of the game.
Price
$2.99
Release date
25 August 2016
Developers
Publishers
Steam reviews score
Total
78 (147 votes)

Tavernier is a mix between a tavern-management game and an interactive fiction. You'll play as a barkeeper managing his tavern, coping with events, good and bad alike, in a (not so peaceful) town. A town that keeps a dark secret...

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Tavernier system requirements

Minimum:

  • OS: XP SP2 or later versions
  • Processor: SSE2 instruction set support
  • Memory: 256 MB RAM
  • Graphics: DX9 (shader model 3.0) or DX11 with feature level 9.3 capabilities
  • DirectX: Version 9.0
  • Storage: 1 GB available space

Recommended:

Recommended requirements are not yet specified.
Updated
App type
Steam APP ID
517370
Platforms
Windows PC
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Fox1
Fox1

funny small game, which worths the money :)
I enjoyed the story, the decisions, the surprises :)

bunniesangel
bunniesangel

Tavernier is a small but fun Simulation game about well... having a tavern.
If you like Simulation games and would like to know what its somewhat like to own a Tavern this game is definitely a must! And for the price its pretty great!

Admiral Dinosaur
Admiral Dinosaur

This is a really fun little game that takes maybe 40 minutes to an hour to beat, bur there is a load of ways to play and its really fun.

To those who have played it, what worked for me was: Wanderer, Power, Knowledge, cool.
How about you?

Thetaylor1996
Thetaylor1996

Bought mainly because of the great reviews. However, I completed the game in less than 20 minutes! It has a wacky storyline filled with mythical creates and folklore which gives a interesting vibe. I wouldn't reccommed buying, theres just not enough content involved.

5/10

Jay
Jay

Very enjoyable! Fun characters and gameplay. Very replayable, the Steam achievements make some neat extra goals.

Iczel
Iczel

Tavern management game. You decide how what type of customers you want at your tavern and you make choices that impact if you get more customers, the type of customers... folks/guards/thieves/wanders... later in the game there's wizards and spirits as well.

There's the introduction which explains how the game works...
There's no voice acting... but its fun to read if you enjoy reading...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yx47c9b0uvs

get Cha sum
get Cha sum

Love the wonderful idea of Tavern management into the fantasy/medieval genre. I enjoy the type of atmosphere in real life. However I grew bored roughly 10 minutes into the game. Done differently with a longer story line and more mysterious things. Along with some end game content to strive for, this would definitely be a better game. However due to the utter lack of content I can't see the game remaining even halfway entertaining after an hour into it.

Heres to hoping the refund works.

Vicky
Vicky

Fantastic game. Well thought-out, humorous, and with PLENTY of content-- it only reveals itself in multiple play-throughs. Perfect amount for the price. I'm pleasantly surprised!

ExHippy
ExHippy

Short and sweet. Took me two hours to complete (and beat) the game on my second playthrough. It's not particularly complicated or deep. Over the course of 52 weeks (52 turns) you must generate gold and increaase your customer base by selectively buying decorations and food. Also, each week you have to make a decision on a random event that has just happened, but this boils down to a choice of two or more text based options. There is an overarching plot but again it's presented in the same way as the weekly events.

I think what I'm trying to say is that it's a basic managemnet sim with a VERY light RPG element to it. It's worth the £2, if only barely.

Computer1633
Computer1633

Let's Play: Tavernier
https://youtu.be/mU9d0Z1INA8

Tavernier is a great little game that combines tavern management with what feels like a classic childhood choose your own adventure book. You inherit a tavern and it is your job to turn a profit while deciding what groups of townspeople to support. The gamepley itself is very simple and easy to pickup. Each turn, depending on the amount of coin you have, you can unlock more items to sell, purchase decorations to help increase your tavern rating and cashflow, or buy more furniture to allow more patrons access to your tavern (tavern management). Once you have finished this, you click a button to advance time one week and are presented with a random event for which you must choose a response (choose your own adventure). The choice you make generally does not have major consequences to the game and rather affects patronage of a group or your coin reserves. It then shows you your cashflow and you do it again for the next game week. This is basically the game.

-PROS:
- Artstyle is unique and enjoyable
- Easy to pickup and learn quickly
- Good story and content for price
- High replayability value
- Steam Achievements

-CONS:
- Short storyline
- Could use more objects and food to buy
- Random event choices dont really matter overall

TLDR: Great little game for the price. Absolutely recommend!!!!

granak1031
granak1031

I think this game is great, for it's price. Definitely worth the $3. The value is in the replay, not just one run-through.

I think I would certainly enjoy a detailed tavern simulation, but I wouldn't have known that until I tried Tavernier. I actually would hesitate to call Tavernier a simulation, as it's really an adventure game, from the perspective of a tavernier. Dialogue and Story are the primary facets of this game, and they are implemented very well.

If I was to say anything is lacking, it's only that I want more. I know the developers have said more content will be coming to FURTHER increase replayability (which is AWESOME!). But what I'm craving (and other players as well, from some comments) is more of everything, story and all. Perhaps the developers will think of releasing a "Chapter 2"?

Toxao
Toxao

Very nice game with a interesting atmosphere. You choose your options and face the consequences! Had it done in like 2 hours of gameplay trying to explore anything possible. Worth every penny, Congratz!

Xenicorn
Xenicorn

Love the stories, love the idea, wish it had more meat, but for what it is, it is glorious!

Rake
Rake

1-2 hours gameplay for two pounds good value
fun little game with some nice style to it. like an old text adventure or those books where you made decisions and turned to a certain page. Tried a few different run throughs with a limited variety but still impressive.

This game reminded me a little of discworld, and manages to have it's own charm at the same time.
Started "The Lucky imp's co.ck" and after some unforseen bad luck got kicked out.
Thankfully "The Sweaty Barmaid" did much better and delivered me a sweaty victory
wil try again with "The Sailors mistress meaty flaps"

ptp
ptp

This Game is a nice story with different ways of playing it and it is very inexpensive. i have enjoyed this game alot so far and i cant wait to play more

truthwarrior
truthwarrior

Edit .... The achievements work. You just need to accomplish the description before you complete the story
==========================================

Love this game! Its a quick play... but funny and lots of replay value. Its simple to master.

Only complaint is that a few of the achievements didn't activate. (Beat game before 52 weeks, got 100+ pro/con in same game, got 400 people and 100% cool, and stocked up way more than 100 mana = but achievements didnt activate).

Also a few of the explanations didn't match the effect. For example, one quest they said "...you lost a few customers..." but when it showed the effect it was "+3 customers." = This one is more of a technical complaint rather than effect the game.

Great game! Worth the money.

Glavius
Glavius

A very short but well written and enjoyable game.

Ananoriel
Ananoriel

Tavernier is a short Choose Your Own Adventure/management game with a fantasy artstyle. You have to take care for the tavern of your uncle for a year and every week you have to get supplies, get decorations and talk to customers to attract new types of customers. You can also choose to be the friendly tavernier or a more professional one.

The stories from the customers you get each time are mostly humorously written, and pretty enjoyable. You can expect a bit of everything. And on the long term you will notice that there will be a longer storyline in the game as well. I won't go into detail about it, because of spoilers.

I really liked this game, the story, artstyle, music make the game very enjoyable for especially fantasy fans. The only downside I discovered was that it was so short! I did 2 playthroughs, because I got bankrupt in the first one. And in the second one I completed the storyline. I spent 1.3 hours on it according to Steam. So that is pretty short. On the other hand, the game is not expensive, so I don't think it is a waste of money.

I would recommend the game if you have a boring night. It is entertaining, and it is ultra-comfy!

My rating for this game: 7/10.

BON3S McCOY
BON3S McCOY

Got my $3 out of this game in like an hour and I'll probably play it quite a bit more in the future. Worth the small price, fun and interesting game.

Redhotviking
Redhotviking

A fun Tavern management game thats worth the money spendt, but only if you like a storybased text game with management elements. If you do not enjoy these sort of games this isnt for you.

It has no actions, only text based story and choices that affect you or your tavern and thats about it. As for replayability it has some, as there is appernetly several ways to win the game.

gaia belladonna
gaia belladonna

Really good game just one gripe story is rather short but seeing how the price is so low i cant complain its a very fun time waster and the story does have some replay value so all in all i give this game an 8/10 with a warped seal of approval

Mr BreaksIt
Mr BreaksIt

I do tend to enjoy this sort of game - there's a bit of management in there, mixed with some visual novel storytelling - but I didn't enjoy Tavernier. This is a game with a lot of glaring issues that pop up constantly.
Firstly, there are grammatical errors. A lot of them. And not simple, forgiveable things like a misplaced comma here or there, but great big flashing misspellings and broken paragraphs that launch me right out of the game, not that that's terribly hard because the story is completely nonsensical. Not to spoil it for those who still wish to play it, but the primary antagonist shows up multiple times throughout the story in disguise to actively help you, and this is never explained. You can also apparently become captain of the guard just from having a lot of coppers drink at your establishment.

Finally, the choices you get given throughout the experience have bizarre outcomes that don't make a lick of sense, including random radical alignment shifts, which can be devastating for a game that flat out requires you to fo all out with your alignment choices. Being anything but abusive to the guards that show up on occasion apparently makes everyone (including the guards) think you're less "cool," while the only way to regain coolness seems to be to do things that actively hurt your business.

It's all rather poorly thought out and irritating, but it also seems to be the very first game from this developer, so this is to be expected. The art is nice, and FromTheBard may go on to make some genuinely good games in the future, but this is not one of them.

BumblerBee
BumblerBee

I liked this game. Simple enough to understand system, lots of different outcomes and play styles. I played through the main game a few times over as once won't be enough- you'll see what I mean.

Surt Mada
Surt Mada

Nice short story-telling here mixed with a little bit of limited gameplay. The endings are pretty much the same though but multiple playthrough gives multiples narrative branching, why not if you enjoy the atmosphere and the free soundtracks.

mjpc88
mjpc88

There's little to no replayability and the game is very short, but the price point is fair when on sale like I just bought @ 50% off for $1.50 so there's nothing to complain about. Also, this is a game of little surprises, so if you want to get the most for your money, don't watch any "Let's Play" videos on Youtube. That said, I'd probably pay the game's asking price just for the soundtrack alone. The music is very well done, and the producer should go on to offer one's services to produce for other products. I say this especially for the mid to late game songs in the advanced factions, but that's to be expected as a reward. Better music is for better playing.

daledragon36
daledragon36

Fun and well priced. It's short but sweet. Took me about 6 hours to complete all the achievements. 6 hours is pretty good for the low price.

carmen
carmen

I would use "Neutral" instead of "No" for my recommendation, if I could. This game is too simple and straightforward for me. The story is not bad, although I did not proceed far enough to know the end. I expected more from the time management aspect but that was incredibly easy. Only buy it if it's on sale ~ it's not worth it otherwise.

I would compare the style of gameplay to Papers Please, which is way more challenging and the storyline more complex. The replay value for Papers Please is also higher by far.

eldarad
eldarad

Tavernier is a short game that is reasonably good. I bought it for half price in the sale, so I got around 4 hours of entertainment for £1 - I can't really complain. I completed the storyline on the second playthrough, and although in theory the game should have replayability because of the different factions you can back, I have no desire to play it again.

Hawk
Hawk

This is a good indie management game with decent replay value for a low price. You are given
proprietorship of a tavern, and you have 52 weeks to figure out what evil is happening in town, and to make necessary adjustments to your tavern in order to put a stop to this evil before the 52 weeks end. You will want to decide what factions you want your tavern to appeal to (folks, guards, rogues, wanderers, mages, etc.) by having your tavern bard play music that appeals to them, changing tavern decorations, changing menu items, and other changes. You will also be given a randomized moral decision every week that will increase and/or decrease certain attributes of your tavern (percentage of your customers that belong to different factions, how much gold you have, whether you choose to have a "cool" or "pro" tavern alignment, the customer tipping rate, total number of customers, etc.).

Depending on the changes you make to your tavern and the weekly decisions you make, this will affect the path you take and the ending, of which there are several pathways and endings. The first time you play, it may take two or three hours to finish, but every playthrough afterwards will take significantly less time because you will see certain recurring weekly decisions pop up every now and then. There is replay value in that there are different ways you can play depending on what weekly choices you make and what factions you appeal to. Unfortunately, while the weekly choices are randomized, there are not a lot of them in each pathway. Once you get to a third or fourth playthrough, you will start to notice a lot of reoccurring weekly decisions, which can feel repetitious and reduce the time of those playthroughs to around half an hour. However, this isn't an issue with me personally; this is because you still get a significant amount of content for the low price because of the variety of paths that you can take and the endings.

The artstyle is great, the music sets a good mood, and it controls very well. The negatives I have with Tavernier are minuscule. There are some minor spelling/grammar mistakes throughout the storyline and dialogue interactions with characters. Some of the outcomes from your weekly decisions don't make a lick of sense, and there are glaring plot holes in the storyline. Also, I noticed in a couple of my playthroughs that one or two randomized weekly decisions will pop up every single week in the latter half of the 52 weeks for some reason (possible bug?). Despite these shortcomings, I recommend Tavernier for providing good tavern management entertainment and replay value at a budget price.

eakugler
eakugler

This is a great little game.
I would have enjoyed a few more choices, and a few more endings, but otherwise well worth 3 bucks.

Mr $P00K
Mr $P00K

really good game i recommend it

Formerly Dr Kang
Formerly Dr Kang

A highly amusing indie fantasy tavern management game with surprisingly solid replay value. I have to confess it was a drunk buy when I came home from the, well, tavern. And, cconfession #2: its the perfect game to play during that window of time from when you come back from the bar and have like, one or two more drinks before you pass out.

Look, I cant be the only person on steam that has come back home from a night of carousing, thought "I could do with another beer or two" and then you start going through your steam library looking for something to play. No, anything involving other people is out b/c screw them. Last thing I need harshing my buzz is having some nerd yelling over my headset while Im tryna play Battlefield. And Im not looking for anyhthing too complicated; Europa Universalis is out. I mean that game is hard enough to deal with when Im sober.

Enter Tavernier. Look, youre in the right mindset to run a saloon as youre already half in the bag-and if youre reading this review youre probably the kind of person that has thought "I would love to run a pub in the Shire." So this game is that magic crossroads that actually gives you All The Things. Booze. Pubs. The occaisional orc. If youre still here just buy it already, yo. Its 3$. Thats less than a price of a pint in every city on the planet. W/e Im having one more whiskey and going to bed.

Faudraline
Faudraline

People go to church for the same reasons they go to a tavern: to stupefy themselves, to forget their misery, to imagine themselves, for a few minutes anyway, free and happy. - Mikhail Bakunin

Tavernier is the debut game coming from the French indie developer studio, From the Bard, presenting a tavern management simulation in a fantasy setting. For me it is a brilliant idea, since we rarely take a look on the NPC side of any fantasy story. I've been playing RPG games for years now, both on computer and tabletop. In nearly all those games that I've been to, all player characters voice a dream one time or the other: dealing with the main quest and being able to retire to safety one day to open an inn or a tavern. It's the optimal retirement plan for any medieval adventurer, ask anyone! Now, you can actually do it, yet again another adventure is included for you nonetheless.

Your uncle was a Tavernier before you, and now your time to take the establishment over has come. As he retires, he shows you the basics and leaves for you to handle the management of the tavern in the town. As you start, you'll have guests coming from many different social groups: folks, guards, rogues and wanderer to start with. They all prefer something else on the menu, a different kind of music for the local bard to play, some other treatment coming from the Tavernier, etc. It will be your job to attend them and pick one to favor above others to get a reputation and a social standing for your own self. As you go by though, a mysterious visit from the town mayor occurs. He comes in, picks one of your patrons and no one ever sees that man again... This unsettling occurrence repeats every month and townsfolk are reluctant to talk about it. Only if you manage to earn the trust and acceptance of one group, you may delve into this eerie mystery and uncover the scheme which threatens to destroy the whole town! Enjoy your retirement!

Now that we're done with establishing the base setting, let's hit our other subjects. For the display, nothing is marvelous or spectacular, but all artwork are fitting for the setting as hand drawn characters and environment. I enjoyed different kind of customers and their various outlook in game. There is no voice acting whatsoever, but you are free to choose your background music - folk, metal, jazz, classical, you name it! - fitting for the social group you are trying to impress. All musical numbers are free sample legends, playing on the same piece until you change it.

As for the game mechanics, it all is quite simple: easy to learn, yet hard to master. According to the kind of customers you favor, your complete number of customers for the week and the random encounter you face, your whole income is regularly calculated. You have to deduct your taxes from that though. With your earnings, you are free to garnish your tavern furthermore, to attract more customers. Random events occurring at the end of each week will depend whether you have the right decoration, have appropriate amount of money, whether you are considered a professional or just a cool guy too. Each new group you favor will unlock different random events for you to enjoy, and their outcomes will affect you furthermore.

Each month, an event relevant to the main story will occur, and if you've managed to fulfill its criteria, you'll progress in the main story. If not, you'll try next month. In 52 weeks, your game will come to an end, whether you've managed to solve the plot and face the main villain or not. So, I foresee various trial and error periods before you manage to complete the game with the good ending. Once you get a hold of how the main scenario works, you won't have that much of a trouble though. Then, achievement hunting begins - which is the real challenge. There are 4 main social groups and 4 more that you can unlock in your progression (you have to pick 2 for a single playthrough) according to your choices. They all will present you different abilities like tipping, attracting customers, being able to use magic etc. So, this simple little indie game presents a surprising amount of replay value for you.

Well, at the end of the day, Tavernier is obviously not the best thing since sliced bread, but it is a successful indie management game with a good story in store for its value. I do recommend the game for your discovery. Good day, and good gaming to you all!

Please also check out Lady Storyteller's Curator page here - follow for regular updates on reviews for other games!

wirelesshnic
wirelesshnic

I enjoyed this game a good deal. Its both simple and fun.

Jargonaut
Jargonaut

This is a very inexpensive but fun game with great replay value.
Surprising there is also an interesting background story that goes with his game.

To get all the achievements is indeed challenging as it requires a combination of both strategy and luck.
This game is a must-buy for those with a "perfectionist" inclination.
You would enjoy reloading until the perfect event occur that will provide that wonderful opportunity to get those achievements.

There is great replay value in this game especially when you try to get all the achievements.
Should you go for Power, or Knowledge or Wealth or Fame?
Should you hire Folks or Guards, or Robbers or Wanderers?
Or perhaps you should go for beings like Spirits, Zombies or try to get the attention of Mages and Nobles.

Each of the decision that you make will affect a wide variety of outcomes.
They might lead to your success or even early demise.

I spend my first few games basically experimenting with all the options and learning the mechanics of the game.

Well, for $2, this game is definitely worth it as it keep me occupied on nights that I could not go to sleep.

hexagon
hexagon

It is a good game for such a low price; if it is on sale, even better!

This is a short game, and you'll encounter many of the same encounters on each play-through. The game makes it very easy to quickly speed through the dialogs, and the interface is large and easy to navigate. The artwork is attractive. The sound effects and music are minimal, but also well done.
I’m considered the Grammar Nazi at work, but I did not find much wrong with the writing in the game. Maybe it was patched after some of the negative reviews mentioned it? A few lines were odd, but nothing so bad as to be confusing, or detrimental to the game.

First game, I lost.
Sure, I did the tutorial, read all the encounters, made choices...etc. I just didn't understand how to win.

Second game, I won on the last turn.
Learning from my failure, I figured out a strategy.

Third game, I won on turn 40.
I'm getting better, but the strategy for each game is much the same once you figure it out.

Fourth through twenty something games, I was mostly picking up achievements and seeing if I missed any interesting choices or situations in previous tries.

Overall the game is enjoyable. I “finished” it quickly, but continued for several more hours to see more.
The only thing I was not a fan of was the victory conditions. You must meet specific requirements to progress in the main story line. These requirements are essentially the same for each game, so once a recipe for success is known, it is similar for subsequent games.

Ninjamestari
Ninjamestari

An interesting little game, but not worth investing money in. If the game had a little deeper game-play, a more open ended structure and a slightly more personal touch with the customers (the game treats them merely as a statistic), it might actually be interesting and worth playing AND paying for. As it is, I can recommend this game only to those with a more professional interest in the concept.

MrPineapple
MrPineapple

Tavernier is a fun, short experience with an intriguing but short story. Its price of only £2 makes it hard not to recommend.

There isn't much gameplay as its a simple management game with a choose your own story mechanic that doesn't have a lot of depth. This however doesn't take away from the fact that it's fun in a way Cooking Mama or Papa's Pizzeria where simplistic things are executed well and are enjoyable to play. The basic gameplay, as fun as it is, did not make me want to play through the game again. I liked the story but I felt like it wouldn't differ much on a second playtrough, however your experience may vary.

The game only costs £2 and I felt like I got my moneys worth for the experience and I recommend you to buy it if you enjoy a fantasy setting and a casual management style game that has a pretty interesting story that you will unravel fairly quickly.

ImaginaryAce [TTV]
ImaginaryAce [TTV]

Tavernier's two management style paths, multiple faction options, and many randomized events lend themselves to decent replay value. I also found the soundtrack to be very well done and highly enjoyable.

For the current price of $2.99 USD, I highly recommend this game.

Kago
Kago

So Tavernir, what to say about it? It's a very intersting management game. I say it's a great buy during a sale too. I personally feel that it takes some getting use to in order to really get things evened out and I have yet to discover that way but I am determined to do so on my own, guide free...for now.

Le me Tavernir: Welcome to my tavern!

Customer: I think you have a serious problem here, nothings exploded.

Le me Tavernir:: Oh...

A: I totally agree with you, let's make everything explodey. +5 cool points

B: Are you out of your mind! Be gone foul beast you shall not pass. +5 pro points

Le me Tavernir: Chooses B. Hello sir, goodbye sir, sayonara, Au Revoir, no thanks.

Customer: Che whatever -leaves and blows up half of establishment

Le me Tavernir: -watches place explodes received +5 pro points- Worth :D

witness1
witness1

Become a tavernier in a fantasy town. Upgrade and chose furniture, menu items and decorations. Earn money, coolnes or professionalism, even mana! And of course the end of the world is near. Every week (=one turn) you need to make a decision that will change something, like the folks that visit your tavern. Do you attract guards? Rogues? Nobles? Zombies even! Chose your own adventure.

Graphics are well done and suffice. Stories are well written and fun, management part is rather easy, but there is a big random element to the choice making process, since you don't know, what outcome it will have most of the time. Great fun and big replayability value.

Follow me as a curator at http://store.steampowered.com/curator/28337205-Fair-Minded-Witness/?app…

RedJelly
RedJelly

I love this game and it's very fun. At times it's challenging and at others confusin, but fun all the same.

ebling
ebling

Simple management-gated interactive fiction / visual novel. Highlight is the random events which can be played as story or for management effects, and easy skip-friendly interface. Definitely could have been expanded but it's a clean pleasant game as is.

tl;dr No regrets, better than expected for 98 cents

Kaine Kalos
Kaine Kalos

Don't get me wrong, I actually had fun with the game... for about the first hour or so. It had interesting twists to it I wasn't expecting, and it was fun trying to get enough gold to buy perks. However, it's EXTREMELY short, and about 30 minutes in, you'll start to see the results of the choices you make repeated over and over. You can focus your play on the different faction for some variety, but the results are still the same. If you got this for under a dollar, kudos, but if you have to pay more than that, I wouldn't waste your money if I were you.

feyfaithy
feyfaithy

I'm uninstalling without finishing. I guess I was expecting something different from what it ended up being because I'm just finding it boring.

gTk
gTk

repetitive, got bored after the first runthrough.

[TechRaptor] Coboney
[TechRaptor] Coboney

Tavernier pitches itself as tavern-management but it is all interactive fiction with all of the gameplay loop based around effecting up to 7 different bards for your customers and your 'professional vs coolness' and growing customers for more money. The game has 52 weeks and in each week you make a decision to an event that is relatively short and mediocrely written with many issues. The "tavern management" is setting what meals and decorations but for meals you select food items and decorations its just choosing items to display, not that it is shown in game. All these do is impact those bars or your money or customer count. There's no depth here and while I generally like narrative experiences there's no real payoff or compelling story here.

Sir Reginald Cottersthworp III
Sir Reginald C…

This is one of those titles that I kind of wish I could give a neutral review for.

I mean, I suppose I shouldn't have been expecting much, given the price of the game, but still not sure that it was worth it; more so the time I could have spent playing something else, TBH.

It's quite short; a full playthrough will only last about half an hour tops. Replay value kinda seems minimal once you've gone and beaten the game one. There's other achievements to be had, but hunting them out seem more like an exercise in tedium than anything else.

Not too much in the way of depth, or story. Overall, I probably wouldn't recommend. Even for a dollar at the -66% off Summer sale price point, there's better use of your time.

Emily the Strange
Emily the Strange

8/10 This game is a fast, fun, fantasy RPG and simulation game with multiple outcomes. The game can be played within an hour for each outcome, but there are also several achievements that are fun to try to get. It's a great game to sit down with a snack or some coffee and beat a level or two. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who is a fan of these types of games.

Because this doesn't have a rating, I rate it as close as possible to the ESRB rating system.
E10: Alcohol, Mild Fantasy Violence

Ironick
Ironick

You might tell that i only played like 50 mins and i can't write a review for this reason but this is another kind of game you can understand in like 5 mins. I played 2 campaigns and i have to say that its pretty hard at the beggining, you can lose pretty easily. I liked this game a lot and it was pretty interesting, some of you might tell that is repeating but i can't really say that because you can try a LOT and LOT and LOT of different ways and strategics to play and finish that game!!

skinnyabergele
skinnyabergele

I enjoyed this game a tavern magement with a short story there is a slight change if you chose a different faction to remain in you tavern but once you have played it once or twice it does not have much more to offer a bit of replay if you want all the achievements.
A few hours fun for less than £2.

Dragon_Code_X
Dragon_Code_X

This game is actually really great.

It's like a RPG without the combat or character movement. But there's character development. The description doesn't really point it out, but there's a lot of plot to this game. There's also some strategy I think.

veebles
veebles

very interesting multiple endings and transition to get there
some achievements make you work really hard and punish mistakes
however, it becomes grindy really fast, as in a tedious chore trying to trigger random events
recommended for a couple of playthroughs, but definitely not to get all achievements
I will NEVER play this again as a result

thepowerglove
thepowerglove

Tavernier is a light management RPG that feels like Reigns but with better art and more interesting choices. You control a tavern at a macro level, choosing decor and food to draw in certain factions, each of which brings different kinds of scenarios you must deal with. Depending on your preference or distain for a given section of the community, different choices may open themselves up leading to a pretty entertaining combination.

Pros:
+I really enjoy this art style. Almost a comic woodblock, see also Darkest Dungeon.
+Music is all-around really great and actually acts as a mechanic in itself, with different music choices drawing in different customers.
+Low price tag. I got it on sale but the current full price of $2.99 is pretty good for the fun I got out of it.
+The overarching narrative is intriguing with fun twists, especially with the first run through or two as you get different endings.
+Many of the weekly scenarios will make you think or can just be off the wall and hilarious.
+Good, clear, skippable tutorial.
+You'll want to give the game multiple run-throughs to see the different scenarios, endings, and achievements.

Cons:
-The game can be quite short. Once I figured out the game's most efficient pathways and knowing what the various quests were ahead of time meant I could eventually knock out a full run-though in minutes.
-Actual tavern management is limited. You have a small-ish selection of tools, furniture, and food to select but the entire experience is on rails so there isn't much space to experiment or go free form. It wasn't a huge negative for me but worth mentioning.

Meh:
=The game makes a big deal early on about your cave/cellar, but I found it was only some of the games' menus compiled into one place, seems like a waste?

Overall:

Tavernier is a light game with some interesting surprises. To me it almost feels like a board or card game with some twists. It's great to pick up and play for a few minutes and easy to jump back into. It has its flaws but I quite enjoyed it for what it is.

Gio
Gio

The game deliver the experience described by the publisher. The game itself is rather short and not replayable, the experience I had was quite good though.

The King of the Worms
The King of th…

I didn't find the game strong in any areas; however, it does do a good job in many. It's a nice little game to pass the time with, but as a whole, I didn't really spend loads of hours on this one.

GoGoRoth
GoGoRoth

My family name is actually Tavernier so this game immediately caught my attention. Playing it had several amusing moments, such as during the tutorial where your uncle says "You're a Tavernier now" and I could think "Yes, yes I am". But that's really a personal level of enjoyment that most won't experience.

Gameplay wise, there's not a whole lot there. It felt a bit like a Kongregate game but the promise of a hidden narrative added enough that I'm happy I bought it, given how cheap it is. I've only played through it twice and I'm not in a hurry to play through it again soon, but I'm sure I will somewhere down the line. I really wish I could give a 'meh' rating. The only reason I went with a 'no' was because other players won't get that boost from sharing the name with the game.

If I had one note it would be that I wish the decorations and food you ordered for your tavern actually showed up in the game. When you buy all new furniture in order to attract more customers, and the game screen shows that you're still using the same wooden benches and tables, it is a little disappointing.

Legendary Fang
Legendary Fang

What a happy tavern, a lot of drunk people inside.

Gamboleer
Gamboleer

A mild thumbs up for interesting and friendly concept, and low price ($2.99) at my time of purchase. However, I finished my playtest wanting the game to be more than it is. I would be giving a neutral rating if this were possible.

- The music is great; the art a sort of pencil-sketch style that does a good job. The English wasn't written by a native speaker, however. The grammar is generally okay, but you consistently encounter words that are completely inappropriate. For example, "the right SPRINKLES are what makes a people come and go" (referring to extras that improve the tavern; I believe the word they wanted was "touches"). Other times, the game refers to the "cave" when I believe it means "cellar".

- It makes excessive use of anachronisms (your bard can play rock music, for example) and fourth wall breaking (in one weekly event, I have too much to drink and see my beer floating before me. My choices are to grab it or "press the space bar". I chose the latter, and my bar floated into (outer) space, and I was able to grab the beer, which gave me a bunch of gold and increased my reputation with several of the customer types).

- Something about the core game mechanic is unfulfilling; there just isn't enough to do in the tavern management, and no real sense of story in the choose your own adventure part. You have four types of customers (guards, rogues, wanderers, etc) and can change the menu, music and decorations to draw more of one or another; your one "choose your own adventure" choice each week inevitably changes your reputation with one or more groups. These A / B choices do not give a sense of story so much as they simply move sliders around. The management part feels similarly unfulfilling; you're given a money dump at the end of each week, which happens as soon as you make your "choose your own adventure" choice. The money seems to pour in no matter what, and the net at the end of the week doesn't really feel like it has much to do with my choices so much as like I've been given an allowance by Mom and Dad.

The game would probably do better if it were re-tooled into a real-time mode (like the old SIM series) with a more rapid-fire series of events to respond to and the ability to pause. It would probably be better if there were some micro-management to do in real time, and the events occurring more than once per week.

Aspiring Asperity
Aspiring Asperity

Its fun the first couple of plays but it does get boring rather quickly. I recomend it because it is cheap and is cheaper than going to the movies, but at the same time it will entertain you for about that much time. Its not a bad game, can be rather funny. I would suggest getting it on sale. Is worth it tho.

Wrynn
Wrynn

Prety good short game thats worth 5-15$.

Yuri
Yuri

Really liked this game, lots of replay value. I would however like to see later factions be more useful.

mudpuppy510
mudpuppy510

Tavernier is a game I have some mixed feelings about. It was fun at first but after a fairly short amount of time begins to get repetitive. The game has a weekly random encounter system that is often nonsensical or seems to have an arbitrary outcome. On the positive side the visuals and music for Tavernier are great and for sure the highlight of the experience for me. I think if you go into this game expecting a serious fantasy tavern simulator like I was you will be disappointed. But, if you think of Tavernier as whimsical game that doesn't take itself too seriously and is inexpensive you'll be glad you took the time to play. I got three hours of fun out of the game not bad for $2.99.

gabzop
gabzop

decent but repetitive. Not worth $2...

NotoriousFPB
NotoriousFPB

While I have only half an hour with this game, it is an incredible 1/2 hour. It is a "choose your own adventure" book in digital form, targeting every aspect of the dull life of a tavernier. What you buy, sell, and interact has both good and bad effects. Another reason I like this game is the visuals. Simple and bookish.

maxcorps
maxcorps

Swore I reviewed this already. Ok you run a tavern. End of story. No it isn't. Heres the thing. Unless you read about what your actually supposed to do in this game your going to lose the first time you play it. No it's fine. That's how you learn. And you will. Give this game a shot. It's short but I have no regrets getting it.

SchneeuwLeperd
SchneeuwLeperd

Definitely recommended. If you're into achievements, trying to get these is tricky, but not impossible and they add a new layer to the game once you complete the story. It somehow never gets old for me as there are enough ways to get through the story to keep it interesting, and if you leave it alone for a while and some back, it's all kinda new again. This is the first steam game that I've played to completion, a.k.a. earned all the achievments for. Fun little game, more than worth the money :)

codenamemisha
codenamemisha

I intended to play just the first 2 hours but now 11.8 hrs on record. Trying to choose other adventures lately. I would recommend if you like Strategy and Visual Novel games.

8/10
Some random events are quite boring

the_rock0123
the_rock0123

A hidden gem of a fantasy business roleplay game. I paid 49p in the Steam Winter Sale for this game, a price even including trading cards. It feels like a steal at this price. The full price is a very fair £1.99, I would personally pay around £4.99 for this game so the developer is being extremely fair here with the pricing which I hope rewards them with more customers – thank you!

The game looks simple and I was conscious of some reviews saying it is a “short story” – but that all depends how quick you skip / read the text and mull over the strategic options. I finished my first game (52 turns is the time limit) in 2 hours but can see me playing this many times over to both win the game and collect the achievements. For 49p (or even full price £1.99) this represents excellent value.

The game reminds me of the art style and era of Merchants of Kaidan. Where as in the excellent game Merchants of Kaidan you were travelling the World to make a profit as a merchant in a text based RPG, in this game you focus on running one Tavern business. But in both games the art style and characters you meet is fantastic. The options for running the Tavern “appear” simple at first but they more you play the more the game expands out with new options, for example introducing a magic ability for your character at one point.

The basics of the game is there are initially 4 factions to make happy, but strategy means you should focus on 1 faction at the expense of others. You prepare meals for your tavern and choose music to attract the right sort of client. Decorate your inn, expand your inn. In each turn you have to deal with an interaction that occurs and your choices dictate the outcome – gain/lose money, gain/lose customers, lose magic mana, etc. Your decisions also affect whether your tavern is seen as “cool” or more business like (and if so save on taxes). By the end game there are quite a few things to manage.
Alongside the business aspect is a core political story which develops, the first time round I was not successful in that so will try again.

For the money, this is a 8.5/10 game: 85% Must Buy. I don’t usually write reviews after 2 hours but I feel I already have my moneys worth and it is fun and I can tell this is a long term winner. If you like the idea of running a business in a fantasy setting in a light text/art based RPG, this is for you.

Garner McMichaels
Garner McMichaels

This game is a gem that is worth multiple playthroughs. Each time you play through, you can shape your tavern a different way to attract different customers, have different interactions, and reveal a different storyline. Simple game with great music.

red_mage_king
red_mage_king

I'll start at the end, my verdict.
For a couple of pounds (or dollars) you can't go far wrong with this game.

Now for the beginning (and middle.)

Tavernier is a TINY game, and I mean that seriously. A single game lasts about 45 minutes, an hour at most, and even then only if you spent time looking through all the purchasing options.
The music is fairly decent for such a small game, and the styles are recognisable even as though it sounds like it's being performed by a fantasy bard.
The art is.... okay, it isn't great, but then it isn't poor either. The style, as can be seen on the store page, is something like water colours, which is a surprisingly suitable choice for the game.

The story isn't particularly great, and remains the same regardless of how you play, plus the writing sometimes suffers from incomplete sentences and grammatical errors, fortunately I never found it jarring or off-putting.

To be honest there isn't all that more to say, I could go on about the actual game play, but it's better to play it than have someone try and tell you.

Glue Beard
Glue Beard

Who knew bartenders had the ability to destroy the world, and not just families?

Chaosfalcon
Chaosfalcon

I highly recommend this game if you're looking for something casual to play that won't require a huge time investment but will still provide a nice level of detail

The Iron Man
The Iron Man

Very fun and simple game. Can be easily picked and, good casual fun with an interesting story. Really cool interactions when you are associated with different guilds.

Diamond Rainn
Diamond Rainn

It's a pretty interesting game if you are into turn based, and problem solving. However, after you play enough of it, you do get bored, and don't get motivated to play anymore. I recommed to get this game if you want something different to pass the time.

Handsome Will
Handsome Will

The main complaints can be summed up as this: It took me about 20 minutes to play from start to finish on my second playthrough.

This game has a very nice idea behind it, I love the idea of running an RPG tavern, and the game presents very interesting mechanics - balancing different customer types and balancing your decisions on the weekly events based on your affiliations with each demographic.

This falls apart once you reach the final stages of the game, when you realise there is no point in balancing your professional/cool metre, as you NEED to go 100% one way or the other, and you NEED to go 100% for one particular demographic, which is incredibly easy to achieve

Some customer types are very interesting, namely the Rogues, Wanderers (RPG adventurers with some nice 4th wall breaks), and Mages are the best in my opinion. However, due to the way that some customers are introduced and how you need to manage them for the story, you won't bother with Mages or Spirits.

There is also very little replayability, the main driving force to replay the game is to choose a different faction to mainly side with, but from my two playthroughs there was almost no difference between Wanderers and Rogues aside from a paragraph or two at key events, with the main theme of the events being the same.
At a secret town meeting, a member of your chosen faction sneaks you in and you inject mana into a bottle. At the end of the game you make a speech to your chosen faction with the result being them siding with you - the only difference between factions is who is described as sneaking you in, and the short speech you give to the faction

I usually try to determine whether a game is worth it depending on the amount of entertainment I get from it. If I can get a ratio of hours played to money spent of at least £1:1 hour then I'm happy, this game falls short of that, so even with the low price of the game I can't say that it's worth it

Grzechu
Grzechu

A bad game. Fails as a tavern management game and even more miserably as an adventure game. Management part is simplistic and boring. The choices to take are almost always very obvious. Adventure part has an uninteresting story line, that does not fit tavern keeping at all. Story looks very artificial and makes little sense. I have kicked this game out of my hard drive after a few hours. Actually you can find better flash games of this type for free in the Internet.

knucklechic
knucklechic

Great game. I loved running my own tavern and experimenting with how to get different clientele through the doors. I didn't find the days/choices repetitive at all and felt there were a lot of variables that kept it interesting. I wish it was longer because I loved it so much but the price is more than fair for what you get. Devs - please make a tavern management game, and you can have ALL my money! I would say the one con is that the music gets a little old but it didn't bother me too much. So glad I found this game!

catsnakecake
catsnakecake

I don't particularly feel strongly about this game- it was just a bit "meh" for me. I've played it through a couple of times now and don't feel compelled to play again to get one of the proper endings.

In terms of plus sides, I quite like the art style and sound. On the negative, I don't feel like the font choice fits with the aesthetic. I also don't like that it's one-click to buy- I've accidentally bought stuff I didn't want by single clicking on an object when I was just interested in what the item was. Also don't know what the point of the cellar is? Maybe there's something special that happens there depending on the route you take?

idabusklarsen
idabusklarsen

If you'd like a quirky little game, this is a good bet. The story is charming, and every decision you make has consequences. Just don't expect too much. If you're a decently paced reader, the story can be completed within the hour, and although it has some replay value, your second/third/fourth play through probably won't be much more 20 mins each. You can continue playing if you beat the game, but within 10 mins the options for upgrading etc. are exhausted.
I enjoyed playing, but quite frankly I don't think the game is worth it's price.

DartMan
DartMan

Fun simple game where you run your own Tavern.

Exenexa
Exenexa

Nice little game bought it on steam sale for £0.79. Finished and got the bad ending after 90 mins, reloaded a save in the middle of the campaign and played another half hour to see if i could acheive the good ending and did, not much depth but worth the 0.79 if you are looking for a short story. I might go back to it at a later point but it doesn't seem like there is much left to do.....

LLSix
LLSix

bland and boring. Most events are non-choices

Sphynx
Sphynx

Really cute and beautiful game with nice mechanics, that are getting more complicated along the way. Totally worth the price! Go get it. :)

Tienna (天阿)
Tienna (天阿)

It's cute. It's a very simple management game: really you just want to gun for one particularly outcome, don't try to please everyone. You can finish it in under an hour if you know what you're doing, then come back and clean up the achievements.

Rafael Cavacchini
Rafael Cavacchini

This game is a visual novel with non-existing gameplay.

KitTheNameless
KitTheNameless

Short Review:

- Simple, rough art that suits the game
- Tavern management + story element + timed goal
- Achievements for different challenges make great replay
- Unexpected and humorous
- Overall fun!

Full Review:

I’ll keep this simple. Here’s a list of reasons why I’ve really enjoyed this game:

– It’s fun!

– The art is simple and has a rough style, but I like it. It suits the game.

– There’s a tavern management aspect (you have to decide wisely how to spend your money, based on what your goals are), and there are also choices to make each “week” of the game that have different outcomes. There’s also a story element with a goal you need to accomplish within 52 weeks. So the gameplay is simple but challenging with a nice mix of things. And some of the Steam achievements are quite difficult to get.

– It has decent replay value. The general goal/ending is still the same, but it’s definitely worth playing multiple times to try different tactics, cater to different crowds, aim for different achievements, and see different choices/outcomes. The playthroughs do get shorter (my first was 60-90 minutes, after that each playthrough has taken me about half an hour) because you come across text you’ve already seen, and they get a little easier since you know some of the outcomes of decisions, but it’s still fun, and there are still new things to be seen, and as I said, some of the achievements are hard to get.

– The game is unexpected, interesting, and humorous at times. For example, it starts off with just townsfolk, rogues, wanderers, and guards, but other types of beings pop up as you play, depending on your choices, like these oddly seductive angels:

– Side note: Nash Bigmuscle is a babe.

– It’s great for the price! I got it on sale for about a dollar. At full price it’s $2.99. Either way, it’s worth the amount of enjoyment I’ve gotten from it.

The only thing I dislike is that sometimes I’ll make a choice, and the outcome doesn’t really seem to make sense. It’s frustrating when that happens. But it’s a small issue.

Overall, I’ve had a lot of fun playing this and trying to get all the achievements!

*Review (including a picture of Nash Bigmuscle ;-) and some oddly seductive angels) can also be found on my blog (link in profile).*

Accessibility:

(May not include everything)

- Not accessible for blind / visually impaired players and screen reader users.

quelin
quelin

Its a short game, worth a buck. If you played "Hotdog Cart" back in the 1980s, you have played the type of game this is.

Mvek
Mvek

I am missing neutral option, but since this game has too many Yes, I vote No and let me explain: This game reminds me old titles like Dictator on ZX Spectrum in 80s which was kind of like first Tropico without building:-). You have very few options to do and have to decide on each turn, what to do with some random event (mostly blindly guessing, what it will do). This is the same, except that you have fixed amount of time and have to get to some situation, which is only partially hinted in the tutorial. So in the end you probably have to repeat the game at least three times to know your goal. You can continue after that, but it is not hard then if you are careful. And yes the events are sometimes funny, but they don't tell much a story. They are mostly events of a week without any story arc. And sometimes they even tell a bit different outcome from your decision, then you really get in numbers (for example saying that some group of customers did not like it, but there is no change in the numbers for them). And your options for managing the tavern are extremely limited. I have no idea, why there is that "cave" or cellar, because I did not find anything to do that, which I could not do upstairs. So if you are bored, or if you like Visual Novels even if they are not great or if you simply want to try something like that old Dictator, then yes, it is cheap during the sales and buy it. But otherwise it is waste of time.

hinahime88
hinahime88

it's simple but fun to explore different outcomes.

Salarn
Salarn

https://youtu.be/fqFuTD15TsU

Far too many choices are made with unclear impact it will have on the player. When combined with hard thresholds for progress it results in an irritating feedback loop.

Thee Feng Min
Thee Feng Min

Really cool indie game but virtually no replayability. Beat it fairly fast and didn't have much desire to check anything else out. Storyline is weak and paperthin but the mechanics are neat. I guess it's worth $3 if you're like.. REALLY bored.

andrewkolodziej
andrewkolodziej

A cross between a base builder and a visual novel with a simple enough resource management, this game takes only minutes to learn but it is pretty short, it can be finished in a couple of hours at most meaning I would wait for a good sale price.