Sally’s Spa: My Secret Shame!

My seven year old daughter always manages to get her hands on all my new tech. My laptop and even my Blackberry somehow ended up with child-friendly games on them. My new iTouch didn’t stand a chance. I don’t know why it always has to be Mommy’s tech that gets contaminated… My MIT-educated mind was shocked and embarrassed to find that she had loaded up Sally’s Spa on my beautiful new system. And, then she insisted that I play it. In the game, you help Sally manage spas in different locations. The customers tell you where they want to go next (there are many different treatments available) and it’s your objective to maximize the profits and tips for the day. As customers wait, their happiness fades and you can appease them with tea and magazines and scented candles. All the spa-ness aside, it is a really great simulation game. I was taking a graduate course at MIT on queuing theory when I started the game and you really can try out different strategies with this game. You can try letting every one get really angry, but packing more people in the shop. You can try taking one person at a time through the shop and getting the most from each person. The game does not seem to have a dominant “solution” programmed in. I ended up playing it far more than my daughter did. I even created an additional user. I keep starting over and trying again so that I can try to get the perfect score. I really don’t care for most video games. But, the only game I’ve ever played more of in my life is Tetris. Sigh. So girly. It’s my secret shame. Buy Sally’s Spa here

Photo credit http://www.flickr.com/photos/shoppingdiva/