Turbo Subs Tips & Tricks
by Karla Munger

~INTRODUCTION~

Here are some tips and tricks I came up with while playing Turbo Subs. If you find them useful, I'm happy.

The following pertains to sub-serving levels only; you're on your own with the hidden object mini-games. The tips below are reflected in no particular order.

~GENERAL TIPS~

If you're new to time-management games, you'll have your work cut out for you with Turbo Subs. You may even find it overwhelming. A suggestion would be to play Turbo Pizza, which is a lot more reasonable, first. But if you feel up to the challenge, by all means, knock yourself out.

Even if you're experienced at this type of game, I recommend that you don't approach Turbo Subs with the idea of getting Expert scores across the board your first time out. Unless you know something I don't, this will set you up for almost certain frustration. And unlike other time-management games you may have played, Turbo Subs offers no perks for achieving all Expert scores.

If you're anything like I am you may dislike Turbo Subs the first time you play it, particularly if you've played and enjoyed Turbo Pizza. For me, Turbo Pizza is a walk in the park compared with Turbo Subs. My initial sentiments went something like: "Are they NUTS? NO ONE can do this! Argh!!!"

But after I finished fuming, I decided to exercise some patience. It paid off, and the game became really enjoyable. So they're not nuts after all.

No doubt about it, Turbo Subs is an intense and challenging game. Try not to get too discouraged at first. It took stamina and perseverence, but if I was able to prevail (and greatly enjoy doing so), you can, too -- if you're willing to invest a little effort.

When you play the first few levels, you might think I need to have my head examined for what I just said (actually, I do -- but that's another story). The game's initial levels -- indeed, most of the levels at the first of its three locations -- are deceptively easy. Trust me, they get harder. A lot harder.

No matter what the game is handing you, try not to get too rattled. Easy for me to say, eh? But I do know from experience that losing one's cool with this game (or with anything, for that matter) only tends to make things worse. Also, try to remember to breathe. :)

If you find yourself yelling and/or cursing at your monitor (I've been there), take a break. If your mouse hand starts throbbing (yep, BTDT), take a break. If the dog has asked to go outside several times and is walking funny, by all means, take a break! In fact, even if none of these things is happening and you've been playing for awhile, take a break anyway. It's definitely easy to lapse into Just-One-More Syndrome with Turbo Subs.

~SPECIFIC TIPS~

The subs in this game look pretty similar, especially the smallest and largest ones (at least the medium-sized one is topped with an olive on a toothpick). For me, this made it necessary to stay very focused on what I was doing, particularly in later levels.

After awhile, I grew more familiar with subtle differences between the big and small subs and was able to spot them more quickly -- the buns of the smaller ones appear to have sesame seeds on top, and the larger ones are taller (duh). If you're able to keep these distinctions in mind, it will help considerably.

Also, try to familiarize yourself with the locations of the various items you'll be serving. There will be times they'll be obscured by any number of things that can appear onscreen, from announcements that you've achieved your goal or to the fact that you have a combo going. Although these only appear for a couple of seconds, time can be very precious in this game. It can really help to know where things are.

If possible, try to ignore the various gyrations customers go through as they're losing patience. One type of customer lapses into something I swear is the dry heaves. Also, the guys dressed in sandwich costumes at the third location will start wobbling around almost immediately, like they're gonna pass out (these guys are supposed to be advertising the restaurant, for God's sake). And Robert -- cute as he is -- will frequently wave at you, as if to say "Hi." Try to ignore him, too (sorry, Robert). This can all be quite distracting, which is probably why it's included in the game in the first place.

Make as many items in advance (subs, coffee, cotton candy) as a level will allow and as is feasible. This will vary, depending where you are in the game.

When a bunch of customers show up at once, try to note if subs are ordered and get those started first -- especially if they're to be toasted. This is particularly helpful when you have just one oven, and when Robert has only a one- or two-sandwich counter (and making all three subs in advance isn't possible).

Sometimes you can spot trends in customers' orders. For instance, they may all order the same type of sub during a specific level. In other cases, you might get a run on sodas and/or snacks. If you pay attention, you just might be able to grab the correct item before it's ordered, saving precious time. Click here for a related spoiler.

Whenever you get a run on the same kind of sub, you can click on the sub's picture a whole bunch of times and Robert will just keep making them (there's no penalty for ones that automatically go into the garbage bin). This works best, of course, when Robert has a three-sandwich table. This way, there are always some ready, which can really help your score in some levels -- and it's a riot to watch, particulartly at Turbo Speed. Heh.

Of course, the above can backfire if you've overestimated the duration of a run. You could find yourself having to wait until Robert finishes a string of subs you've already told him to make before he can make a different one. This can result in customers walking out, which will cost you 300 points a pop. So you'll need to play it by ear.

You can also take two subs to the condiment table at the same time and add condiments to both at once.

When you have orders for two toasted subs and you only have one oven, you can grab the second sub while the first is toasting. When it's finished, double-clicking on the oven will enable Rebecca to both pick up the hot one and put the cold one in the oven in one maneuver.

You can click on a bunch of things in succession and Rebecca will do them all. This is especially useful at each location's initial levels where Rebecca seems to be moving through molasses when Turbo Speed isn't running.

Things work out better for me if I turn the sound effects up and the music down. This way, it's easier to hear the sounds associated with the game's actions, and you can also hear the tip-stealing thief better as he approaches the counter.

If you have several tips on the counter and the thief shows up, he'll disappear if you collect the tip that's directly in front of him. (Fortunately, he's rather noisy and doesn't move too quickly; he's never gotten any of my tips. I actually find him rather funny.) Anyway, get the tip in front of him and your other tips will be temporarily safe, but I suggest not letting them sit too long.

In some levels, the thief will appear without the game providing any hint that he will. So be on the lookout for him, especially at the third location.

Having customers walk out isn't always catastrophic; there are levels in which you can lose a customer or two and still get an Expert score. But try to notice if Rebecca is already carrying an order for a customer who gets mad and leaves. If she is, you'll need to toss it. There's no penalty for doing so.

The same goes for any incorrect items Rebecca may pick up. If unusable items aren't dumped right away, either one or both of Rebecca's hands will remain occupied leaving little or no room for her to carry legitimate orders. However, try to avoid tossing an unneeded order when Rebecca is also carrying one to serve, because both will be dumped.

If Rebecca is carrying orders and more customers enter, she can still hand out menus. If you do this before you serve anyone, it will increase the size of your serving combo and yield more money.

When toasted subs also have condiments, it's easier for me to keep things straight if I toast them first then add the condiments, particularly if I'm handling several such orders at once. Also, if the subs for all toasted orders -- both with and without condiments -- are toasted first, ones that don't have condiments won't be held up while you're putting condiments on ones that do.

When you pick up a coffee (or the second one with a two-cup machine), double-clicking on the machine will enable you to both pick up the coffee and start more brewing right away. This keeps coffee available at all times.

Unfortunately, I haven't gotten the double-click maneuver to work with the cotton candy. But you can make more immediately by clicking the machine again just after you've picked some up.

Also, after you get a cotton candy machine that stages two at once (one pink and one blue), you'll need to click on one of them, wait for it to finish, then click on the other one to have both made in advance. In between you can usually do something else, such as hand out menus or serve orders. Just try not to forget to go back and make the second one.

**Important!** Concerning combos involving tips: when there are already several tips waiting on the counter and you have one or two remaining customers who haven't yet ordered, it's usually not a good idea to serve them and wait for more tips so you can collect them all at once. Remember, you're working against the clock. Collecting existing tips will allow more customers in (and better foil the thief if he's around), and this will generally yield more money than a full combo of tips. Try to collect all tips first, then hand out menus to all customers at once. I've found that this can frequently make the difference between a regular score and an Expert one.

You'll get a gameplay hint before most levels. Many of these are repeated in the game's Help file, but some can be misleading. For instance, one says that all customers will be ordering the same things in a particular level. This isn't exactly true. Their orders are similar, but not the same.

A hint that appears before one of the later levels says that all customers will be "eating light." Sorry -- not really true. The developers' definition of "eating light" must be different from mine.

Another hint says that if you need a breather during a level you should just leave tips sitting on the counter in all six customer slots, which will keep any new customers from entering. Obviously, this is not a good idea when the thief is around. And something the hint neglects to mention is that the clock will keep running.

Thief or no thief, I suggest just pausing the game when you need a break. True, you won't be able to replenish your supply of pre-made subs, brew more coffee or make more cotton candy, but you'll get a break from the game's often frenetic action. This will also give you time for things like (a) consulting a doctor about your Tunnel-Carpal flare-up; (b) waiting for smoke to stop pouring out of your mouse; and (c) running to the store for a new mouse because your current one has just thrown a spring. (This actually happened to me in Diner Dash: Hometown Hero during the brutal Flo's Inferno.)

Yet another hint says that instead of buying a bunch of less costly stuff, it can help to save up for larger purchases when choosing equipment/food upgrades and restaurant improvements. While this can be true, it sometimes helps to buy several smaller upgrades if they increase items' prices. On some levels this extra money can make the difference between a regular and Expert score. Also, the increased income will enable you to afford the high-ticket items more quickly. I found this particularly true at the game's third location.

Conversely, it's sometimes beneficial to pass up equipment/food upgrades for the time being and purchase some restaurant improvements instead. This will partially pre-fill your Turbo Meter; how much depends on how many improvements you buy. There are levels in which moving more quickly sooner will be more advantageous than earning the extra money gained from selling items that carry an increased cost to customers. (BTW, additional points will be added to your final score for any time that's left in the Turbo Meter.)

My first inclination while in Turbo Mode is to hurry, in order to match the game's increased speed (I suspect this is what the game wants you to do). But I find that this frequently results in mistakes being made. Resisting it and continuing to methodically concentrate on my actions works out a lot better.

Once you're able to get a three-sandwich counter for Robert, make all three subs in advance. Then when you get an order, if possible, try to click on its picture again either just before or immediately after you pick up the one that's already made. This will give you an immediate replacement. It isn't always possible to do (particularly when things get real busy) but it helps a lot.

Speaking of busy, it's easy to click on the wrong condiment -- especially when all three are present -- when you're flying around at warp speed trying to satisfy increasingly irate customers. I've found that it helps to go more slowly and get them correct the first time. Remember: stay focused! Having to redo a sandwich order might lose you a customer, and this carries a greater penalty than slowing down for a few seconds generally does.

Also, it helps to look specifically for the symbol denoting that a customer wants a toasted sub. When things get busy, it's easy to toast a sub that shouldn't be, and vice versa.

I try to glance over at the sub table, coffeemaker and cotton candy machine whenever I get a chance, as things can get too busy to keep on top of everything. This way, I can keep most things replenished so they're ready when ordered.

If I discover there are some items I haven't yet made in advance and I happen to be at a point where there are all new customers at the counter, I'll quickly catch things up before I hand out menus. Making customers wait an extra couple of seconds is less damaging than not having everything set up and ready to go.

Try to give priority to the tatooed guys (oooh -- Illustrated Men) at the second location, and the guys in sandwich costumes at the third location. Both are extremely short on patience.

If you've achieved an Expert score before the end of a level, try not to get complacent. Lose enough customers and you could find yourself below Expert (or even regular) score by the end of the level.

As I've said, some of the things I've suggested aren't always possible in the heat of gameplay, especially when the speed at which things occur gets outrageous. Just do the best you can, and remember that you can always repeat a level if you want to try for a better score.

If things start going really badly, stop what you're doing and start the level again. This carries no penalty, and it can save a lot of wear and tear on your nervous system. If you've purchased upgrades before starting the level and want to buy others instead, go back to the main menu, click "Play," and re-enter the level. This will usually (but not always) take you back to the Sub Shop purchase screen. If it doesn't, you'll have to make do with your existing upgrades. If you simply click "Restart Level" from within the game, your existing upgrades will stay put as well.

However, if you play a level all the way to the end and want to play it over, clicking on Restart Level will take you directly to the Sub Shop where you can either choose the same upgrades or different ones.

Some folks are more into casual games than others (personally, I'm among those who foam at the mouth). If you're really serious about getting Expert scores on every level, I'm here to tell you that it is possible if you're willing to persevere and play the game multiple times. (Of course, there are probably some who will do it right off the bat, but I don't want to hear about it...)

I was able to achieve Expert in all 60 levels in my third playthrough. And I'll tell ya -- some levels occur at such frantic speeds that I wasn't even aware I'd hit Expert until after I'd finished.

So good luck, stay focused, keep breathing, take breaks, and remember: have fun.

BTW, you may have noticed a heavy hint at the end of Turbo Subs that a third game will likely be forthcoming. So rest up, take your vitamins and eat those Wheaties. And if you haven't yet played Turbo Pizza and would like to try it for free, click here.

**Spoiler**
A great example of customers placing orders for the same things occurs in Level 26. Everyone starts out ordering nothing but cookies and sodas. If you haven't upgraded these items (which will bring in extra $$) and can afford to do so, I recommend doing it after Level 25. Then, about halfway through the level, everyone will start ordering the smallest sub, and this will continue until the end of the level. It's safe to have Rebecca pick them up before the customers even order. You'll get requests for condiments, but there are only two available at this point and it's fairly easy to keep up them straight. There are no orders for toasted subs in this level.