Beginner's Guide
Welcome to Emma's Cafe
Anomaly Cafe is a cooperative survival horror game where you and your friends work at a cafe while dealing with terrifying anomalies. Your goal is to serve customers, maintain the cafe, and survive increasingly difficult shifts.
⚠️ Key Rule: Not every customer is human. Always verify before serving!
Controls
PC Controls
- WASD - Move
- E - Interact
- Shift - Sprint (if upgraded)
- Mouse - Look around
- Tab - View menu/stats
Mobile/Console
- Joystick - Move
- Button - Interact
- Swipe - Look around
- Landscape mode supported
Cafe Layout
🍳 Kitchen Area
Where you prepare food and drinks. Contains the stove, coffee machine, and ingredient storage.
🪑 Dining Area
Where customers sit. You'll serve orders here and clean tables between customers.
📹 CCTV Room
Critical for survival! Use cameras to check customers before serving them. Some anomalies only appear on camera.
💡 Utility Areas
Breaker box for power, storage for supplies, and other maintenance areas.
Your First Shift (Day 1)
Step 1: Choose Your Character
Start with King (free) - he's balanced and good for learning. He starts with extra cash and cooks 5% faster.
Step 2: Learn the Kitchen
Walk around and interact with stations. Learn where ingredients are and how the coffee machine works.
Step 3: Take Your First Order
Customers will appear at tables. Click on them to see their order. Start with simple items like coffee.
Step 4: Check CCTV
Before serving, go to the CCTV room and check the customer on camera. Look for anything unusual - wrong number of eyes, strange face, weird behavior.
Step 5: Serve or Reject
If the customer looks normal, serve them the order. If they're an anomaly, reject them immediately - don't take chances!
Important Concepts
💚 Sanity
Your mental health. Drops when you encounter anomalies or work too long. Low sanity makes it harder to identify anomalies. Restore it by resting or completing orders successfully.
💰 Bells
In-game currency earned from serving customers. Use bells to unlock new characters and upgrades from Scrappy.
📊 Shift Progression
Each day (shift) gets harder. More anomalies appear, customers get impatient, and new anomaly types emerge. You'll need teamwork and strategy to survive past Day 5.
Common Beginner Mistakes
- ✗Skipping CCTV checks: Always verify customers. Serving an anomaly can instantly kill you or damage your sanity severely.
- ✗Working alone: Stick with your team. One person should watch CCTV while others handle orders.
- ✗Ignoring sanity: Don't let it drop too low. Take breaks and avoid anomaly encounters when possible.
- ✗Rushing orders: It's better to be slow and accurate than fast and wrong. Wrong orders waste time and money.
Next Steps
Once you're comfortable with the basics, move on to: