Around this time of year, many folks find themselves doing some last-minute grocery shopping. Get some extra practice in with Supermarket Mania, a time-management game similar to Diner Dash. Previously on PCs and other portable gaming devices like the PSP, Supermarket Mania is now available for download on DSiWare for the Nintendo DSi. Keep your customers happy with well-stocked shelves and clean aisles as you run your very own grocery store!

Each stage starts with shelves you must fill as you run around with your cart. After filling a few shelves, you’ll have to run to the back to restock your cart. When customers start coming in, they’ll take out groceries from the shelves, so you’ll have to keep an eye out in case they get empty again. Luckily the customers have thought bubbles over their heads so you can anticipate where they will go next. Just don’t keep your customers waiting by an empty shelf for too long or they’ll leave the store without checking out.

After a certain time, the store will close and your customers will check out and leave. Earn enough money to pass a set goal to complete that day’s shift and move onto the next level. But keeping up a grocery store isn’t all about stocking shelves. Sometimes you’ll need to clean up messes and tossing the trash in recycling. In later stages you can power up your grocer’s walking speed with a cup of Joe at the coffee machine, and try to thwart pesky shoplifters and noisy teens. Use the money you earn to upgrade your store so you can work more efficiently. Play sequential stages with various challenges in Story Mode, or go for the high score in Endless.

The controls make the DS version of Supermarket Mania much better than the PSP version. Whatever action you need to do, whether it be stocking shelves or picking up trash, all you have to do is tap it with the stylus. You can even tap multiple items for your cute grocer girl to take care of sequentially. And the top screen frees up a lot of the mess by housing key things like how full your stocking cart is, and your goals for the stage. Even so, the waves of customers and things happening on screen may confuse some would-be grocers. However, fans of multi-tasking occupational challenges who have mastered Diner Dash may enjoy the slightly steeper challenge found here. And Supermarket Mania is a pretty solid causal title at only five bucks.

Kid Factor:

Reading skill is helpful for the instructions, but not totally necessary as there are picture cues to tell you what to tap and where to go. Younger players might find the later multi-tasking challenges frustrating, but otherwise, it’s a decent enough game for your little grocer. Supermarket Mania is rated E for Everyone.

Tags: Game Reviews