I am a player that was there from the beginning -- and then just found it too time consuming and dropped out for about 5 years. I have pictures of my original bakery, but did not have its name and just have no way of getting that bakery back. I am not sure of the appliances I have lost along the way -- too much time has past to remember.

I so enjoy popping into a bakery and seeing a gingerbread house or bubble tea or other recipes that are just rare because you had to be there for the Red Gift Stove or Bubble Tea Maker. And I appreciate the rarity and that those owners worked towards those goals.

But the thing is they also gift parts from those machines not realizing that others do not have access. And I think it is one thing to be able to aspire towards something and it is another to be in a land that is exclusionary.

Couldn't there be some balance as was mentioned by chezkrafft from the beginning of this thread. That you know you will have to stick around for quite a bit of time to catch appliances and recipes that you desire but missed, the couple of years chezkrafft mentions seems to me a good time to cycle through items, perhaps more years... But I am not sure I can fully appreciate the need that those that have those desired appliances, that is those that have a need to keep them locked to themselves.

Why I chose to return is that I noticed and appreciated that there is a community of joyful and caring neighbors on Bakery Story - to me that is what the game is about - like The Great British Bake-Off, its more supportive than other environs. I try to tune out lost gems and neighbors dropping neighbors for whatever reasons. But I think the game should strive to balance joy as a "goal" in its decision-making process in how its organization manages the game. From this perspective I full-heartedly agree with chezkrafft - it should not be easy or compromise the hard work other bakers put into their bakery, but old locked appliances and recipes and decor should kindly be open to the community maybe with a little more frequency and documented regularity than it is currently - with a transparent process that we all know and understand.