A LA CARTE

OBJECTIVE OF A LA CARTE: The objective of A La Carte is to be the player with the highest number of Victory Points by the time the game comes to an end.  

NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 2 to 4 Players 

MATERIALS: 4 Stoves, 1 Heating Die, 9 Star Tokens, 2 Sinks, 1 Trash Can, 4 Trays for Completed Dishes, 1 Coffee Tray, 3 Cooking Spoons, 13 Coffee Cups, 4 Delicious Crepes, 20 Artful Dishes, 25 Salt Crystals, 80 Condiments, 4 Condiment Dispensers, 4 Pans, and Instructions 

TYPE OF GAME: Set Collection Card Game 

AUDIENCE: Ages 8 and Up 

OVERVIEW OF A LA CARTE 

Players act as semi-psychotic cooks that attempt to hone their culinary skills. Everyone will receive a mini pan and a hotplate. Players will cook, ensuring that they do not overheat their dishes, steal other players’ dishes, or season their own. A die will determine how much a player is able to heat up their hotplate, so it becomes a random affair. Who will become the best chef in this crazy game? 

SETUP 

To begin setup, each player will collect their required materials. Each player will get one stove, one crepe, one tray, one coffee cup, and one pan. In the center of the playing area, place all twenty dishes, nine cooking stars, the trash can, the heating die, the coffee tray with all the coffee cups, a sink, and four dispensers. In each dispenser, place fifteen condiments of matching colors and five salt crystals.  

The first player is randomly chosen by the group. They will choose a dish to place in their pan. All of the other players will complete the same actions in clockwise order. The first player will collect the cooking spoons to begin the game.  

GAMEPLAY 

During their turn, a player may complete three actions, which may be a mix of heating the stove or seasoning the dish. For example, the player may season the dish three times, or they may season the dish twice and heat the stove once. After each action they complete, the player will pass one spoon to the player on their left. After a player completes their actions, they are able to take a coffee break by using one of their coffee cups. Once a player holds all three spoons, they are able to complete their actions. The turns will rotate clockwise around the group.  

Heating the Stove 

Players must heat their stove to a certain level in order to complete their dish. Each recipe has a required heating level found on their card. If the players reach the heating level found in red, the dish then burns.  

The players roll the heating die to determine how much their stove is turned up. There are symbols found on the die that mean different things. Level seven is the highest that the stove can go.  

Seasoning the Dish 

In order to complete the dish, the players will season their dish. The condiments that are found on the recipe cards are required to finish the dish. Once the player has three or more that match in colors, the dish becomes over seasoned. Three salt crystals will also over season a dish.  

To reason their dishes, the player will take a dispenser that has the correct color and attempt to get them into the pans. It will be placed over the pan with the opening down. The players will do it in one smooth movement, but the speed does not matter.  

Coffee Breaks 

The players may take one coffee break during their turn by using their coffee cups. The player will then complete the action and discard the cup. The coffee break does not require the player to complete an action.  

END OF GAME 

The game may come to an end in three different ways. If a player cannot place a new dish in their pan, the game comes to an end. If the player has completed five dishes, then the game also comes to an end. When the game comes to an end, the players will tally their Victory Points. The player who has the most Victory Points, wins the game! If the player collects three stars, that player is determined to be the winner, whether they have the most Victory Points or not.  

Ellie Phillips
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