Game Rules

COOKING THE BOOKS: The Gamechanger

Changing the conversation about food

A storytelling showdown for food lovers. Create inventive recipes, spin the backstories and win over your fellow players with taste, creativity, and sustainability. But watch out — those mischievous Snack Cards might just spoil your perfect dish. The player with the most points at the final feast wins!

Aim of the Game

Each round is about creating the best recipe you can by using the ingredients in your hand and telling the most convincing food back story. The winning dish is decided by a vote by the players based on taste, creativity and environmental impact. The winning player scores the points on the recipe card.

But beware: Snack Cards will sabotage your score!

The player may have highest points at the end of the game wins.

Card Types

Recipe Cards

These trigger a round. Each Recipe card shows:

• Point Value (top)

• Maximum Ingredient Count (bottom)

Recipe Cards are played to the centre.

When one appears, all players must attempt to create that recipe.

Ingredient Cards

These represent ingredients you can use to build your recipe. There are 5 categories, Fruit & Veg, Carbohydrates, Dairy, Protein & Seasoning.

STRATEGY

Ingredient cards contain information about where the food is from or how it was sourced. The aim is to be as ethical and sustainable as possible, but if you think can win a recipe by playing an ingredient that harms the earth, the animal or the planet, you’ll need to weigh up the risk vs the opportunity.

If you don’t think you can win using the ingredients in your bad food cards in this round to clear your hand.

SNACK ATTACK Cards

When a SNACK ATTACK card is drawn:

• You MUST place face up to one side immediately.

• Every player must place all of their snack cards in their hand into their

own points pile, face up

When 5 Snack Attack Cards have been played, the game is over.

SNACK Cards

Snack cards have minus points and will be deducted from your final score at the end of the game. They are played only when a Snack Attack card is drawn or if a recipe states that a snack can be used.

OH! Cards: Green

These must be played immediately when drawn.

Follow the instructions exactly.

OH! Cards: Blue

These stay in your hand. Play them at any time to:

• Improve your recipe, or

• Sabotage other players.

Follow the instructions exactly.

Setup

1. Shuffle all cards.

2. Deal 7 ingredient cards to each player.

3. If you receive any Recipe cards, Green OH! cards or SNACK ATTACK cards, shuffle them back into the deck and redraw until you have 7 usable cards.

4. Split the remaining deck into two face-down piles into the gameplay area.

How to Play

1. Choose a player to start the game

The player to the left of the dealer begins.

Play proceeds clockwise.

2. On your turn

Draw 1 card from either deck then continue play.

If a Green OH card is drawn, you must play it immediately.

If a recipe card is drawn it must be played immediately.

If a SNACK ATTACK card is drawn it must be played immediately.

Recipe Rounds

A Recipe Round begins the moment a Recipe card is drawn.

1. Place the Recipe card face-up in the centre.

2. All players must construct a recipe that matches the card’s rules using the Ingredients in their hand:

• Do not exceed the maximum ingredient count shown on the card.

• The Recipe card itself provides the Bonus Ingredient listed on it.

3. When everyone has chosen their ingredients, all players reveal their dishes at the same time.

Tell Your Food Story