Sarah and I really enjoy two player games and are always looking for quick little ones to try. So, when we got offered to preview Cooking Rumble by Aether Tower, we decided to jump on it!

Disclaimer: This preview is from a prototype that was provided by Aether Tower to Open Seat Gaming, but opinions are my own based on several plays of the game. The components may not be exactly the same as in the published version of the game.

Cooking Rumble is a two player game that is referred to as a “mentalism” game by the creators. Basically, you have a hand with the 4 different ingredients- sweets, meat, carbs, and veggies.

You have to use these ingredients in order to build the recipes on the table, which come out three at a time.

Overview: As you can see, there are three ingredients on each side of each recipe, one set of three for each player. So, how do you fill a recipe? The active player plays a card, face down, and it has to be the next ingredient on any of the three cards (starting with the ingredient that has the arrow). The other player must guess which card they played.

If they are incorrect, the active player gets to place a token on the ingredient that matches the card that they played to indicate that they finished that step. If they are correct, the player who guessed can put a token on any of the “next ingredients” on their side. There are also wild tokens that can be placed on any card so that it’s harder to guess.

Opinion: This is actually a really fun, quick little game. It takes less than 10 minutes to play a round and you will find that you want to play a few times in a row. It’s something that we call a “best out of three” game, cause it’s so fast that you want to try it again.

The mental gymnastics that you have to mess around with in this game can be hilarious. Sarah likened it to this scene from the Princess Bride. And she is 100% right. It is all about doubling back and thinking about what your opponent could be thinking.

Kickstarter Info: If this sounds like a fun little filler game that you can enjoy with your kids or friends, consider backing their Kickstarter! It goes until September 18th. The basic edition is just $8 (USD) the Deluxe version is $20, or you could get your own art on one of the cards for $85.

Game On!
Marti – The Fluffy Meeple