Critter Kitchen

What to Expect

In Critter Kitchen, 1 to 5 players compete as anthropomorphic animals during Restaurant Week in Bistro Bay. You secretly program your chefs’ movements across the city to gather ingredients, balancing different chef abilities and timing. Over seven rounds, you fulfill food challenges and use rumors to impress a celebrity critic with your final epic meal.

Who Is This Game For?

This is a medium-weight strategy game suitable for players aged 12 and up who enjoy simultaneous planning and tactical depth. With about 60 minutes playtime and a solo mode, it fits well into game nights but requires some experience with worker placement and programming mechanics.

How It Works

Each round, players secretly assign their chefs—different worker types with unique movement and carrying capacities—to various city locations. Players engage in sealed-bid auctions and contracts to acquire ingredients and rumors. The collected resources help fulfill challenges and prepare a final meal to impress the critic, combining worker placement, programmed movement, and auction mechanics.

What Makes It Special

Designed by Alex Cutler and Peter C. Hayward, Critter Kitchen mixes worker placement with variable worker types, programmed movement, and sealed-bid auctions. It is part of Kickstarter crowdfunding projects and features high variability through different critics and rumors. It currently has no major awards.

Setting & Atmosphäre

Set in the fictional Bistro Bay during Restaurant Week, Critter Kitchen features anthropomorphic animals competing in culinary challenges within an urban environment.

Tipp für Einsteiger

Take time to learn the different worker abilities and programmed movement before playing at full pace.

Häufige Fragen

Fazit

Critter Kitchen offers a strategic experience with diverse player powers and tactical planning. It's recommended for players who enjoy complex, simultaneous programming and auction elements, but may be challenging for beginners.