Rules
Objective
Collect cards that fit together to form images of dishes. Arrange completed dishes into a square to score them. The player with the most points wins.
The Cards
The game consists of image cards and special cards. Special cards (orange) can be played for a special effect. Image cards (blue) are to be collected and combined to form pictures of food. Image cards have the following symbols:
The number of points this card is worth when scored.
The number of cards needed to finish the dish. The filled-in space shows the position of this card in the dish. This example is the bottom right card of 4-card dish.
The game has two copies of every image card except for the 4-card dishes, of which there is only one copy of each image card.
Note: Since many of the cards have duplicates, there are often two chances to find the card needed to complete an image, but be sure not to get mixed up and take two of the same card.
Setup
Shuffle the cards and split them into six equal piles. Flip the top card of each pile image side up. The player who last ate at a buffet starts. Play proceeds clockwise.
Gameplay
On your turn, you must pick one or more of the image side up cards and put them in your hand. To end your turn, flip the top card of each pile image side up. If you have completed any dishes (finished the picture), you may place those cards image side down in a single stack in front of you.
Endgame
The game ends immediately when any one pile is empty (the moment the last card in a pile is drawn). Do not flip the top card of any pile. Count to five to give players a chance to use swoops or free refills.
Scoring
Arrange completed dishes so that they fit completely in your stomach, which is a grid of cards as shown below. Dishes must all face the same direction. For 5 or 6 players, use the black card spaces (12 cards). For 3 or 4 players, also use the orange spaces (20 cards). For 2 players also use the blue spaces (30 cards).
Count Points
Add up the point values shown on each card in your stomach after you have filled it as completely as possible. The result is your initial score. Bonus points and negative points will affect your final score.
Bonus Points
If a player completely filled his or her stomach that player earns bonus points.
• For 5 or 6 players the bonus is 6 points.
• For 3 or 4 players the bonus is 10 points.
• For 2 players the bonus is 15 points.
Negative Points
Count the total points of completed dishes that did not fit in your stomach. Divide the result by two and round up. Subtract this number from your points.
Count the total points of all cards still in your hand at the end of the game. Subtract this number from your points. The result is your final score.
Special Cards
The following cards can be played at any time (even when it is not your turn):
Swoop: Only the fastest get what they want! You may take any image-side-up card on top of any buffet pile at any time and replace it with the swoop card. You have to be faster than your opponents and touch the desired card before anyone else in order to swoop it.
Free Refill: All you can eat and drink! When you finish a dish, you may substitute any of the cards that would normally make up the dish with a free refill card. You may use as many free refills as you like, as long as at least one card is a regular image card of that dish. Once the dish has been placed in front of you, you may not replace a free refill card with the card it was used to substitute. During scoring, the free refill cards count as zero points.
The following cards can be played at the end of your turn (before the top cards of the piles are flipped over). Only one end of turn card may be played in a turn:
Dump: Gross! Slide that back onto the buffet! Take all cards of the same dish type from your hand, including duplicates, and place them image side down onto any buffet pile from which the image side up card has been taken. Put the dump card image side up on top of that pile.
Fresh Tray: Toss that stale lunch selection! Take the top card of any pile that is still image side up and give it to a player of your choice. Place the fresh tray card onto the same pile image side up.
Fork: Stab it and take it! Pick another player and look at that player’s hand. Take any one card from that player. Give that player the fork card in exchange. You must take a card even if you don’t want any of the cards in that player’s hand.
The following cards can only be played at the start of your turn, before you do anything else:
Bathroom: Desperate measures! Take your entire hand, including the bathroom card, and combine it with any buffet pile. Shuffle the entire pile and flip over a new top card image side up. You may then proceed with your normal turn.
The following cards can only be played at the end of game:
Purse: Stash and dash! Place any number of uneaten finished dishes into the purse. These dishes will not count as negative points. The purse cannot be used for incomplete dishes. The purse stays in a player’s hand throughout the game and can only be used by the player who has it at the game’s end.