Having invoked many of the games we’ve played on the move, in my earlier posts, let me add one more. Â Up there in the stash of things to pack for train journeys: Crazy Chefs.
Crazy Chefs is made by Orchard Toys, so it’s educational, yes, but it’s also lots of fun. Â As the favourite game of another family we’re friends with, we were delighted when they gave us a set – and it became a favourite of ours too.
It’s a little bigger to pack than a TopTrumps set, but it’s still worth it. Â You can play with just 2 players, or go up to 5 – and (always useful when with junior players) it’s quick. Ideal.
Aim of the game
The aim is to collect ingredients which will let you make a particular dish. Â The game comes with 5 base boards, each with a dish prepared by a different chef.
Each base board has a picture of the finished item (illustrated style), and, around it, the various ingredients needed for it.
To whet your appetite, these include kebabs, cupcakes, a prawn noodle dish…and also shepherd’s pie. (I’ll need to work out which one I’ve forgotten…)
The ingredient pictures also include some utensils, like fish slice, whisk, bun cases and so on – for lots of good kitchen identification.
How to play
Each player chooses a base board. All the ingredient and utensil square tiles are placed face down, and you take it in turns to turn one over. Â If it’s on your board, you put it over the appropriate space on the board. Â If not, you turn it back over, and the next player has a go.
If you’re playing as a two, and the tile is on the other player’s board but not yours, we usually just hand the tile over, and have another go. If you turn over tiles for dishes that aren’t included on your base boards, we tend to drop those back into the box – again it speeds things up a bit.
For those whose inner educationalist lurks near the surface, you can also name the items as the tiles are turned over. Â (This may be overkill for some – or fun for others who like to hear Junior Player say ‘mange tout’.)
Spin to win
Once you have all the ingredient and utensil tiles you need for your base board, you build up the final dish.
The remaining tiles in the box are plates (roughly oval in shape) and finished dishes (a variety of shapes, depending on the dish). Once one player is getting close to completing their base board, we usually lay out these extra tiles.
Doing this separately means you don’t need as much space for playing (which is useful if you are being scrupulous about not taking up a whole table, if you’re on the train.) It also signals a shift in the game – from memorisation of tiles to a chance element.
The game includes a spinner – firstly you want to spin to get a plate (plate picture), then you spin to get the finished dish (dish picture). There are also a couple of interim pictures on the spinner where the diners are waiting to eat.
Spinning styles vary, of course. Â Junior Player tends to like very big spins – which sometimes means that it takes a long time to get the plate or dish. I prefer shorter spins, which can increase your chances of getting the category you want.
Who wins?
Even if one player can be ahead on the ingredients tiles, it’s all to play for at the spinner stage. Â Quite frequently, the one trailing a bit in the first stage often gets what they need at the spinner stage.
Sometimes this needs a bit of mood management, if Junior Player has just missed out. Â But overall, the food element of the game tends to keep smiles in places – though it may also provoke rumblings in tummies if it’s been a while since you last ate.
So pack Crazy Chefs for your next train journey – and maybe a snack or too, in case the rumbles get too much.