Dive into the bustling kitchen of Diced Veggies, where talented chefs are hard at work crafting mouth-watering meals. With their expert skills, they select the freshest ingredients and transform them into culinary masterpieces. In this game, you become one of these master chefs, aiming to create the best recipes and earn extra rewards. Get ready for a fun and flavorful adventure!
👥 2-4 players, ages 6+
⌛ Playing time: 30 minutes
📝 Designer: Josh Cappel, Jory Cappel & Rowan Cappel
🎨 Artwork: Claire Lin
🏢Publisher: Happy Meeple Games (Dutch Version)(review copy provided)
How to Play
In Diced Veggies, you play as a chef in your own kitchen, chopping up vegetables and preparing delicious recipes. The game starts with a block of vegetable dice in the center of the table. During your turn, you use a cardboard cleaver to separate dice from this block. The total value of the pips on the dice you take can’t exceed ten, and you can’t divide the block into smaller sections.
Next, you move on to cooking recipes with the ingredients you’ve collected. Each recipe requires three to five dice, representing different vegetables. To boost your dish, you can play a Hype Card. These cards increase your points but come with special requirements, like needing specific dice values, a certain total sum of pips, or discarding an extra die. To help meet these requirements, you have a Chef Token that lets you change the value or color of a die.
After cooking a recipe, you can draw a new Hype or Recipe Card to add to your hand. You can carry over up to eight dice and two of each type of card to the next round, getting ready for your next cooking spree. The cleaver is then passed to the next player. If there are only four out of five types of ingredients available in the block, the next player can choose to restock it with the discarded dice.
The game ends when a player successfully cooks six recipes. At this point, all other players get a final turn. Once everyone has finished, you tally the points from the recipes, taking into account any Hype Cards. The chef with the most fame points wins the game.
Essential Details About Diced Veggies
Designed by Josh Cappel, Jory Cappel, and Rowan Cappel, Diced Veggies is perfect for 2-4 players and takes about 30 minutes to play. This family game is recommended for ages 6 and up, and we agree—it’s easy for everyone to learn and join in on the fun. We received a Dutch version review copy from Happy Meeple Games, but the English version is published by Kids Table BG.
Components, Production, and Artwork
The box is packed with 35 Ingredient Dice in five different colors, each representing a different type of ingredient. For example, the red dice are tomatoes, the pink ones are onions, and the orange dice represent carrots. There are also 44 Recipe Cards and 34 Hype Cards, all adorned with the inviting, colorful artwork by Claire Lin. Looking at the Recipe Cards will make you hungry instantly!
The production quality of the game is solid, with no complaints here. The rulebook is well-written, and the straightforward gameplay is explained within ten minutes, making it easy to grasp. The theme is well-executed and appealing, especially for playing with children. It’s also a perfect game for younger kids, as the rules offer a few modifications to adapt the game, such as playing without the Hype Cards and limiting the cleaving to three dice instead of depending on the pips. To play shorter or longer games, you can adjust the number of recipes needed to trigger the end game.
Gameplay and Mechanics
One of the most fun and original mechanics is using a cardboard cleaver to chop dice from a block. It’s super accessible and quick to learn. Like any game with dice, there is a bit of luck involved. However, this is balanced by the Chef Token, which lets players change the color or value of a die when completing a recipe. You get the token back whenever the vegetables are restocked.
In terms of player interaction, aside from altering the vegetable garden, players don’t interfere much with each other. However, opponents might snatch the ingredients you were eyeing, throwing a wrench in your plans. It’s all part of the fun and strategy!
Final Thoughts
Diced Veggies gave us a lot of family fun. Even our youngest chef was chopping away to cook his recipes. It’s a simple and easy-to-learn game that’s enjoyable for all ages. Its engaging gameplay and fun theme make it ideal for family game nights.
📝 Disclaimer: We received a copy of the game from the publisher, Happy Meeple Games.
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