tabletoppingboardgames 
You know that classic back-and-forth with friends: “What do you want to eat?” “I don’t know, what do you want?” Now imagine turning that into a card game. That’s more or less what What Do You Want to Eat? in Taiwan is going for. Except instead of actually eating, you’re trying to guess what dish the host secretly picked from a spread of colourful Taiwanese foods.
👥 2-4 players, ages 8+
⌛ Playing time: 5-10 minutes
📝 Designer: Ming-Kai & Lin
🏢 Publisher: EmperorS4 (Review copy provided)
How the game works
There are 30 food cards in total, split across five dish types. Each type is numbered from one to six. The artwork features Taiwanese staples, things like fried chicken, bubble tea, noodles, illustrated in a way that’s friendly but not overdone.
One player becomes the host and secretly picks a card as their “target dish.” The other players then take turns offering up one of their cards as a clue. If the card matches the target dish in either colour (which represents a food category) or number, it’s placed on the “like” side of a central preference card. If it shares neither, it goes on the “dislike” side.
After each clue, players can guess what the host’s dish is. If someone guesses correctly, they win the round and score a point by taking the target dish card. All used hint cards are discarded, and the next player clockwise becomes the new host. If no one guesses correctly, the game continues with the next player giving a new clue, until someone gets it right. The game ends when the draw pile runs out and everyone’s had their final guess.
There’s a bit more to it, but that’s more or less the entire loop. Observe, guess, rotate.
The look and feel
One of the first things that stood out to us was the artwork. Each food card features a colourful illustration of a Taiwanese dish, and they’re honestly quite lovely. Not overly cartoonish, but definitely warm and inviting. From fried chicken to bubble tea to bowls of soup, the food looks good enough to eat. We even had someone stop mid-game to look up a recipe.
The cards are numbered one to six, with bold, easy-to-read digits. Each food type has its own background colour to help you spot what belongs to which category. For example, noodle dishes sit on a green background, and sweet treats appear in yellow.
And a quick shout-out to the game box, which doubles as a card stand. It holds the secret dish and the preference card upright during play. It’s a small thing, but smart. Less table clutter, more flow.
Our Experience
When we brought this to the table, the food theme immediately got people talking. Someone recognised a dish from a trip to Taiwan, someone else pointed out something they’d love to try. That kind of table talk is half the fun with this game. It sets a relaxed, social mood from the start.
Explaining the rules took less than a minute. Even people who don’t play many games got into it straight away. The like/dislike system is easy to grasp, and once a few cards have been played, the deduction part just clicks. Players started analysing the host’s reactions, comparing colours and numbers, and speculating out loud about what the target dish could be.
Turns moved quickly. There were moments of laughter when someone made a wildly wrong guess, and little bursts of celebration when someone got it right. The deduction doesn’t feel deep, but it’s satisfying enough. With just colour and number as clues, it’s more about timing and pattern recognition than anything else. And sometimes you’ll find yourself overthinking it, convinced the host is trying to be sneaky, when really… they just like fried chicken.
So, what do we think?
Honestly, it does what it sets out to do. It’s a cheerful, casual guessing game with a lovely food theme and quick, intuitive gameplay. It’s perfect as a warm-up game, or something to bring out in a café or during a chilled game night with friends or family.
That said, don’t expect much depth. With only two variables to work with, colour and number, the puzzle becomes a bit predictable after a while. You’re not making bold leaps or clever deductions so much as narrowing things down logically until only one answer makes sense. It’s not a game that rewards strategy or long-term thinking.
So if you’re a hobby gamer looking for something crunchy, this won’t scratch that itch. But if you’re after something social, simple, and nicely themed, this is a great pick. It has charm, it’s very easy to teach, and the theme gives it a wider appeal than many party games. Food lovers and travellers especially will enjoy the cultural flavour.
Also, if you play while hungry, prepare to be slightly annoyed. The cards might not be edible, but they do look tasty.
📝 We received a copy of the game from EmperorS4.
Certainly get that we shouldn’t expect much depth, but a little would be nice. I mean you are literally waiting until only one logical guess makes sense from just 5 suits and 6 numbers each. You can’t gauge the reactions of the host as you say – it means nothing, they’re not going to snigger or anything from a Yes/No answer. All the information is public so it’s just a case of “whichever player has their turn when there’s only one logical guess gets the point” – unless you decide to try a 50/50 or 1/3 chance at which point it’s just luck.