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Gameplay Mechanic a Month: Real World Baking
Month 3 - March 2013
Mechanic Description:
The mechanic for this month is real world baking. That is, during the game you need to use real ingredients to make real food that you can actually eat at the end of the game.
Playable in the following game:
The Cookie Baking Game
Platform:
Paper and Your kitchen
Genre:
Real world
Game Description:
In "The Cookie Baking Game" players gather in someone's kitchen. Through a series of rounds they make their own cookies. Based on their performance in the rounds they'll be able to choose different flavours and chunks to add to their batter. This will mean that every player will have different flavoured cookies to share with the group.
The first round is a blind taste test to familiarise players with the ingredients. Each player is given a sample to eat and needs to work out which flavours are in the sample. The second round is a speed round, where players must attempt to prepare their basic batters as quickly as possible. The winner of this round gets first choice of the available flavours to add.
In the third round, players battle in Lemon Joust Club to win different chunks to put into their batter. Note: Lemon Joust Club was created by Tassos Stevens from the UK company Coney. In the fourth round, players need to guess the weight of a bowl filled with flour. The winner of this round gets to put their cookies in the oven first. While the cookies are baking, there is a trivia round wher players must answer questions relating to food, drink and baking.
Throughout the game, players will be collecting wrapped lollies as prizes. Once the cookies are done, the player who has the least wrapped lollies will lose and have to do all the cleaning up.
Screenshots:
Before the guests arrive, set up a station for each guest with the basic batter ingredients. |
Each player makes up the basic batter to see who finishes first. |
Players will get to battle for different flavours and chunks to add to their basic batter. |
Once the dough has been created, put it on trays. |
Cookies taste better fresh out of the oven. |
The game allows for a lot of very different falvoured cookies to be made. Eat them all and play again to make different ones. |
Gameplay Instructions:
Downloads:
The full PDF of the instructions and invite for guests. These instructions will tell you everything you need to know to host The Cookie Baking Game at your house.
Other Comments and Considerations:
This game was inspired by my idea for the Idea A Week Project called "Dinner: The Board Game".
Analysis:
An analysis of the gameplay mechanic written by me in March 2015.
Context: I love baking. A lot. I was sick of games that were about cooking, but you didn’t get to actually eat anything since it was all virtual. I wanted to combine my love of games with my love of baking.
What Went Right:
What Went Wrong:
Hug Rating:2 hugs
Verdict: Cookies are delicious and with some refining and simplification this could become a very cool game for kids or small groups of friends to share the love of baking.