Most children don’t like vegetables very much. At least they think they don’t like vegetables. Vegetables are delicious, but very dependent on preparation. Not all parents can cook very well and not all parents always have the time to make a healthy meal that is also tasty and vice versa. Who hasn’t had to eat overcooked canned or jarred vegetables. A hack does not always describe a chef in a positive way. In Diced Veggies, hacking is exactly what the chefs will do.
The title of this game, Diced Veggies, is fantastic. In fact, it contains a funny pun and also a fitting description of the game. Namely, players are going to chop vegetables (the dice) from a block to use as ingredients to prepare their recipes. Recipes earn you points and by getting the most points, you win the game.
In the center of the table is a block full of dice of different colors. These dice you will not throw but chop. Each color represents a specific vegetable and recipes do require specific ingredients. Look, sometimes you really can substitute something in a dish, but mushroom soup without mushrooms is just broth with something else. So don’t believe the comments on cooking videos on the Internet, where people gleefully comment that the recipe was delicious and successful, but then managed to substitute every original ingredient. Enough ranting. Ready to chop.
Players are given some recipes and opportunities to improve recipes at the beginning of the game. The recipes are public information. The recipes show which dice a player must collect and discard to successfully prepare the recipe.The ways to improve recipes are secret. These involve certain conditions the dice must meet (for example, specific values) to earn extra points. A real chef won’t give away his secrets so easily, because just watching YouTube videos and Chef’s Table on Netflix won’t get you there.
Each turn you start chopping. You may cut off a smaller cube from the dice block, but in doing so you must comply with some rules. The total value of dice may not exceed 10, you may not cut at an angle and the block must remain a whole. You add the dice to your pantry and if you can and want to, you can prepare a recipe. After this you may take another card (recipe or improvement). The game is over when a player has made enough dishes.
Diced Veggies is a delightful and smooth puzzle game with a unique game mechanism. The use of the dice is intuitive and innovative, so players will be surprised by the mechanism, but pick it up quickly. Diced Veggies does have one particular major drawback: you get particularly hungry from all the mouthwatering and beautifully illustrated recipes.
