Bon Appetit! Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Setup
  • Set up the Gem Card
  • Prepare the Dish Cards
  • Receive starting gems
  • Choose the starting player
• Dish Cards
• Playing the Game
  • 1. New Dish Phase
  • 2. Bidding Phase
    • Bidding 0 Gems
    • Resolving Ties
  • Special Abilities
  • 3. Gem Value Adjustment Phase
  • 4. Cleanup Phase
• Game End

Components

Your copy of Bon Appetit should come with the following components:

• 13 Dish Cards
• 1 Gem Card
• 20 gems (5 in each of 4 colours)
• 1 cloth bag
• This rulebook

Is something missing? If any of the components are missing or damaged, please contact the publisher for replacements (see the publisher's customer support page). We will try to fix any problems as fast as humanly possible!

Setup

To get ready for your night out, follow these easy steps:

Set up the Gem Card

Start by placing the Gem Card in the middle of the table. Make sure that everyone can see it. Put 1 gem of each colour into the bag. Draw the gems randomly one by one. Place the first gem drawn on its track on value 1, the second drawn on its track on value 2, and so on, until you have placed all gems.

Prepare the Dish Cards

Shuffle all Dish Cards together and, without looking at the card, randomly remove 1 card from the game (by placing it back in the box). Then, draw 3 cards and place them face up in a Menu row close to the Gem Card, within easy reach of all players.

Receive starting gems

Place all remaining gems (or 3 gems of each colour when playing a 2-player game) into the bag. Then, each player should secretly draw a number of gems:

• 5 gems when playing a 2 or 3-player game.
• 4 gems when playing a 4-player game.

Keep your drawn gems in your hand. You do not have to (and probably should not!) show them to the other players. If there are any gems left in the bag, leave them there for now. You will draw them later!

Choose the starting player

The person who last had a meal at a restaurant becomes the first player. Alternatively, you can pick the first player at random.

You are now ready to play Bon Appetit!

Dish Cards

Although each dish is different, each Dish Card contains the same type of information:

1. Dish name.
2. Image of the food (delicious!).
3. Dish type. Dishes come in four types: Main Course, Side Dish, Dessert, and Drink.
4. The point value of the dish. These points will be added up at the end of the game.
5. Special ability which may give you an advantage during future auctions.

Playing the Game

A game of Bon Appetit is played over 12 rounds. During each round, a single dish will be auctioned off to the highest bidder. Each round is divided into the following phases:

1. New Dish Phase
2. Bidding Phase
3. Gem Value Adjustment Phase
4. Cleanup Phase

1. New Dish Phase

Place the rightmost Dish Card in the middle of the table. Then, slide all of the remaining cards right to fill the empty spot, and draw a new Dish Card (if there are any left in the deck), so that there are 3 cards in the Menu row once again. The card in the middle is the dish you will be bidding for.

2. Bidding Phase

Simultaneously, each player should place 0-3 gems in their right fist (or – if you are playing a 2-player game – 0-4 gems of no more than 3 different colours), without showing the chosen gems to the other players. When everyone has done so, all players should reveal the gems in their right hands.

Determine the value of each bid based on the current values of the different gems on the Gem Card. The player with the highest value bid wins the auction and places the Dish Card in front of them!

Bidding 0 Gems

If your bid was 0 (you bid with an empty hand), you automatically lose the auction for the current Dish Card. If all players make a bid of 0, the Dish Card is removed from the game (placed back into the box).

Resolving Ties

Whenever two or more players are tied for the highest bid value, those players need to play a second round of bidding. The tied players place their current bids on the table and bid again, using any number of gems they still have in their left hand. The player whose second bid is the highest is considered the winner.

If a tie cannot be resolved (players have bid everything they had and are still tied), no one wins the auction, and the Dish Card is removed from the game (placed back into the box).

Example: It is the first round of the game, and Ann, Brian, and Celia are bidding for the Fresh Matsutake Mashrooms (spelled as printed in the source rulebook). Ann bids two blue gems, Brian bids one blue and one yellow gem, and Celia bids no gems. The current value of each blue gem is 2, and the value of each yellow gem is 1. Ann's bid value therefore equals 4 (2+2), and Brian's bid value equals 3 (2+1). Ann wins the bid and takes the Fresh Matsutake Mashrooms card!

Special Abilities

Beyond the first round, some players will be able to use Dish Cards in front of them to help during bidding. Most Dish Cards offer a slight advantage when bidding. Generally, there are two types of special abilities:

1. Gem abilities: these make a specific colour of gem more valuable, but only for the player who has this Dish Card in front of them.
2. Dish abilities: these add value to your bid when bidding for a certain type of dish, or for a specific named dish. However, this benefit only applies if you bid at least 1 gem.

Example: The game is now well on its way, and Ann, Brian, and Celia are bidding for the Fugu Platter. Ann bids 2 blue gems and 2 green gems, Brian bids no gems, and Celia bids 3 red gems. Blue gems have a value of 1 and green gems have a value of 2, so Ann's bid has a value of 6. However, Ann also has a Dish Card in front of her which adds +2 to the value of her green gems, so she also adds +2 to the value of her bid, making her new total value an 8. Red gems have a value of 2, so Celia's bid has a value of 6. However, since she also has a Dish Card in front of her that adds +1 value whenever bidding for Side Dishes, her bid has a total value of 7. Ann wins the bid!

3. Gem Value Adjustment Phase

Everyone but the winning bidder will keep the gems they bid. The player who won the auction collects the Dish Card and adjusts the gem values on the Gem Card as follows:

• Each colour gem that was used as payment for the winning bid goes down in value by 1 (to a minimum of 1).
• Each colour gem that was not used as payment for the winning bid goes up in value by 1 (to a maximum of 4).

After these adjustments are done, the winning bidder should return the gems they used to the bag.

4. Cleanup Phase

If there are still Dish Cards remaining in the Menu row:

In clockwise order, starting with the player sitting to the left of the player who last won an auction for a Dish Card (if no one won the auction this round, this may be a winning bidder from a previous round), each player who bid 0 during their initial bid may now draw 1 gem from the bag. Continue drawing gems until each eligible player has drawn 1 gem, or until there are no more gems left in the bag. (Note: Only initial bids of 0 are considered. A player who bid 0 when resolving ties is not eligible to draw gems.)

Proceed to the next game round.

Otherwise:

The game is over and you will calculate your points!

Game End

At the end of the round when the final Dish Card is bid for, the game ends. Add up the points on all Dish Cards in front of you to determine your score. The player with the highest score is the winner!

In case of a tie, the tied player who has the most valuable gems remaining is the winner. In case of a further tie, the players share the victory, split the bill, and set up a time and place for another game of Bon Appetit! to settle the score!