Burger Master Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Objective
• Components
• Setup
• Playing the Game
  • 1. Take an Order
  • 2. Declare Your Steps
    • Counting Steps
  • 3. It Is Time to Cook!
  • 4. Get Fries!
• End of the Game
• Rule Variants
  • 1. Beginner Chef
  • 2. Competent Chef
  • 3. Independent Chef (Solo Play)

Objective

Complete the hamburger orders in as few steps as possible to earn Fries. Claim the title of Hamburger Specialist by winning 5 Fries!

Components

• Ingredients ×20:
  • Bun ×5
  • Patty ×3
  • Cheese ×3
  • Lettuce ×3
  • Tomato ×3
  • Onion ×3
• Plates ×4
• Fries ×30 and Fries Bag ×1
• Menu cards ×40:
  • Base Menu cards ×20
  • Gourmet Menu cards ×20
• Rulebook ×1
• Hourglass ×1

Setup

1. Choose a menu: the Base Menu, made up of hamburgers that are easier to assemble, or the Gourmet Menu. Then shuffle the Menu cards of the chosen menu and place them face down to form a deck that is easily reachable by all players. Return the Menu cards of the unused menu to the box.

   Each Menu card has a number on its front. If this is your first game, it is advisable to play with the cards numbered 1 to 10 of the Base Menu.

2. If you chose the Base Menu, return all the Onions to the box. If you chose the Gourmet Menu, use all the ingredients.

3. Place 4 Plates in the centre of the table.

4. Place one Bun on each of the 4 Plates. Then shuffle the remaining ingredients and place them on 3 of the 4 Plates, in roughly equal quantities, leaving one Plate with only 1 Bun.

5. Place the Hourglass on the table, within reach of all players.

6. Put all the Fries into the Fries Bag and place the bag within reach of all players.

Setup illustration: Base Menu.

Playing the Game

The competition is played in rounds in which the players compete to complete a hamburger order. Each round is played in the following order:

1. Take an Order

Take the Menu card on top of the deck and place it face up on the table.

2. Declare Your Steps

When the Menu card is revealed, take some time to work out how many steps it will take to complete the hamburger shown on the card. You must assemble the hamburger shown on the Menu card in the fewest possible steps.

Note: Buns are interchangeable. A Bun can go on top or on the bottom of the hamburger, depending on the player's choice.

You must assemble the hamburger exactly as shown on the Menu card. The completed hamburger must not have any ingredient above or below it.

(The examples on the Menu card are marked to show what does not count: "Different order" and "Extra ingredient".)

When you are sure, declare a number: this will be the number of steps within which you believe you can complete the order. The first player to declare a number becomes the Challenger and turns the Hourglass to start the countdown. Before the Hourglass runs out, each of the other players may declare that they can complete the order in a lower number of steps than the current Challenger, to become the new Challenger. Players may declare only once per round.

Counting Steps

Here is how you can move the ingredients to complete the order:

• MOVE: Move a stack of ingredients onto the other Plates without changing the order of the ingredients in the stack (see Example 1).
• FLIP: Flip a stack of ingredients. You can either FLIP the ingredients on the same Plate (see Example 2-1) or FLIP them onto another Plate (see Example 2-2).

A stack can consist of any number of ingredients, even just one. MOVING or FLIPPING one or more ingredients always counts as 1 step.

(Examples 1, 2-1 and 2-2 are illustrated in the rulebook.)

3. It Is Time to Cook!

Once the Hourglass runs out, the Challenger who declared the fewest steps turns the Hourglass over and begins to assemble the hamburger as shown on the Menu card. Moving and placing ingredients counts as 1 step. Once completed, steps cannot be undone. All players must count the steps taken by the Challenger aloud.

4. Get Fries!

If the Challenger assembles the hamburger within the declared number of steps, they receive 1 Fries.

If the Challenger fails to assemble the hamburger within the declared number of steps, OR if the Hourglass runs out before the Challenger can complete the order, each of the other players receives 1 Fries.

Once the Fries have been handed out, turn over the next Menu card and start the next round! If the Menu deck runs out, shuffle the used cards to form a new deck.

End of the Game

The game ends when a player has obtained 5 Fries at the end of a round: congratulations, you have earned the title of Hamburger Specialist!

If several players win their fifth Fries at the same time, only those players play a sudden-death round. In the sudden-death round, the players who fail to assemble the ordered hamburger are immediately eliminated. If a player completes the order, they win immediately. If you are the last player remaining, while all the other players have been eliminated, you are the winner!

Rule Variants

1. Beginner Chef

You are allowed to have other ingredients on top of or under your hamburger. Everyone needs a little help at the start!

2. Competent Chef

Once you have become familiar with the kitchen, shuffle the Base Menu cards and the Gourmet Menu cards together and play the game with both sets. Anyone who wants to aspire to the title of Hamburger Specialist must be able to cook every type of hamburger!

3. Independent Chef (Solo Play)

For solo play, the Hourglass is not used. Choose one of the two menus, draw the Menu card on top and complete the order in the fewest possible steps. Repeat this until you have completed 5 orders. Add up the number of steps it took to assemble all 5 hamburgers. Your score is determined as follows (see the Independent Chef Score table):

Independent Chef Score

• 27 steps or more: Completely burnt... You'll have better luck next time!
• 25–26 steps: Not bad for a beginner!
• 22–24 steps: You have a future as a line chef!
• 20–21 steps: You should work in a starred restaurant!
• 19 steps or fewer: The title of Hamburger Specialist is yours!