Secret Recipe Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Game Setup (3 and 4 Players)
• Player Board
• Gameplay
  • Turns
  • Giving Clues
  • Peeking at Ingredients in the Recipe Shelves
  • Marking Clues
  • More Clue Examples
• Discussion Phase
  • Resolving the Votes
• Point Tokens
  • A Note on False Clues
• Tea Breaks and Pacts
• Using Tea Break Tokens to Swap Pantry Ingredients
• Asking a Clue Question
• End of the Game and Winner
• 2-Player Variant
  • 2-Player Game Setup
  • 2-Player Player Board
  • 2-Player Turns
  • 2-Player Giving Clues
  • 2-Player Peeking at Ingredients in the Recipe Shelves
  • 2-Player Tea Breaks
  • 2-Player Asking Clue Questions
  • 2-Player Point Tokens
  • 2-Player Discussion Phase
  • 2-Player End of the Game and Winner

Components

• Game board (3–4 players side and 2 players side)
• 1 clue type token (front side and back side)
• 3 clue markers
• Active player basket
• 25 recipe ingredients (9 different ingredients on the front side of the tiles; back sides)
• 25 pantry ingredients (9 different ingredients on the front side of the tiles; back sides)
• Bag for the pantry ingredients
• 8 tea break tokens
• 4 player boards (front sides; back sides in player colours)
• 4 player board stands (one per player colour)
• 4 recipe boards (front sides; back sides in player colours)
• 4 discussion cards (front sides; back sides in player colours)
• 4 erase markers
• 4 chefs' hats
• 16 think markers
• 36 fingerprints (9 in each player colour)
• 18 point tokens (front sides and back sides)
• 1 rulebook

Game Setup (3 and 4 Players)

This is the setup for 3 and 4 players. For the 2-player version, see the 2-Player Variant section.

1. Place the game board in the centre of the table. Note these important spaces on the board. (The source labels them on the board diagram; the labels are not printed in the text.)
2. Randomly draw 9 pantry ingredients from the bag and place them in 9 pantry shelf spaces face-up. Place the bag with the remaining ingredients next to the board.
3. Shuffle the recipe ingredients face-down on the table. It's important that all recipe ingredients remain hidden during setup. Assign 4 random ingredients to each player. In a 3-player game, assign 4 ingredients to an imaginary 4th player. Place the remaining recipe ingredients on the recipe shelves in the pantry. Make sure they stay hidden, face-down!
4. Shuffle the point tokens and place them on the board face-down. Grandma will be keeping an eye on the progress and giving some hints.
5. Place the players' chefs' hats on the 0 space on the reputation score track, which keeps track of Grandma's Points (GPs). These are the victory points. The score track is a loop, so you can cross over the 0/30 field if you get more than 30 points or you fall below 0.
6. Prepare the active player basket with clue markers and a clue type token and set it aside for the starting player.
7. Place the tea break tokens, one for each player, between fields 5 and 6 on the score track.
8. Place your recipe board in front of you. Place 4 recipe ingredients you were dealt on the recipe board spaces face-down. Place them randomly, and make sure the other players don't see them.
9. Prepare your player board. You can hold it in your hand or use the stand.
10. Take your discussion card, erase marker, think markers and fingerprints.
11. In a 3-player game, prepare the recipe board for the imaginary 4th player, and place their ingredients on it face-up. Everybody can see the ingredients of the imaginary player.

Player Board

You will use your player board to track the clues you give and receive.

The callouts on the player board diagram are numbered; they are given here in order.

1. The player's recipes: use the top space to track your recipe, the second space to track the player to your left, and so on. The recipe spaces have 4 squares, and they correspond to the four ingredients in each player's recipe. Each square on your player board has all of the ingredients in it. You will use them to track clues, and you will cross out individual ingredients when you receive clues.

2. The top row contains all of the recipe ingredients that are in the game. There are 25 of them, 4 in each player recipe, and 9 on the recipe shelves in the pantry. Whenever you know the whereabouts of a certain ingredient, you can cross it out in this row. Be mindful that you are only crossing out the recipe ingredients (on the small tiles), not the pantry ingredients (on the big tiles).

   For example, if you know you have one honey in your recipe, you can cross one honey out in the top row. There is only one other honey in the game. Maybe you will learn later that the player to your right has it. You will cross the second honey out then, and you will know that there's no more honey in the game, not in other recipes, not on the recipe shelves.

3. The ingredients in the top row are ordered by weight:

   • Mint and grapes weigh 1 unit = the lightest ingredients.
   • Walnuts and strawberries weigh 2 units.
   • Eggs weigh 3 units.
   • Apples and honey weigh 4 units.
   • Flour and cream weigh 5 units = the heaviest ingredients.

   Mint and grapes weigh the same. Eggs are heavier than walnuts. Strawberries are lighter than flour. And so on.

4. The plate icon and numbers help you identify which ingredient is which in each player's recipe.

5. On your player board, next to the name of each player, there are lines of all 9 ingredients. You will use them to mark the clues you get during tea breaks. We will talk about that a bit later.

Gameplay

Turns

The starting player collects the active player basket with clue markers and clue type token, and the game begins.

On a standard turn, you get two actions.

1. (Optional.) You can discard any one face-up pantry ingredient and replenish it with a new ingredient from the bag. You do this if you hope to get an ingredient that was not in the pantry, or if you want to get rid of one ingredient, or, most commonly, if you are hoping the new ingredient will enable you to give a better clue. The discarded ingredient is placed face-up next to the board. If the bag ever runs empty, refill it with the discarded tiles.
2. You give a clue and peek at the corresponding recipe ingredient on the recipe shelves. We will talk about this in the next subsection.

The actions are followed by a discussion phase. All of the players get the option to guess any of the ingredients in any of the other players' recipes using their discussion cards and score points accordingly. This is described in the Discussion Phase section.

After that, the turn ends and the player passes the active player basket to the next player.

Giving Clues

You give clues with a clue type token and one of the clue markers. The clue focuses on one ingredient in your recipe and can be given based on ingredient type or weight.

To give a clue about an ingredient in your recipe, place the clue type token next to the ingredient in your recipe, with the appropriate side up. The ingredient has to be one of the ingredients that is still hidden. If there are no more hidden ingredients in the player's recipe (this happens later in the game), the player does not give a clue about their ingredient but rather asks about someone else's. We will discuss it in the section Asking a Clue Question.

Then choose the clue marker and place it next to a row or a column in the pantry. This will tell everybody how your ingredient compares with the ingredients in that row or column.

Possible clues:

A clue about ingredient type

• "This ingredient is the same as one of the ingredients in this row." Example: it's honey, walnuts or eggs.
• "This ingredient is NOT the same as the ingredients in this row." Example: it's NOT honey, walnuts or eggs.

A clue about ingredient weight

• "This ingredient weighs the same as one of the ingredients in this row." Example: it weighs 4, 2 or 3 units, so it's either apples, honey, walnuts, strawberries or eggs.
• "This ingredient does NOT weigh the same as the ingredients in this row." Example: it doesn't weigh 4, 2 or 3 units. So it weighs 1 or 5 units. It can be mint, grapes, cream or flour.
• "This ingredient is LIGHTER than the ingredients in this row." Example: it is lighter than 4, 2 and 3 units. So it weighs 1 unit, which means it could be mint or grapes.
• "This ingredient is HEAVIER than the ingredients in this row." Example: it is heavier than 4, 2 and 3 units. So it weighs 5 units and is either cream or flour.

In general, you wish to give good clues – communicating your ingredients gets you points. Experienced players will find some occasions when it's beneficial to give a bad clue and keep the information about your ingredients hidden for longer, scoring fewer points on point tokens in the process.

The less/greater than marker can be used to compare ingredients with different weights. The smaller side of the marker means the ingredient on this side is lighter. The larger side of the marker means the ingredient on this side is heavier.

You can rotate the marker around when giving clues. No matter how you rotate it, the larger side should always be where the heavier ingredients are. So if the ingredients in the pantry are heavier than your ingredient, the larger side goes closer to the pantry. If the ingredients in the pantry are lighter than your ingredient, the smaller side goes closer to the pantry.

Peeking at Ingredients in the Recipe Shelves

When you give a clue, you can peek at the hidden recipe ingredient next to the clue marker you place. As you do so, also place your fingerprint on the ingredient. This way, you know what recipe ingredients you've already looked at, as well as what the other players have looked at.

Don't forget to cross out the ingredients you learn about at the top of your player board, in the row with all of the ingredients.

Sometimes, you will cross out the last ingredient of one type, and therefore you learn that there are no ingredients of that type in other players' recipes anymore, so you can cross this type out in all other recipes.

In any case, this is a piece of information that is asymmetric, as each player learns about the hidden ingredients based on the clues they give, so it can give you an advantage in deducting what other players have in their recipes.

Marking Clues

It's very important that you mark both the clues you receive – this will help you deduce the other player's ingredients – as well as the ones you give – this will help you to remember what information you have already communicated and give the next clues that complement it.

We propose this tactic:

• Cross things out. Look at the clue and figure out what it says this ingredient is NOT. Then cross all of that out.
• Circle an ingredient only when you are certain it is the right one. For example, at the beginning, you circle the ingredients in your own recipe. You know 100% what they are. You can also circle the ingredient when you are sure you know what the other player has, usually because you have crossed out everything else, or because that ingredient has already been revealed.

Example: a player (Anne) gives a clue:

1. The clue is about ingredient number 3, and it is about the type of the ingredient.
2. The ingredient is the same type as one of the ingredients in this column. So it is either apples or walnuts. This is a good clue, we're down to two ingredients already.
3. Mark her clue on your recipe board. First, find Anne's recipe and locate square number 3, which corresponds to ingredient number 3. Cross out everything except for walnuts and apples.
4. Anne will also mark her clue on her recipe board, so she knows what information she's given for the next clues. Her recipe is the topmost recipe on her recipe board, just as you have your recipe at the top recipe space.
5. Anne gets to peek at the hidden recipe ingredient on the shelf next to the clue marker. She doesn't tell anyone what it is, but she crosses it out in the top row of her player board. She places her fingerprint on that ingredient, so everybody knows she knows it.

After the clue phase, there is a discussion phase (described below), and Anne then passes the basket with clue markers and token to her left, to the next player, and the game continues.

More Clue Examples

• A clue about ingredient number 4 about its type: the ingredient is grapes, eggs or flour. Cross out everything else.
• A clue about type, this time about ingredient 1: it is NOT cream, apples or grapes. Cross those three out. This clue was not very informative, but it's still a valid one.
• A clue about the weight of ingredient 1: the ingredient is lighter than apples and walnuts. Apples weigh 4 units and walnuts weigh 2 units. The ingredient is lighter than both, which means it's lighter than 2 units, therefore it weighs 1 unit. So it's either mint or grapes, as they are the only ingredients with this weight. And we have already crossed out grapes before, so we know it's mint. Now that we have found one mint, we can cross it out in the top row. We can reveal we know it in the next discussion phase.
• Another clue about weight: ingredient 4 is heavier than honey, walnuts and eggs. They weigh 4, 2 and 3 units. So ingredient 4 weighs 5 units, which means it is either cream or flour. And we know from the previous clues it's not cream, therefore it's flour. We cross one flour out in the top row. Say we have crossed out 3 flours before, and we just found the 4th one, the last one. We know there's no more flour in the recipes, so we can cross it out in all of the other players' recipes. Don't cross it out in your own recipe, however. The other players may not know where the other 3 flours are, so you will still need to give them a clue to exclude it.
• One more clue about weight: ingredient 3 weighs the same as one of these: cream, apples and grapes. So it weighs 5, 4 or 1 unit. Cross out everything with weight other than 5, 4 or 1 – cross out everything that weighs 2 or 3 units. We cross out walnuts and we know the ingredient is apples. We cross out apples in the top row.
• Again a clue about weight: ingredient 2 does NOT weigh the same as strawberries, apples or flour, so it does not weigh 2, 4 or 5 units – cross out everything that weighs 2, 4 or 5 units. You can cross out 6 ingredients, so this is a pretty good clue.
• This time, Anne took Action 1 and swapped one of the pantry ingredients. Then she gives a clue about type. The ingredient is honey, walnuts or eggs. We know from before that it's not honey or walnuts. So we know it's eggs. Cross out eggs in the top row too! Note that Anne already peeked at the ingredient next to the clue marker, so she doesn't place any fingerprints this time.

In reality, you would often be able to figure out all of Anne's ingredients in less than 8 rounds, as you would also get some information from your own ingredients, from other players, the recipe shelves and tea breaks. You could also look at what clues Anne is not giving you, despite having a great opportunity for them with the pantry ingredients, or why she's giving a particular clue at a particular time. But if you do that, Anne might bluff.

Discussion Phase

Each turn, after the active player gives a clue, and the clue is registered by the other players, there is a discussion phase, which is optional. This is the chance to uncover other people's ingredients.

Any players that wish to cooperate, mark their votes on their discussion cards. Each gets one vote, and they can vote about any player's recipe. They are then revealed simultaneously and resolved.

You have two options:

1. Unveil vote. This is the most common vote. Use it if you know for sure, or if you are feeling lucky and want to gamble. If you are right, it will get you 1 or 3 GPs, plus an additional 1 GP if the ingredient is in the pantry (see the next paragraphs), but if you are wrong, you will get -1 GP (= you lose 1 GP).
2. Think vote. You can do this 4x in the whole game, and you use think markers to do it. Use it if you are not sure, but you have a theory about an ingredient. If you are right, this will get you 1 GP, and if you are wrong, you do not get any negative points.

You mark your vote on your discussion card:

• Unveil vote: Circle the unveil icon. Write the name of the owner of the ingredient you are voting about. Mark which ingredient (1, 2, 3 or 4) you are voting about. Circle which ingredient you vote it is. Optional: if this ingredient is in the pantry, mark where it is to collect it. Note the location of the recipe shelves and the orientation of the pantry. This will give you an additional 1 GP.
• Think vote: Circle the think icon. Write the name of the owner of the ingredient you are voting about. Mark which ingredient (1, 2, 3 or 4) you are voting about. Circle which ingredient you vote it is.

When the discussion cards are revealed, if you voted to collect the ingredient, rotate the marked ingredient. For a think vote, place the think marker on the recipe board grid next to the ingredient, marking the space that corresponds to your think vote.

Resolving the Votes

1. First, resolve all of the think votes and place the appropriate think markers. The order is not important. Do not reveal the ingredients or give any answers about the think votes! More than one player can share the same theory – in this case, stack the markers. The order doesn't matter. Different players can also have different theories about one ingredient (= there can be pink, green and red think markers in the same grid); however, one player can only have one theory about every ingredient (= there can never be more than one pink think marker in any grid).

   The points for think votes will be awarded when the corresponding ingredients are revealed.

2. Next, resolve the unveil votes. The order is important, because of the point tokens (more about it later), so start with the player whose turn it was. Resolve all of the unveil votes about their recipe. The sub-order for doing that is not important.

   Choose one of the unveil votes and check whether the vote is correct.

   • YES: The owner reveals the ingredient. If only one player guessed the ingredient correctly, they get 3 GPs and move their chef's hat on the score track. If more than one player gave the correct answer, each of them moves 1 GP on the score track.
     • Additionally, if any of the players collected the correct ingredient from the pantry, they each get an additional 1 GP and move their chefs' hats accordingly. Make sure that the collected ingredient is rotated by 45 degrees to mark that it will be removed from the pantry. Don't remove it right away, as other players may use it in their votes too.
     • Resolve any think markers on the grid next to the revealed ingredients. Any players who had the correct theory get 1 GP and move their chef's hats on the score track. Wrong theories do not get negative points. All of the resolved think markers are removed from the game.
     • The owner scores point tokens for communicating the ingredient, which is described in the Point Tokens section.
   • NO: The owner does not show the ingredient and does not tell what it is. Any players that guessed wrong lose a point and move -1 GP on the score track. Everybody has learned something about the ingredient and can vote about it on the next turn. The owner does not get any point tokens. Think markers are not resolved.

There are player aids on the player board to help you remember the points for each vote type.

If there's only one player with hidden recipe ingredients left, the endgame is triggered. See the End of the Game and Winner section.

The discussion phase is complete and the game continues with the next player's turn.

Point Tokens

Each time someone correctly unveils one of your ingredients, they immediately score points on the score track. At the same time, you also gain points for communicating the ingredient – you get them in the form of point tokens.

So, each time one of your ingredients is revealed through the unveil vote, take the top 3 point tokens from the point token pile, look at them and choose one to keep. Return the other two to the point token discard pile face-down. Don't move your chef's hat on the scoring board yet – the points from the point tokens will be scored at the end of the game. If your ingredient is revealed in any other way than through the unveil vote from another player or multiple players (for example by mistake), you don't get any point tokens. You get only one point token for each ingredient, even if multiple players unveil it.

If the point token pile ever runs out, shuffle the tokens in the discard pile and place them on the point token pile space. The consequence of this is that the tokens that remain in the pile will get worse with every replenishment. This is why you want the other players to figure out your ingredients quickly.

There are two types of point tokens:

1. Tokens that contain only victory points. You keep them hidden and score the victory points at the end of the game. The tokens show 1 GP, 2 GPs or 3 GPs.

2. Tokens that give you two options:

   • Option 1: You score just GPs. In this case, keep the token hidden and score points at the end of the game.
   • Option 2: You score fewer GPs than in option 1, but you also get to peek at one or two recipe ingredients on the recipe shelves. In this case, reveal the token, peek at the appropriate number of ingredients on the recipe shelves, mark them with your fingerprint, and score the points on the score track immediately. Discard the point token to the point token discard pile.

   The two tokens of this type show: 1 GP (option 1) or 0 GPs with a peek at two ingredients (option 2); and 2 GPs (option 1) or 1 GP with a peek at one ingredient (option 2).

You can choose option two any time during the game, on your turn or on someone else's turn, and you peek at the ingredients and score points immediately after you reveal the token.

A Note on False Clues

Players may not lie when giving clues; however, honest mistakes can happen. If a player provides false clues, they do not earn point tokens for communicating the ingredient. Additionally, we propose that any negative points resulting from incorrect unveil guesses be voided. In any case, players should discuss the specific situation and decide on the fairest solution.

Tea Breaks and Pacts

When you move your chef's hat from space 5 to space 6 on the score track, you trigger a tea break. Take your tea break token. You could theoretically move from field 5 to 6 more than once if you get any negative points. You trigger a tea break and get the tea break token only the first time you cross.

A tea break happens at the end of the discussion phase, and all of the players participate in it. This is the time to try to get some information from your fellow players and make some pacts. Each player asks one other player one question: "Do you have this type of ingredient in your recipe?"

Ask a question by circling the ingredient on your discussion card, for example: "Anne, do you have strawberries in your recipe?" Pass the discussion card to Anne, in a way that the other players won't see it. Anne will mark her answer in secret and pass the card back to you.

• The answer is YES: "Yes, I have at least one set of strawberries in my recipe." A yes means that the player has at least one ingredient of the marked type in their recipe – this ingredient can still be hidden or already revealed. Make sure you don't ask about the ingredients that are already revealed, as you will get a certain yes, and you won't learn anything about the ingredients that are still hidden.
• The answer is NO: "No, I don't have strawberries in my recipe." A no means that they don't have any ingredient of the marked type in their recipe.

Mark their answer on your player board, in the ingredient line next to the player's name. For a yes, circle the ingredient and remember that it will also be in at least one of the 4 squares of their recipe. Maybe you can even determine where, if this ingredient is crossed out in 3 out of 4 squares. For a no, cross out the ingredient in the line and in all 4 squares of that recipe.

All of the players participate in a tea break, and each player asks exactly one question to a player of their choice. It's possible that some players receive more than 1 question from different players, and some players receive none. Make sure that the cards are passed around in secret, so only the players asking and answering the questions see them.

It is possible that more than one tea break is triggered at the same turn end – all of the triggered breaks happen consecutively. They are independent of each other, so you can choose a new question and a new player to inquire during each tea break.

There is NO discussion phase after the tea break, and the game continues with the next player's turn.

Using Tea Break Tokens to Swap Pantry Ingredients

You keep the collected tea break token. You can use it anytime on your turn, or before the discussion phase on someone else's turn, to change the pantry ingredients.

When you declare you want to use it, you can theoretically replace all of the pantry ingredients, but each player (including you) may reserve a row or a column that is left as is. You sometimes want to reserve a row or a column that contains an ingredient you wish to collect, or one that allows you to give a clue you wish to give. You do so by placing your erase marker on it. The players may change their minds and change the location of their erase marker until everyone is satisfied with their choice. They may also choose not to place their marker.

When everybody is satisfied, the rows and columns with erase markers are left alone, while all of the other pantry ingredients are discarded and replenished with new ingredients from the bag. If the bag ever runs out, replenish it with discarded ingredients.

Tea break tokens allow you to switch multiple ingredients at a time, and they are usually used when you are looking for a specific ingredient that is not in the pantry, in order to be able to score a bonus point for collecting it. It is possible that players place their erase markers so that they cover the whole grid. In this case, no ingredients get replaced.

Asking a Clue Question

If all of your recipe ingredients are revealed, you do not give any more clues. Instead, you ask other players questions. On your turn, during Action 2 (giving a clue), use the clue markers on another player's hidden ingredient in the same way as you would use them to give a clue about that ingredient. You can also peek at the appropriate recipe shelf ingredient.

Once you set the markers, the owner of the recipe looks at the clue and says "Yes, that is correct" or "No, that clue is not correct," based on their ingredient. Everybody sees the clue and hears their answer, and you can all mark it on your player board.

Asking a question becomes your Action 2 on your turn. You can still discard and replenish pantry ingredients in Action 1. All of the other players continue playing as usual.

End of the Game and Winner

The endgame is triggered when all of the players but one have all of their recipe ingredients revealed. This happens at the end of the round, after the discussion phase, when only one of the players still has one or more hidden ingredients. After that, play continues for one more round at most, so theoretically, each of the players could get one final turn. If at any point, all of the ingredients of the last player are revealed, the game ends. If they are not, and they remain hidden until the end of the game, that is valid too. The player with the hidden ingredients does not score point tokens for the hidden ingredients, and the other players don't get points for thinking or unveiling them.

At the end of the game, each player reveals the GPs on their unused point tokens and moves their chef's hat accordingly on the reputation score track. The player with the most points is the winner. In case of a tie, the player with more GPs on their point tokens wins.

2-Player Variant

The competition will be fierce!

2-Player Game Setup

Setup is slightly modified from the 3- and 4-player game. Numbers refer to the 3- and 4-player setup steps.

1. This is the same, but make sure you choose the 2-player side of the board.
2. The same as for 3 and 4 players.
3. The same, but in a 2-player game, each of the players will receive 2 pieces of the recipe, so each of the players gets 8 random face-down recipe ingredients.
4. The same. Additionally, each player places one of their think markers on a track next to the point tokens.
5. The same.
6. The same.
7. This one is different. The tea break tokens go to the tea break table. Each player chooses two player colours and gets all 4 tea break tokens in those colours. It is recommended that player A chooses red and pink and player B chooses green and blue. Player A uses red fingerprints and red and pink tea break tokens; player B uses green fingerprints and blue and green tea break tokens.
8. The same, but each player gets two recipe boards of their chosen colours.
9. The same.
10. Take the erase marker. You won't need the discussion card, and fingerprints are discussed in step 13.
11. Ignore this one.
12. Take two think markers of any colour. Place one on the turn count track (left), and one on the first player track (right).
13. Place 4 of your fingerprints next to the board. Place the remaining 5 of your fingerprints on the tea break table, as described under Peeking at Ingredients below.

2-Player Player Board

You use your player board exactly as in the 3- and 4-player game. The only difference is that two of the recipes are your own, and two belong to the other player. It is suggested to use colours instead of player names to mark which is which.

Look at both of your recipes, mark the ingredients in the recipes, and cross out all 8 ingredients in the top row. There's a good chance you will have better starting information than in the 3- and 4-player game, but so will your opponent!

2-Player Turns

The turns are slightly different than in the 3- and 4-player game. The optional Action 1 remains the same. Action 2 is the same (giving a clue) for the first 5 turns, and then it is replaced by asking a clue question. Use the think marker on the turn count track to count the first five turns.

The players switch who the first player is each round. For example, you start the game. Leave the think marker on the first space of the turn count track. Place the think marker on the first player track on the field closer to you. Take your turn and give a clue about one of your ingredients. Next, your opponent takes their turn and gives a clue.

On the second round, move the think marker on the turn count track to the second space. Move the think marker on the first player track to the field closer to your opponent. They take their turn first, then you take yours.

Third round: move both think markers. You take your turn, then your opponent takes theirs. And so on.

After the 5th round, stop using the think marker on the turn count track (you can remove it from the game), and start asking questions instead of giving clues as your Action 2. Keep switching the first player.

2-Player Giving Clues

It works almost the same as with 3 and 4 players, but now you want to give out as little information as possible, so you want to give bad clues.

There is one additional thing to keep in mind: you have to give a clue about a different ingredient each time. There will be 5 turns with clues, so you will give clues about 5 different ingredients. Your opponent will make sure to remind you if you try to give a second clue about the same ingredient.

2-Player Peeking at Ingredients in the Recipe Shelves

There is a slight change with the fingerprints and peeking at the ingredients. Look at the tea break table. There are 5 combinations of the clue type token and clue markers, and there is one of your fingerprints for each combination. You get it when you give the clue with that combination.

1. Give a clue about weight with the X marker.
2. Take the corresponding fingerprint in your colour and peek at one ingredient.
3. Take the tea break token in your colour from the emptied row.

When you get a fingerprint, you can use it to peek at one ingredient from the recipe shelves and mark it with that fingerprint. This means you will only be able to peek at the ingredients during the first 5 rounds when you are giving clues, and only if you keep giving different clues (with different combinations of clue type token and clue markers).

The 4 fingerprints at the side of the board cannot be used here. You will be able to use them if you get point tokens that allow you to peek at the ingredients.

2-Player Tea Breaks

Notice the tea break tokens in the rows and columns of the tea break table. You can get them if you remove all of your fingerprints from that row or column.

If that happens, immediately take your tea break token (or two tea break tokens, if you emptied a row and a column at the same time). The tea break or two tea breaks happen immediately, but the pact is just for you – you get to ask your opponent one question per each tea break you trigger. You ask them about one ingredient type in one of their recipes. You choose which one. They don't get to ask you any questions. As there are just two players, you can ask and answer the question out loud, without the discussion card. But if you prefer the discussion card, feel free to use it.

You will be able to take the maximum of 4 tea break tokens, if you give all of the different clue combinations. Using all of the combinations of token and markers to give clues will result in giving away more information than if you only used one type of clue. But it means that you get pacts, so you will also get more information in return, and pacts can be really useful if used strategically. So it's generally a good idea to do it.

You keep the tea break tokens and can use them later in the game to swap the pantry ingredients. This works the same as in the 3- and 4-player game, and both you and your opponent can reserve a row or a column.

2-Player Asking Clue Questions

From round 6 and up, you no longer give clues as Action 2. You ask clue questions about one of your opponent's ingredients. You can ask about any ingredient in any recipe, and your opponent has to answer truthfully.

Remember that you no longer collect the fingerprints from the tea break table, which means you don't peek at the ingredients anymore.

2-Player Point Tokens

They are the same tokens as in the 3- and 4-player game; however, you get them differently, as described in the 2-Player Discussion Phase section.

Each time you get a point token, take 3, choose 1, and return the other two to the point token discard pile. Replenish the pile as in the 3- and 4-player game.

If you decide to use a point token to peek at the hidden ingredients, use the 4 fingerprints from the side of the board. You cannot use any fingerprints from the tea break table, so you can peek at a maximum of 4 ingredients through the use of point tokens.

2-Player Discussion Phase

The discussion phase in a 2-player game is quite different from the 3- and 4-player game. There is no discussion phase after the first 5 rounds, while the players are giving clues. From round 6 and onwards, both players first ask the clue question, and then the discussion phase happens at the end of the round.

There are no think votes, only the unveil votes. The votes are stated out loud, as there is no need for secrecy. So there's no need for the discussion cards, but if you really want to use them, you can.

When the discussion phase starts, the first player in that round initiates it, and the players take turns making votes and counter-votes. They score points (and sometimes point tokens) for the correct votes, and lose points for the incorrect votes. They also gain point tokens if the other player does not counter their vote with a correct vote of their own.

Scoring:

• If your unveil vote is correct, your opponent reveals the ingredient. But they do not receive any point tokens! You gain 2 GP, plus an additional 1 GP if you can collect the ingredient from the pantry (rotate it by 45 degrees to mark it). Move your chef's hat accordingly. You can use your tea break token to swap the pantry ingredients before you make the vote.

  Additionally, move your think marker next to the point token pile one space to the right. If it lands on an empty space, nothing happens, and if it lands on a field marked with a point token, you get a point token. Take 3 point tokens and choose 1. If you don't have any more fields to the right, don't move the think marker and don't take any point tokens. This means that for the first correct unveil vote, you get only points on the score track. For the second and third consecutive correct vote, you gain 1 point token in addition to the points. And for the fourth consecutive correct guess and up, you gain only points on the score track again.

• If your unveil vote is not correct, your opponent does not reveal their ingredient. You lose 1 GP and move your chef's hat accordingly. Additionally, move your think marker next to the point token pile to the left-most space.

How votes and counter-votes work. The general principles are:

1. The first player has the option to initiate the discussion. If they don't, the second player can do it. If any of the players decline to initiate the discussion, they forfeit the right to do so for the whole discussion phase. They also lose the right to initiate the discussion if they make an incorrect guess.
2. If a player initiates the discussion and their vote is correct, they get the chance to score bonus point tokens. The other player has the option to counter-vote. If they don't, or their counter-vote is incorrect, the first player scores point tokens. If the second player counters with a correct vote of their own, the first player doesn't score bonus point tokens.
3. If the player who initiated the vote makes the correct vote, they can initiate another one.

To make things simple, the source gives this decision tree:

• [Start] Remove any rotated ingredients from the pantry and replenish.
• Initiate the discussion: Will player 1 initiate the discussion and make the vote?
  • Yes: Make the vote and resolve it (see scoring). Is the vote correct?
    • Yes: Read option A when resolving Counter the vote.
    • No: Player 1 gets X. Read option B when resolving Counter the vote.
  • No: Player 1 gets X. Does player 2 want to do it?
    • Yes: Player 2 becomes player 1. Go to [Start].
    • No: Discussion phase ends.
• Counter the vote: Will player 2 counter and make their own vote?
  • Yes: Make the vote and resolve it (see scoring). Is the vote correct?
    • Yes: Option A: Go to [Start]. Option B: Player 2 becomes player 1. Go to [Start].
    • No: Player 2 gets X. Option A: Player 1 gets 1 bonus point token (take 3 and choose 1). Go to [Start]. Option B: Discussion phase ends.

Important: "Will player" means "does the player want and is the player able to". "Player gets X" means this player is no longer able to initiate the discussion during this discussion phase. They can still counter, however.

When the discussion phase ends, reset both think markers next to the point token pile to the left-most space. Remove any rotated ingredients from the pantry and replenish. The new round begins with the new first player's turn.

2-Player End of the Game and Winner

When one of the players has correctly unveiled all of the opponent's ingredients, continue the game until the end of that discussion phase. Then, the game ends.

Reveal your point tokens and move your chef's hats accordingly. The player with the most GPs wins. In case of a tie, the player with more GPs on their point tokens wins.