Cookard is a cooking game made by Panitia Gamedev and Cliffbite Games. You’ll be running a card-based restaurant to serve customers, manage ingredients, and even hire workers! So, what’s it like?
Cooking with Cards?
Can you imagine going to a restaurant, but the chefs and waiters are playing cards to serve you instead? That’s Cookard, a game by Panitia GameDev and Cliffbite Games that’s free on Steam.
But this isn’t just some ordinary card game! Here you’ll be whisking flour into dough, heating up ovens, and even pumping water all through cards! Every ingredient and utensil has its own card, and you need to stack them correctly to finish a dish on time.
Overall, the concept is simple. Stack ingredients on the right utensil card, then click until it’s done. But the real pressure comes from impatient customers who don’t want to wait for their orders.
It feels like playing Overcooked mixed with Stacklands. That’s what makes Cookard unique. It may look cute, but it can also make you panic like crazy during rush hour.
Kitchen Full of Cards
Cookard’s gameplay is all about interactions between cards. Every dish has a recipe that requires specific steps. For example, making dough before baking it.
All of this is done by dragging ingredient cards onto utensil cards, then clicking until the process is complete. If you’re confused, worry not, there’s a Recipes tab you can check for guidance. Over time, new recipes unlock, adding more variety and of course complexity to the menu.
Ingredients can be obtained through store cards by placing a coin card on top of them. If your stock piles up and goes unused, you can sell it or even trade it for other items.
That’s why stock management is super important! This system makes your kitchen feel alive, because every little decision has a big impact on the game’s rhythm.
Also read! Selera Nusantara: Chef Story – Cooking Indonesian Cuisine on a Touchscreen
Impatient Customers!
One of the most nerve-racking parts of Cookard is when customers arrive. Drag a Customer card onto a Table card, and they’ll immediately show the dish they want.
You need to quickly prepare the order according to the recipe before they get tired of waiting. Place the finished dish card onto the Customer card, and voila, they leave satisfied. But remember, they won’t wait forever, so bad timing can leave them disappointed!
At the start, everything is manual. Click the whisk, click the oven, click the water pump, it really makes your hands tired. Luckily, as you progress, you can hire hamsters as workers.
The funny thing is, these hamsters originally come as customers too, but later become your kitchen staff. You can put them on the Running Wheel to generate electricity and start automating some processes. It feels absurd but also hilarious, especially when you realize your customers have turned into full time employees.
Cute but Chaotic
Even though the gameplay is full of pressure, Cookard has a super chill visual vibe. All the cards are drawn in a simple style, with pastel colors and a lighthearted tone.
Even when your kitchen is in chaos, the cute art style helps calm things down. From ingredient cards to hamster characters, everything has a cartoonish charm.
Also read! The Chef’s Shift: When Keyboard Becomes the Main Weapon!
On one hand, it stresses you out because orders pile up, but on the other hand, everything looks adorable. Even turning customers into workers doesn’t feel weird thanks to the art direction.
A Unique Mix
Cookard is a local game that dares to mix genres into one unique package. At first glance, it might look like just another cooking game. But once you play, you’ll feel a mix of strategy, time management, and chaos.
Frantic pace of Overcooked combined with the card gameplay of Stacklands really sets it apart. Pressure from impatient customers keeps your heart racing, but the cute cartoon visuals balance it out.
The devs’ quirky ideas make Cookard stand out in a way no other game can. For anyone looking for a free, lightweight, but fun and fresh game, Cookard definitely deserves a spot on your wishlist!
Download Cookard Now!
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