Happy Sunday, happy bakers!
We have some fun things to share with you in this stellar update! So strap on your aprons and get ready…the kitchen is about to get HOT!
Gameplay Addition
As the developers of Sweet Mess, we still can't get enough of it. We love playing the game every chance we get. We've heavily demoed the game at several conventions this year and in this time, a few fun conversations began.
One of the…sweet…things about Sweet Mess is the action selection system. It provides a fun experience through (both!) rewarding and tense choices. But, not every player is the same. And that’s ok. So we thought we might accommodate different preferences and play styles. Here’s what we added to achieve this…
The New Apprentice Chef Variant
If you are familiar with gameplay from the Sweet Mess’s campaign page, then you know how the action selection mechanism works. There are 4 actions, you choose one and take it, and once you have taken all 4 of them, you clear the markers and all 4 are free to take again. This is good. It’s strategic, it’s tense, and it’s fun.
***The graphics of the player boards/trayz now have a « resting » area for your action markers. This is the pink/salmon colored spaces.
(standard game's action tile)
We have now "cut" the action tile out of the board to give us this Apprentice Chef variant gameplay option. On the back side of this tile (it flips in glorious Game Trayz fashion) is the Apprentice Chef variant side. Take a look!
(Apprentice Chef action tile)
Here's how it works. With this variant, you may now choose to use an action that you have already taken, even before you have taken all 4 actions. To do this, you must pay one Baking Bonus Point (BB/coin) to flip your action marker over to it's opposite side (white top) and take that action again. If you want to take an already used action again where the marker is already white, you must pay 2 BB's. Finally, when you have taken all 4 actions (all 4 markers are in the top holes of the tile), then you will be rewarded with 1 BB!
This is the Apprentice Chef variant! It is a more lenient way to play, if you so desire, that will allow you to work your way up to the standard game. Of course, there is also the
Beginner Baker variant for young and/or new gamers! In this variant, there is only the one action (
Basic Pick - leftmost) on a separate tile that does not use action markers.
*Thanks to David Belk (drb1979) for starting the conversation that led to the implementation of this Apprentice Chef variant.
(full flipping action!)
Component Samples
We received some samples of the ingredients and the action markers from the manufacturer. They came out great!
These wood samples don't include the chef hat markers, but we will have some samples of them soon. Stay tuned for that!
***Like the action markers, the player boards have been redesigned to also include resting spots for the chef hat markers. (See tray image above)
Game Trayz
And here it is. The big kabang. Everything in its glory! Well,
mostly everything.
(Whoa!) *design in progress
This is one box that is chock-full of goodness! Let's take a closer look!
As you can see, the solo components, the hand tokens (variant), and the judges tray with art board (The Judges Table expansion) have a nice spot to sit in the box’s base tray. These are all housed under the player trays.
Recipe Race
Recipe Race is a game that utilizes the ingredient tokens and the BBs (coins). These components, along with Recipe Race’s own recipe and challenge cards, will be stored in the Recipe Race box. And during games of Sweet Mess, the ingredient tokens will be ready to go and organized in their tray. Here’s to saving time!
The Recipe Race box will feature an elegant design that utilizes a magnet clasp flipping lid and a window with the Sweet Mess logo.
The lid will flip back and tuck under the box to elevate the back of it at an angle, giving players easy access to the ingredient tokens!
The Judges Table Expansion
Here is a close up look at the judges table tray. The art board that pictures the judges (double-sided) will come out of its slot and fit into the tray with the cards from this expansion for easy storage.
Production
Things are going well. Production prep is almost complete and we will have a full sample to show off soon! We are behind our original schedule, but we are trying to regain as much ground as possible. The delivery of Sweet Mess will more than likely be late, but we are trying to make that delay be as minimal as possible.
We think you will like the changes and additions made. You will love the final product and know the time was worth it! We are making sure that every square millimeter of this game is top notch and that it will be a complete work of art!
WOW! That about covers it for now! We will have some more updates coming soon, the first being an update that will break down the different chef abilities. That will be fun! See you then!
Now take a breath and go bake some brownies!
Big Kid Games
Chef-o-tron 4000k doesn't play around in the kitchen!
