A few weeks ago I was at a video game exhibition at the Sabbatical Gallery for the Game-A-Week Showcase.

All the games were made in one week and then showcased for all to play. It was such a fun event! It was there where I played Fire Noodle Eating Champs by Sara aka wombokgames. It's 1v1 noodle-eating battle to eat the most noodles. It was a great little micro-game with charming artwork.

The next day I kept thinking about the game and came up with a board game inspired by it on a long train ride to Frankston. I reached out to Sara to collaborate on this project.

The game took around 3 solid days over a 2 week period to make from concept, playtesting and release.

Ideation

I came up with the basic game idea of a dice-based game. This came from the thematic core of the videogame and how to tie that in with a board game mechanic. The core idea was to roll dice and match the cards before the other player as fast as possible.

The videogame provided a scaffold on the design direction and target audience and was a matter of ideating game mechanics that would translate well in a 1v1 noodle-eating battle theme.

Another limitation that helped with the scope was thinking about the target audience.

What would it take to be an MVP and what would a more polished product idea would look like?

Prototype 1

A draft ruleset with a core idea of matching dice to cards to eat noodles was created! This was used to quickly ideate and play-test ideas.

Prototype 2

After developing a solid idea, I reach out to Sara from Wombok Games for art and collab. I shared the vision and what I wanted the art to have. Prototype 2 was made and the noodle topping rules were added to the game refining what worked in prototype 1.

Playtesting

Rounds of playtesting began with friends and family

Goals of playtesting

Prior to testing I already had certain expectations set.

1. The audience I can get to playtest is not my target audience
2. I want to ensure the core mechanic is easily understood in under 5 mins and engaging. (Pro tip: Fun is never a good metric)
3. How long does a game take to play
4. Does the game make thematic sense?

Note on playtest

• The spicy face on the die didn’t have a purpose outside being blank.
• There was no sense of progress
• Winning 1 round is too fast of an end game. Add rounds of play or figure out ways to add a sense of progression.

Prototype 3

Added different card levels and a catch-up mechanic to the game. I also experimented with different dice combinations and cards but decide to keep it simple and streamline the core experience that can be easily printed.

Initially, I had chopsticks as a component for the winner to grab. But to save on costs it changed into a card and replaced it with a more thematic trophy.

I also added an eating mechanic that after matching the cards you must roll them again to eat. And if it's too spicy you have to roll again to successfully eat!

I reached Sara and she added different art to the levels of spiciness.

Version 1.0 the Print and Play Edition

The game is at a place where I'm happy to release it. I feel like the game is in a solid direction.

Download, print and play the game! Now available on Itch and Gumroad.

Feel free to leave comments and feedback.

I plan to further develop this game and someday come out with a printed copy!

Follow ToToTam for updates on the board game.

Play the orginal videogame by wombokgames.