By Ian Darwin

“It’s all the anxiety and excitement of a professional kitchen, minus the burning and drug abuse.” And just like that, I was ON BOARD.

This is Ian speaking, and I was particularly excited about Chef’s Table because the only restaurant experience I’ve ever had was one terrible night volunteering as a dishwasher for my buddy’s restaurant. After two hours of failing at that most menial of kitchen jobs, I knew this world was not for me.

We have a LOT of projects in the works here at Tunnel Monster HQ, but we are finding that we really enjoy engineering high-pressure cooperative experiences. Chef’s Table provides exactly the player experience we enjoy so much; everything’s on the line, you’ve got JUST enough resources to make it work unless you (YES YOU) screw it all up for everyone. Just like you always do, with everything in your life, you absolute failure. But wait! Your teammate clutches up for you with a buzzer beater Grill dice roll and- BOOM – you’re back in it baby! Your turn’s up next, you’ve got 3 actions left and 2 unfinished plates, your next move determines whether the last 8 minutes have been an utter waste of time or the greatest achievement your team has ever had.

As long as you play to your chef’s strengths, leave room for your teammates to do what they do best, and keep your hubris in check, then your team succeeds and god damn it feels good to deliver each round.

CHEF’S TABLE @ ORIGINS GAME FAIR 2022

We want to say a HUGE thank you to everyone who joined us in the Unpublished Ally and tried out Chef’s Table. We really appreciate the feedback we got both at our booth in the Exhibitor’s Hall and from the play-test sessions we had.

It was incredibly affirming to see how much the game visually and narratively resonated with people. Leo was quick to notice that everyone who used to work in a kitchen got REALLY excited about the game, while every single person that still works at one ran away from us as fast as they could. I guess that means the game strikes a chord!

We’ll make another post about the fair in general, but overall, the event was an incredible experience for us. We met so many awesome creators and industry professionals who are all so willing to share their experiences and hard-learned lessons.

It’s nice to know we’ve found a niche where there’s room for every person with a good idea. Everyone is united against the common enemy of insane shipping costs, so it felt good to know we are not alone in our struggles and to learn from people who have explored every avenue of production in pursuit of putting their game on someone’s table.

You’ll be seeing a lot of posts from us later in the year as we continue to refine and improve Chef’s Table and eventually bring it to Gamefound for crowdfunding. We know we have a game that people will love, and we’re eager to provide it as soon as possible. Stay tuned for updates!