In Ristorante Italia, each player owns an Italian restaurant, a restaurant that he wants to make better than everyone else's in order to have the most points at the end of the game. To do this, a player must set up the menu, draw recipe cards, go to the town markets to collect needed ingredients, improve and enlarge the restaurant, improve the staff's cooking skills (as indicated by the cook-o-meter), and otherwise do whatever is necessary to have the most exemplary restaurant in the city.
Ristorante Italia lasts four phases, with each phase being comprised of three rounds. In each round, players can perform two actions from this list: draw recipe/wine cards, buy ingredients, buy rooms, take a "personal touch" cube, buy a bonus card, or buy a cooking training course. Special events during the game include VIP visits, culinary reviewer visits and the final National Cooking Contest, in which players will compete with their best recipes.
To achieve victory, players can follow an economic strategy – focusing on a menu which provides a strong revenue – or a quality strategy, in which the restaurant features special recipes matched to unique wines. Both strategies can lead to victory, and a balanced strategy can also be a good idea.
Ristorante Italia, scheduled for release in October 2011, can be played in two versions: Recipes for Novice Cooks (lighter version) and Recipes for Great Chefs (complete version).
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
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References (from this video)
- thematic and approachable
- family-friendly gateway style
- not kept by everyone depending on appetite for euro-designs
- theme of running an Italian restaurant
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- set collection / route planning — manage recipes and customer orders to improve your restaurant
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- the production is incredible
- this is a long one there's a few games of my collection
- I'm keeping this one forever
- it's a great family game
- it's basically a social deduction game and it's really clever
References (from this video)
- Strong thematic hook for a euro-style game
- Artwork identified as appealing
- Heavier for later plays; can be dense
- Theme-intensive euro with interaction between factions
- Post-apocalyptic, survival-themed restaurant management
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Worker placement with area control feel — Management of shops to obtain ingredients for recipes and compete with rivals.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- the majority of these I got for free as review copies
- I'm interested in all of these games but most of them I haven't played yet
- I absolutely love when I dream
- this is the party version right here