Vietnam food game

by Vietanh Nguyen February 23, 2026

Story

Have you eaten?

My grandma passed away this year at the age of 100. I'll never forget the delicious Clam Rice she used to make for me. The clams were as tiny as grains of rice. Each bite offered a satisfying crunch of sweet ocean flavor, followed by the tender texture of Vietnamese rice. It was my perfect summer snack. I wish to keep a piece of my memory of her.

Ăn Cơm Chưa? 飲みに行く? 吃了吗 ? In many Asian countries, "Have you eaten?" isn’t just a greeting. It’s an invitation to share a meal and connect. Imagine a game where we could share our cherished food memories and bond with people from around the world.

The board game

Have You Eaten? is a card game inspired by the Five Elements, a fundamental concept in both Western and Eastern philosophy. In this game, every food is represented by a combination of five ingredients: grains, vegetables, meat, seafood, and wraps.

By combining these elemental ingredients, players can create any recipe imaginable. A Recipe card's value increases based on the number of ingredients required.

Begin with a compact game box and personalize your gameplay by mixing and matching cards from various decks. Expansions introduce new cuisines and popular restaurants, allowing you to create a truly unique culinary adventure.

What's in the box?

The entire game, including cards and playmat, conveniently fits into a compact mint-sized tin case, making it easy to take anywhere. Expansion foil packets provide complete decks ready to play or can be added to your existing collection for further customization.

The Starter Box contains a play mat, two decks, and five special Meal cards.

How to play

The game offers multiple rulesets to suit different play styles, from fast-paced family competition to strategic chef challenges where players aim to cook the most complex dishes and outwit each other.

Rule 1 - Food Solitaire | Age 3+ | 1-4 Players

Everyone plays with the same deck of Ingredient cards, but you each race to grab Recipe cards that match those ingredients. Whoever eats the most food (points) wins.

Kids love this rule because they can play as well as adults can. Players also learn new food quickly because they have to scream the name to claim the card.

Rule 2 - Food Fight | Age 5+ | 2 Players

Competitive games for two. Become the food champion by winning two of three meals: breakfast, lunch, and dinner! Apply all your card game tactics of crafting, feinting, trap setting, and risktaking.

The rules are simple: Three meals. Place ingredients for points. Combine for more. First to reach goal wins.

Whether you prefer sushi or phở, the real winners are those who always ask, “What’s for dinner?”

Deckbuilding

You can mix and match cards from different decks to craft your unique strategy and favorite food. There are only three rules in building a deck:

Have at least 18 Ingredient and Recipe cards.
Have one Special Meal card.
No two Recipe cards can share the same exact ingredients (maintain variety!).

Following are a few examples of decks and their strategy:

The Hanoi deck (included in the starter box)

The effects of the Vegetarian meal card on other cards

The Hanoi deck is versatile. You can win a meal using one Recipe card Phở by combining three ingredients for a total of six points. Or, for a quick lead, play Xôi Gấc (red sticky rice) with two Grain cards for an easy four points.

To fully utilize the Hanoi deck's strengths, use Vegetarian Meal card to cancel meat/fish points. For example, play Xôi Gấc and Bánh Cuốn Thanh Trì while canceling most of your opponent's points, especially if they build a meat-heavy deck.

The Mien Trung expansion deck

The effects of the Feast meal card on other cards

Miền Trung (Central Vietnam) is famous for its diverse and delicious snacks any time during the day. The Recipe cards for snacks often use Wraps along with another ingredient. This makes them ideal for players who want to score points quickly.

The Feast card is the perfect strategy for the Miền Trung deck. It cancels out the points of all ingredient cards, motivating both players to focus solely on cooking Recipe cards in that lane. This reflects the lavish feasts enjoyed by the last Nguyễn dynasty in Huế, where the focus was on the final dish rather than the individual ingredients.

The Japanese expansion deck

The effects of the Raw / Rare Meal card on other cards

Japan has many different foods, some from Japan and some are fusion inspired by other cuisines. Fresh seafood can be made into sushi. Ramen and curry are popular family meals and good cards in this game.

The Rare Meal card makes seafood and meat worth more points if they aren’t used in a recipe yet. But be careful, this helps both players, so other players might also get more points.

Photo art

Playtesters and backers have often asked why we chose food photography over hand-drawn illustrations. Many assume that illustrations are the standard for handcrafted board games and might appear more appetizing. Through research and experimentation, we've learned the following:

Yummy is subjective

When someone illustrates a dish, it reflects their personal understanding and preferences. We noticed that many colorful illustrations looked yummy to people from similar cultures but less so to those from different backgrounds. Our aim is to encourage players to explore new cuisines. In our playtesting, food photography with highlighted ingredients actually sparked the most curiosity among players.

Our cross-cultural playtesters were drawn to the details in the food photos and expressed interest in learning about the dishes.

Favorite food is personal

With just a phone, I could snap a photo of the phở restaurant that I often eat with my brother. I could also call my mom today, telling her how much I miss her Bún Bò Huế, and ask her to send her cooking to me via Messenger. The photos of my grandma's Clam Rice along with other precious memories were what made this "Have you Eaten?" game.

You can do the same. If you choose the last reward and share 5 photos of your favorite food with us, we will make a special expansion deck just for you.

Shipping

Following are the estimated shipping price for a core game set*

United States - $5
Vietnam - $2
Rest of the world - $9

* Adding add-ons might change the shipping fee.

Fun for all ages

The game was showcased at the Hanoi Game Festival on 9/14/2024 to hundreds of audiences. The participants rated the games 8/10 on Gameplay and 10/10 on Content that makes them want to learn more about both the game and the food inside the game.