Make matches to collect cards. Battle opponents with your cards to score points!
Set Up
Starting Hand
2-4 players: 4 cards each player.
5-6 players: 3 cards each player.
Grid and Deck
Place 16 cards face-down in a 4x4 grid.
Put the remaining cards in a deck next to the grid.
Going First
Player with the nearest birthday goes first, then proceed clockwise.
Taking a Turn
Match then Battle (or Pass)!
That completes a turn.
Chow (Match)
Time to gather your fighting food friends!
Flip over 2 cards to find a match according to faction (not their number).
They Match!
If both cards are from the same faction, collect one card or pile of cards directly / diagonally adjacent to either of the matching cards, not the match itself.
That card (or stack of cards!) gets added to your hand.
Replace the empty slot with a face-down card from the deck.
Cover up the match with 2 new face-down cards from the deck.
They Don’t Match
If the cards do not match, do not collect new cards and move to the Battle step.
I Don’t Have Any Cards!
If you have no cards when you begin the matching phase, flip over three cards instead of two. If any two of the three cards match then you’ve got a match!
Pow! (Battle)
You can choose to Pow! (battle) after the matching phase of your turn.
Select an opponent!
Select a player to challenge (they must have at least one card).
Attack
Lay down one or more cards of the same faction face up to attack.
Defend
Your opponent must play at least one in defence.
The fight is on!
Whoever plays the most cards wins.
If you win, collect all cards played by both players and set them aside; those are now your points and those cards can no longer be played.
You can only battle once per turn.
What if we have the same number of cards?
If the same number of cards are played, whoever has the higher total number of points on their cards wins the battle.
What if the points tie, too?
If you end with the same number of cards, and the same number of points added up, you tie. You each take back your cards and add them to your points.
They are now out of play.
Counter
Countering allows you to add additional cards to the battle as long as they are from the same faction, or if they are wild cards.
You can only counter if your opponent lays a higher numbered card than you. Both players can counter as many times as they would like.
Wild Cards
This card will match with any faction and can be used in combat with any faction
Team Up Wild Cards
This card will match with any faction and can be used to play up to two factions in one round of combat!
There’s no one to fight..
If no other players have cards when it’s your turn to Pow (Battle), you can choose to Battle the Board. To Battle the Board:
Select and lay down only one card from your hand.
The player to your left then flips over one card from the grid.
If you choose to counter, the left player flips another card in an attempt to match.
If you win, add the cards in play to your points pile.
If you lose, shuffle the played cards into the draw pile.
Ending the Game
Once the deck is emptied everyone has one final turn to Chow (Match) and Pow (Battle).
At the end of the final turn
Each player tallies up the point value on each card you have set aside.
(Cards in your hand do not contribute to your final score)
Whoever has the most points is the winner!
What if we tie?
At the end of the game, in the event of two players having the same number of points, the player who has collected the most cards wins.
What if we tie on both points and number of cards?
If you both have the same number of cards, each of you draw a random face-down card from the grid and whoever draws the card with the higher number wins.
Alternate Gameplay
If you want to crank things up a notch!
Special Hot Sauce Rules
All remaining cards in your hand are worth negative points at the end of the game!
Three Course Meal Brawl
Still craving more? Play the game three times and tally the points from all three rounds!
Bonus Online Rules
Ooo Spicy!
Battle Buffet
During your turn, you don’t have the option to Pow (Battle).
Once everyone has taken a turn to Chow (Match) once, all players must Pow (Battle) at once in one big showdown.
Same rules for a regular Pow (Battle), but all players lay down their card(s) at once.
Winner takes all!
Pick on Your Own Size
When it comes to Pow (Battle), you can only select the player with the most cards in their hand. If multiple players tie for most cards in their hand, you get to choose.