- BGG rank
- BGG #22,855
- BGG rating
- 5.9
Tark Mees Taskus
- 1–10 players
- 15 min
- Complexity 1.0/5
- 2014
- BGG rank
- BGG #28,584
- BGG rating
- 5.4
Food Chain
2009
Rules assistance for Food Chain
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 2–4 players
- 30 min
- 8+
- Complexity 1.2/5
Rules assistant for Food Chain
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Food Chain is a board game released in 2009 for 2–4 players, 30 minutes per game, and ages 8 and up. It was designed by Meelis Looveer and its main mechanics are Hand Management and Open Drafting.
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About the game
By playing cards in Food Chain, players create natural food chains, hunting and eating in the forest and competing against one another for the best dishes. In game terms, each player holds four cards in hand, and four cards are placed in the middle of the table, which represents the forest. The card deck has twelve different types of animals/objects, in addition to special cards like the hunter, who can hunt any other card, and angry bees, which scare cards out of the forest. Players take turns in clockwise order and can choose one of five actions each turn: Hunt the food to create natural food chains Eat the food Leave the food Swap one card in hand for one in the forest Pass by discarding a card and drawing a new one The game ends when the deck runs out, and passing is the only option available to all players; alternatively, the game ends when one player has lost all of his tokens to opponents. All players then add up their points from the top-left corner of each card, and also each token scores one point. The player with the most points wins.
Categories
Mechanics
Designers
Publishers
- (Self-Published)
- Dino Toys s. r. o.
- Goldmerk
- G3
- Brain Games
Questions and answers
Food Chain supports 2–4 players according to the catalogue. This range comes from the publisher’s listed player count, so the game can be set up for any group size within it. Some setups, rules and scoring details may still vary by player count, so check your edition’s rulebook for the exact configuration.
The listed playing time for Food Chain is 30 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists Food Chain for ages 8 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
Food Chain has a complexity rating of 1.2 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a light game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
Food Chain belongs to these categories: Card Game, Animals, and Educational. Its main mechanics are Hand Management and Open Drafting. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of Food Chain are: Meelis Looveer. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists Food Chain as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.