From a fast-paced roguelike deckbuilder to one where decisions can be considered, A la Card marks the last game I’m looking at during Tiny Teams this year. Developed by Shook Loose, this card-based cooking game has a lot of strategy to it when it comes to keeping those runs going. And, from the demo, it’s another that roguelike deckbuilder fans should keep on their radar.

Starting out with a burger van, there’s a few customers to serve each round. Every food item card comes in one of four ingredient types, indicated by an icon and its colour. These are the portions. Each card drawn will give one portion of its type to use when serving. Cards can require more than one portion to play, so that’s already the start of the strategy needed. Each card also has a calorie value, with cards needing to be played until the calorie value of the customer is matched.

That is the very basics of the cards. There’s also the abilities of each card to consider. These abilities can be simple, such as adding a meat portion to storage. Or more complex such as creating a clone of an ingredient, but setting both calorie and portion value to 0. All cards have a trigger for when that effect comes into play, with the standard being when that card is prepped. Others can be when a card is drawn, trashed, or left in the hand while other ingredients are played.

As there’s only so much space on the serving counter, recipes are available to reduce the number of cards on it while retaining calorie count. Tags are another part of every ingredient card, with recipes looking for those tags to create one. Techniques can also be utilised. These take up no space on the serving window, granting their effects to then immediately go in the trash. Technique cards can be very helpful, with effects such as buffing calories, creating clones, and adding portions to storage.

After each round of serving, a new card can be added to the deck. One or more random effects can then come into play. These can change up cards in interesting ways, such as adding new tags to a recipe card, or changing the portion type of an ingredient. Close to the end of the current path, a shop will be available to spend the earnings on new cards or trinkets. The base pay is $5 per round, with recipe use increasing that. Which is another reason to utilise them.

The final challenge of each path is a boss. This is a named character who has a high calorie count and bonus conditions. Conditions can be found with regular customers, though such are usually just likes and dislikes for certain portions. Bosses will have conditions such as reducing the calorie value of all cards, or attracting more customers when served. There is a lot to be considered, more so than regular customers. But succeed, and a trinket can be unlocked providing a permanent effect during that run.

A la Card is a great roguelike deckbuilder, keeping me engaged with serving customers with all the strategy it holds. I’ve been successful enough to serve three bosses in one particular run, which I see as a great victory. If you are someone who likes considering moves before taking them, A la Card is absolutely one you should keep an eye out for when it releases.

Images Taken From:
A la Card | PC