Food Truck Race: A Simultaneous-play Cooking Game

One massive thank you!
over 1 year ago – Thu, May 29, 2025 at 08:06:19 PM

Just... wow.

The absolute best part of designing a board game is bringing people together through play. This campaign went so incredibly well and I have you to thank. Thank you for your support, your trust, and your belief in this project. 

Can you believe the progress we made?

✅ Hard Mode
✅ Sous Chef upgrade tile
✅ Wood grocery discs
✅ Online Orders upgrade tile
✅ Kids Meal order card
✅ Wood (screenprinted) Hangriest Customer standee
✅ BYOB upgrade tile
✅ Screenprinted food truck meeple
✅ Multi-compartment box organizer
✅ Double-layer, recessed player boards
✅ Printed box interior

Ruthie, thanks for supporting this dream and being my ride or die. 
Chris, thanks for being a champion for Food Truck Race.
To the friends and family (too many to name) who patiently played bad or imperfect prototypes while I figured it out. I hope the process was as much fun for you as it was for me. 

We're making a board game, I'm ready if you are.

Select late pledges will be open through the weekend and pledge manager update is coming soon. 

Let's get cooking, y'all,
Gregory

Update five, orders piling high!
over 1 year ago – Wed, May 28, 2025 at 07:19:23 PM

24 hours to go!

Y'all, I cannot believe I'm writing to more than 1000 chefs today.

I started this journey in 2022 when friends played an over-complicated prototype and said, "I can figure out how to win this game, but winning isn't enough, I need a motivation to figure it out." That sparked a 2-year process of refining story, mechanics, and art—hundreds of drafts—until the game felt true to the real experience of launching a food truck.

And now it is this simple...

Imagine you're a food truck chef: no space to move, no money to upgrade, no time to finish it all—and way too many picky eaters. You'll have to find a way to cook through this puzzly engine builder.

Now let's spice things up!

As a free bonus this summer, every backer will get a print & play copy of Food Truck Race: the trick-taking game — a cooperative “call your sous chef” card game where chefs use trick combos to plate orders. Think The Crew meets Euchre. Your feedback will help refine the final version later this year. It’s a small thank-you — and I hope you’ll have as much fun playing as I’ve had writing it.

That's all for now, see you tomorrow at the finish line!

Let's get cooking,
Gregory

Update four: upgraded player boards!!!
over 1 year ago – Thu, May 22, 2025 at 06:15:08 AM

Just one week left!

If there were ever a time to tell a friend about a fun new game you found on Kickstarter, NOW’S THE TIME!

We’ve unlocked a truckload of stretch goals—and there’s one more big surprise! 

The factory just let me know: if we can increase orders a little, we can lower the cost of double-layer player boards (with nesting kitchen upgrade tiles)! That means they’re now our $80K stretch goal. It’s within reach—let’s grab it!

🤞Double-layer boards have long been a dream for Food Truck Race, and I need your help getting there. 🚚🚛

✅ Hard Mode
✅ Sous Chef upgrade tile
✅ Wood grocery discs
✅ Online Orders upgrade tile
✅ Kids Meal order card
✅ Wood (screenprinted) Hangriest Customer standee
✅ BYOB upgrade tile
☑️ Screenprinted food truck meeple ($70K)
☑️ Multi-compartment box organizer ($75K)
☑️ Double-layer, recessed player boards ($80K)
☑️ Printed box interior ($85K)
☑️ Linen finish cards ($90K)
⭐️ And 5 more goals!

Quick bites for the week ahead:

• Backerkit pledge manager opens in June so we can fast-track summer production
• EU & Canadian shipping costs are being renegotiated—early signs point to additional savings
• I’m prototyping Food Truck Race: The Trick-Taking Game! If you want to playtest in June/July, drop a comment—first come, first served
• Going to Kublacon in San Jose this weekend? Come say hi and play a round of Food Truck Race with me!

Let's have a great final week and as always...

...let's get cooking, y'all,
Gregory

Update three: tacos, please!
over 1 year ago – Thu, May 15, 2025 at 05:48:45 PM

Stretch goals, tariffs, translations, secret projects, and previews

With just 2 weeks left in the campaign, we've raised $62K from over 800 backers! That’s huge, and I’m so grateful for your support.

Now’s the time to spread the word—please share this project with friends! You’re not only helping build this game, you're passing on huge savings to your fellow chefs.

Holy stretch goals, Batman! Look what we've cooked up together:

✅ Hard Mode
✅ Sous Chef upgrade tile
✅ Wood grocery discs
✅ Online Orders upgrade tile
✅ Kids Meal order card
✅ Wood (screenprinted) Hangriest Customer standee
☑️ BYOB upgrade tile ($65K)
☑️ Screenprinted food truck meeple ($70K)
☑️ Linen finish cards ($90K)
☑️ Double-layer, recessed player boards ($100K)
⭐️ And 8 more hot ‘n ready goals!

With your help, we can unlock them all.

I’m watching the US tariff situation closely and making plans in case there's relief near fulfillment. I'm avoiding speculation — but want to reiterate my commitment to getting you the best value possible.

I've secured Italian & German translators for the digital FTR manual. I'm currently working on Spanish & French and expect to release versions sequentially this summer. 

Also the rumors are true. I am working on the Food Truck Race trick-taking game. It is early stages but it is showing early signs of fun and features competitive and cooperative modes in a travel-friendly box! More to come...

Finally, If you haven't seen already - here is one of my favorite previews. I had a blast working with Adam on this project and thought it would be fun to share here. 

Bon appetit!

Update two, don't forget to chew!
over 1 year ago – Thu, May 08, 2025 at 08:22:07 AM

Now we're cooking!

Hi all,

I’m settling in for the final three weeks of the campaign (short and sweet—spread the word!) and wanted to send a quick update before we keep turning up the heat.

• As I write this, we’re just $2,000 away from unlocking the Online Orders upgrade—a personal favorite. It lets chefs hold a 4th order card, adding a buffer for the Hangriest Customer.
• Starting now, I’ll post weekly updates every Thursday, but I’m always in the kitchen—reach me anytime in the comments or at Gregory @ FoodTruckRaceGame.com.
• I’m also heading back to the printer with a better sense of quantities, and I’ll share updates as those conversations simmer.
• Meanwhile, I’m still taste-testing with friends and at game shops across the U.S.—I’ll be serving up photos here! This one’s from the awesome SF shop, Gamescape, just last week.
• I'll be at Kublacon Game Convention on Memorial Day weekend - wearing the FTR tee shirt! If you're there, come say hi and let's play a game!

Below is a terrific Kickstarter preview from Board Game Rundown. I like this video - especially the thoughtful notes about red-green color blindness. The final wood components will be colorblind-friendly (those in the prototypes were small-batch from Etsy makers, just for taste-testing). Final ingredients will look better and play better.

Okay - that's it from me today. 

I want to end with a bit of gratitude - thanks for your support and interest in Food Truck Race! Looking forward to this journey with you! 

Let's get cooking,

Gregory