The county fair is up and running, which means that it is time for the Blue Ribbon Bake Battle. Players are contestants at the fair vying for blue ribbons, using time tested recipes. To win a blue ribbon, contestants must be the first to gather ingredients needed to complete a recipe. Beware though, while players are gathering ingredients, competitors are using every trick in the cookbook to try to stop them, including swiping ingredients, and submarining recipes. In the high-stakes world of competitive cooking nothing is off the table.
Object of the game:
Collect ingredients needed to complete a recipe, while trying to stop other players from doing the same. Players can acquire needed ingredients by drawing from a draw pile, by drawing from a discard pile, or by using an action card. With action cards, players can help themselves or they can hinder their opponents. The first player to successfully gather the needed supplies for a recipe is awarded a blue ribbon. Collect enough blue ribbons to be named the County’s Best Baker.
The game includes four types of cards, Recipes, Ingredients, Actions, and Wild Cards.
Recipes:
Each deck will include 20 unique recipes. Each recipes requires 5 ingredients to complete. Needed ingredients are listed both by name and by icon. Some ingredients will be required across recipes, however, no two recipes will require all the same ingredients.
Ingredients:
Each deck will include a total of 60 ingredients. There are 10 different ingredients, each included 6 times. Ingredients include Baking Powder, Brown Sugar, Butter, Eggs, Milk, Salt, Vanilla, Vegetable Oil, Wheat Flour, and White Sugar. Each ingredient is used in 10 recipes.
Actions:
Each deck will include a total of 36 actions. There are 6 different actions, each included 6 times. Available actions include Rob the Cupboard, Dumpster Dive, Go to Market, Potluck, Spike the Punch, and Clear the Shelf. Actions provide the opportunity to either help oneself or to hinder an opponent.
Wilds:
Each deck will include a total of 4 wild cards. Wild cards can be used in the place of any ingredient to complete a recipe, however only one wild card can be used per recipe.
Proposed Card Backs:
There will be three different card types, playing cards, recipe cards, and blue ribbons. Playing cards will include ingredients, actions, and wilds. Blue ribbons will be given to players when they have successfully completed a recipe.
Notice:
All graphic designs as illustrated are prototype. The renderings included here are provided to give context to gameplay. Final design, both graphic and style, is subject to change.
Our Story:
GeWaLy Art is an independent, small business owned and operated by Gerald and Jill Lynch. They started as Art and Craft providers. Initially they had art offerings on Fine Art America in the form of stipple and pointillism, art and architecture. They later transitioned that body of work to Etsy; their first shop on Etsy was called “GeWaLy Art”. A second Etsy shop was opened with offerings that included custom made / custom designed quilts. The shop was opened in honor of Jill’s grandmother, Stella, and it was appropriately called “Stella’s Legacy”. While going down the quilted path, it became clear that the artistic style, stipple, or pointillism, that was the basis of GeWaLy Art, could easily transfer to the quilting world by way of pixelation. Eventually they produced several pixel quilt patterns, and transformed the first Etsy shop into a sister entity to Stella’s Legacy. Ultimately, they created two shops, a quilt shop, and a quilt pattern shop. Both shops are still alive on Etsy, and both retain a 5-star review rating.
Gerald also had a background in the computer world and over time became familiar with several programming or scripting languages, including VB, Java, and several web-based languages, e.g. HTML. With an art background and some knowledge of computer languages, Gerald decided to dive into the arena of PC Gaming. Several PC games, puzzle and maze related, were created, including a popular escape game called Swiggart’s Last Will. Moving into PC Gaming seemed like a natural next step for the business. Many of the games produced by GeWaLy Art can be found on common gaming venues, such as Steam, Itch.io, and OperaGx. Some of the games are available for a nominal fee while others were provided free-to-play, simply for fun.
Dealing with quilts and patterns, and eventually PC Games, the creative juices inspired GeWaLy Art to go to the realm of playing card games. Both Jill and Gerald appreciate games, board and card. Every weekend they have a designated Family Game Night with Jill’s mother, where members of the family, siblings, offspring, in-laws, etc., gather to play games and enjoy each other’s company. They also enjoy reality TV in its many genres. One genre that they find both fascinating and entertaining is cooking, or baking, competitions. A couple of their favorite TV shows include Crime Scene Kitchen and Master Chef Jr. It was this combination of interests and entertainment, games and cooking, that inspired Blue-Ribbon Bake Battle.
Blue-Ribbon Bake Battle:
Blue-Ribbon Bake Battle, formerly known as Blue-Ribbon Bake-Off, is a card game about baking. The idea was conceived several years ago. Rules were outlined and proposals for card design elements were provided. Concepts were shared with various other individuals, family, friends, associates, etc., to hone gameplay and improve game aesthetic. A practice deck was created and provided, with the rules, to a test group for blind testing. More changes were made. Eventually, to generate buzz and get additional feedback, GeWaLy Art created a single-player PC version of the game (single player against three computer players) to give potential players a feel for game mechanics. The game is currently on Steam, Itch.io, and OperaGx, and it is coming soon to Google Play, all free-to-play. In the time that the game has been available on the stated venues, it has received hundreds of plays with several players providing feedback. On Steam, the feedback has been mixed, with three-fourths of the players giving it a positive review. While three-fourths isn't ideal, an important consideration is that of those that played the game, the average time played was nearly 38 hours, meaning that once players started playing, it was a game they couldn’t put down.
Come, join the journey!
If you are interested in learning more about our organization or our products, send us an email, we would be happy to add you to our contact list. They will only use the list to provide updates and announcements for current, and perhaps future, projects and campaigns.