Rajive's market booth is the great attraction in town. Top chefs from all over the country jostle for his spices, creating new spice blends and thus setting the latest gourmet trend.
The haggling follows a special ritual: they throw roasted bread chips skillfully into spice bowls with a flick of the wrist. In doing so, with great pleasure they also shoot off chips of unwelcome competitors. But not until the chefs have revealed their offers, the chips show their true nature.
Who will taste victory with respect to the coveted spices? Happy is the one who has been able to use clever tactics...
Components
Setup
Fasten the gameboard with the two clamps and lay it in the middle of the table. Give each player the 6 chips of his color and 200 rupees.
Sort the remaining money and form the bank next to the gameboard.
Shuffle the spice blends and the spice cards separately and lay them on the table next to the gameboard as a face-down draw pile. The table on the right shows how many spice blends are placed face up next to the gameboard and how many spice cards are put on the layout spaces on the edge of the gameboard.
Whoever cooked last is the head chef and gets the pepper mill.
Table - Quick Check For A Game Round
| Players | Spice blends | Spice cards | Chips per round |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 |
| 3 | 2 | 5 | 4 |
| 4 | 3 | 6 | 3 |
Example: In a game with 3 players, 2 spice blends are showing face up at the beginning of each round.
Object of the Game
The players try to throw their chips skillfully into the spice bowls. The important thing is to outdo the other players' results or to diminish them by nimbly shooting their chips off. After the last throw has been made, money and spices change hands.
If you have collected the right spices, you can put together spice blends. The player who is the first to own 3 spice blends wins.
Game Play
The game proceeds over several rounds; players play clockwise. One round consists of 4 phases:
- throwing chips
- evaluating action spaces
- selling and buying spices
- putting together spice blends
After that, the pepper mill is handed over to the left player and a new round begins.
I. Throwing Chips
Starting with the head chef, each player, in turn, throws one of his own chips on the gameboard - face down, if possible, so that the other players don't see the value of the chip. After that, in the same order, all players throw a second chip on the gameboard, and so on.
In the two- and three-player game, each player throws 4 chips per round; in the four-player game, 3 chips.
Note: Shooting off chips already lying on the board is an important tactical means to improve your own position.
Important
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While throwing, your hand may never reach over the edge onto the gameboard.
right 
wrong -
Chips are invalid if their center is not lying inside a bowl or within an action space.
If the edge of a bowl or the edge of a space is still visible through the chip's hole, the chip is considered "inside" and therefore "valid". In case of doubt, the head chef decides.
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It doesn't play a role in terms of its validity whether a chip is lying face up or face down.
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Each chip that lands on or beyond the edge of the gameboard is out of the game for the current round. You may not throw another chip in its place.
II. Evaluating Action Spaces
The actions are carried out in the order mentioned below.
The head chef reveals all chips on the "next" action space. The action may be carried out only by the player whose chips got the highest total value on an action space.
A tie-breaker is determined by the order of players: whoever is sitting closer to the head chef in clockwise order carries out the action.
Example:
Action Spaces
The actions are carried out in the following order:
1. Extra Throw
Now the player throws an additional chip on the gameboard. If, in doing so, another chip lands on the action space, the action is not carried out any more.
2. Additional Spice Card
The player draws as many spice cards from the face-down draw pile as corresponds to the first digit of his (most valuable) chip in this action space.
From these cards he selects one to keep. He puts the other spice cards back under the draw pile.
3. Reserving Spice Blends
The player takes the topmost spice blend from the draw pile. This blend is reserved exclusively for him (but is not put together yet).
The player keeps it hidden from the other players and clearly separated from the face-up spice blends he already put together. A player may reserve any number of spice blends.
4. Head Chef
The player takes the pepper mill and immediately becomes the head chef.
III. Selling And Buying Spices
First the head chef gives invalid chips back to their owners.
Then he determines in what order the spices will be traded. To this end, he chooses one bowl in which there is at least one chip and handles the sale first and, only after that, the buying of this spice. After this, he determines the next spice bowl ....
The head chef does so until there are no chips left on the gameboard.
Selling Spices
The head chef reveals all chips of the spice bowl chosen. Now those players who have the corresponding spice cards may sell this spice - even if none of their own chips are lying in this spice bowl.
For each spice sold, you get as much money from the bank as corresponds to the value of all chips that are lying in this bowl. Spice cards sold go to the discard pile.
As soon as all sales have been made, the "sellers" take their chips back from the bowl. These players may not buy this spice right after that!
Example:
The four chips in the saffron bowl total 120 rupees. Blue sells 2x saffron and gets 240 rupees. Red gets 120 rupees for one saffron card. Now Blue takes his chip back from the bowl.
Buying Spices
If at least one spice card of the spice chosen is on display, it can now be purchased. You can only make purchases if at least one of your own chips is lying in this spice bowl. (So, if you have sold this spice in the current round you may not buy it again now).
The player whose chips have the highest total value in this bowl, may buy first. He pays this value in rupees to the bank and takes one displayed card of this spice from the edge of the gameboard. After that, he takes his most valuable (or only) chip back from the bowl.
If several cards of this spice are on display, the player whose chips now have the highest total value in this bowl, may make the next purchase. (This can also be the same player as before). After that, this buyer also pays this value in rupees to the bank and removes his most valuable chip from the bowl.
This proceeds until there are no cards of this spice on display any more, or no chips are left in the bowl or nobody wants to buy any more.
If the chips of several players have the same total value, the order of players decides: the player who is sitting closer to the head chef in clockwise order, goes first.
Even if you don't want (or are unable) to buy, you take your chips back from the bowl. Unsold spices remain lying on the edge of the gameboard.
Example:
Orange has the highest total value and may buy one card of saffron for 50 rupees. Then she takes her "30"-chip back from the bowl. Green buys the second saffron card (for 20 rupees), since Green is sitting closer to the head chef than Orange , for whom there is no longer any saffron on offer.
IV. Putting Together Spice Blends
Starting with the head chef, each player may put together one of the spice blends displayed face-up. If you are able to do so, you put the three spice cards required face up on the discard pile and lay down the appropriate spice blend face up in front of you.
Each card shows the three spices required for putting together the spice blend. In this example, it is cardamom, chili and cumin.
Important: The display of the face-up spice blends is not refilled before the beginning of a new round. Consequently, it may happen that in the course of a round none of the spice blends desired (or none at all) remain for subsequent players.
Reserved spice blends may be put together in this phase in any number; that means also in addition to one face-up spice blend. They are also put down face up in front of the player.
Beginning of a New Round
The current owner of the pepper mill passes it to his left neighbor, who immediately becomes the head chef.
The display of the spice blends is also refilled if need be (see table, page 1).
After this, lay (or add, respectively) new spice cards on the spaces at the edge of the gameboard. The number of these cards depends on the number of players (see table, page 1). If the draw pile is used up, shuffle the cards of the discard pile and lay them on the table as the new draw pile.
End of the Game
When a player puts together his third spice blend, the game is over immediately and that player is declared the winner.
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