Make a cooking game with orders, a clock and strange customers

Why cooking games are hard to put down

• The rush. Orders stack faster than you can serve. Overcooked by Ghost Town Games built a whole series on that panic.
• Steps in order. Chop, cook, plate, serve. Each step is easy; doing four at once is the game.
• Reading the order. Papa's games by Flipline Studios are about getting each topping exactly right for a picky customer.
• A reward you see. Tips, stars, a bigger kitchen. Upgrades give you a reason to start the next day.

Set up your kitchen in Roam

• 1. The place. "A food truck at a festival," "a diner on the moon," "a kiosk on the night shift."
• 2. The menu. Three dishes to start, each with two or three steps. "Burger: grill, bun, cheese."
• 3. The customers. This is your twist. "Aliens who order in colors." "Ghosts who only eat cold food." "My friends, who are picky."
• 4. The clock. "Each order waits 20 seconds. Day ends at 10 orders."
• 5. Play a day, then tune. "More time on the first orders." "Add a dessert on day 3." "Angry customers leave faster."

Other routes

Most cooking games on phones are someone else's restaurant with someone else's menu. To build your own in an engine like Unity or GDevelop, you script the order queue, the timers and each station, then draw or buy the art.

Roam builds the kitchen, food, customers and sound from your description on iPhone, and you change the recipe list by asking. You cannot hand-tune a station's code, but you can say "the grill is too slow" and play the fix.

Cooking games on Roam

Order Counter is burgers and fries with a line at the counter, Overcooked-like. Sweet Orders: Cake Studio is reading the order and frosting the cake. Block Bistro is one chef, one diner and a hungry queue that grows into a tycoon. Aliens Want Hookah is opening night at a bar for aliens. Don't Feed Them is a night shift at a shawarma kiosk where some customers are wrong.

Questions people ask

How do I make my own cooking game?

Pick a kitchen, a short menu, a customer twist and a timer. In Roam you describe that and play it.

Can I make a restaurant game without coding?

Yes. Roam builds the restaurant, recipes and customers from a description, and you change them by asking.

What makes a cooking game fun?

A rush of orders, simple steps that pile up, and a reward like tips or upgrades at the end of each day.