Derek 'Dez' Maggs 
Ladies and gentlemen, gather ’round the table, grab your chopsticks, and put on your asbestos gloves because it’s time for the Fire Noodle Eating Champs: The Dice Game!
A dimly lit room, smoke wafting through the air, and a group of brave souls huddled around a game board adorned with fiery dragons and noodle-shaped dice; that are hotter than a thousand suns dipped in Sriracha.
Will you leave king of the ring or leave with a killer ring sting?
Setup
The Fire Noodle Eating Contest is about to begin! Race to open noodle packs, to be the next FIRE NOODLE EATING CHAMP!
Each Contestant starts with 4 Toppings Dice and 4 Noodle Cards stacked in order top to bottom:
- 2 x Fire Level 1,
- 1 x Fire Level 2,
- 1 x Fire Level 3.
This is a real-time noodle-eating battle. No turns! Race to be the first to eat all your Fire Noodles and grab the Trophy!
Rules
On the Count of 3, 2,1! The Fire Noodle Eating Contest Begins!
- OPEN NOODLES!
Flip over your top Noodle Card and place it in front of you.
- ADDING TOPPINS!
Roll ALL your Toppings Dice! Place matching Dice on your Noodle Card.
Keep rolling and placing your remaining Dice as needed.
TOO SPICY!!! If you roll a Spicy Face, that die is put aside and cannot be rolled again unless… You pick up and roll ALL your dice, including the dice on your Noodle Card. Note: if you do not have any dice on your Noodle Card you can re-roll all your dice any time.
- EAT NOODLES!
Once all topping spaces on your Noodle Card are covered, you eat it! Set the eaten card aside.
After eating, take all your Dice back into your hand to roll and open the next Fire Noodle Card.
Continue to OPEN NOODLES!, ADD TOPPINGS!, and EAT NOODLES! with your next Noodle Card.
- GRAB TROPHY!
If you have eaten all your Noodles, grab the Trophy card to win!
Prove You’re The Champ! Keeping the same setup, the winner adds another Noodle Card to their stack to prove they’re the Noodle Champ! Feel free to shuffle or arrange the Noodle Cards in any order. After winning 1 round, add a Fire Level 2 Card to your setup. After winning 2 rounds, add a Fire Level 3 Card to your setup.
The first to win 3 Rounds is the Fire Noodle Eating Champ!
First Thoughts
When Fire Noodle Eating Champs arrived in the mail. I was expecting a small box game, but this game is tiny! The whole game fits inside a mint tin.
I try not to judge a book by its cover, but when you are expecting a book & are handed a comic, it real does confuse & make you not as excited. But I’m always excited to prove wrong!
Gameplay
When it comes to my game nights, I like to fully embrace the theme of the game we’re playing and create an immersive experience. Some might say I go a bit overboard, but that’s part of the fun. This time, our goal was to become the Fire Noodle Eating Champs, so I decided to kick things off with some spicy noodles.
I picked up a pack of Samyang Hot Chicken Ramen Spicy Flavour from Coles. I’d never tried them before, but the packaging indicated they were 2x hot. I figured they would be warm but manageable—a great way to warm up our taste buds before diving into the game.
Boy, was I wrong! These noodles were incredibly hot. Beer and wine were quickly replaced with pints of milk, which became our saving grace. With our mouths on fire and our brains only operating at half capacity due to the heat, we sat down to play Fire Noodle Eating Champs: The Dice Game.
What ensued was pure mayhem. Dice flew across the table, ingredients were missed or forgotten, and those pesky “spicy” dice always seemed to land at the worst possible times. It was insane.
Having worked in a commercial kitchen for over a decade, I can confidently say that the excitement and chaos of this game perfectly captured the feeling of being in the most disorganized kitchen. It was amazing—the excitement, the craziness, the pressure, and even the competitiveness of trying to get your food up first. It was not at all what I expected from such a tiny little mint tin, but it was an absolute blast!
Art
The art for Fire Noodle Eating Champs: The Dice Game is simple and clean, which is exactly what a small game like this needs. Too often, I see designers overcomplicating the art or trying to make it too flashy, which can be distracting. In contrast, the understated and clean aesthetic of this game allows the gameplay to take center stage. This minimalist approach not only complements the game’s theme but also enhances the overall playing experience, making it more enjoyable and accessible.
Conclusion
I was excited when I first heard about this game, but after receiving it in the mail, I initially felt a bit underwhelmed. It seemed way too simple. However, I couldn’t have been more wrong. The balance between luck, decision-making, and speed makes this game exhilarating, occasionally frustrating, and incredibly fun!
Due to its compact size, quick gameplay, and high enjoyability, I now carry it with me everywhere for on-the-go play.
Do yourself a favor and get a copy of Fire Noodle Eating Champs: The Dice Game!
TableTopCon ’24
If you loved the sound of this game and want to give it a try yourself, you’re in luck! On May 25-26, 2024, at the Southport Community Centre in the Gold Coast, TableTopCon ’24 will bring together RPG enthusiasts, board gamers, and card game aficionados. Fire Noodle Eating Champs: The Dice Game will be there for you to try yourself.
Head down to explore the latest games, meet designers, and roll the dice for an unforgettable experience. All the details are available on the TableTopCon website.
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