Miss Poutine
Miss Poutine Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Object
Quickly rid yourself of your cards and dodge mop duty come closing time!
Contents
- 18 "Order" cards
- 48 "Menu Item" cards
- 1 Rules booklet
Setup
The players should sit around a table (ideally round or square, not rectangular).
Identify the 2 waitresses for the first round and seat them directly across from each other. The "Order" cards are dealt to the waitresses and must be kept face down.
The "Menu Item" cards are dealt to the cooks, who are seated evenly on either side of both waitresses for easy access, and placed in a pile "Fries" (which is "Frites") side up in front of each of them. See Figure 1.
The Game
A game is played over several rounds, generally 5 or 6, that are quite short and intense because all play is simultaneous!
When all players are ready, the waitresses signal the start of the round. Then, they reveal 2 or 3 "Order" cards in front of them and shout (yes, it's better to shout!) to the cooks the menu items they need to complete their orders: Poutine, burger, etc.
Each cook may reveal up to 3 "Menu Item" cards in front of him on his grill. EXCEPTION: with 6 cooks, each may only reveal 2 menu items on his grill. When one of his revealed items matches a request, the cook grabs the item and OFFERS it to the waitress. He holds the card out. He can not force the waitress to take the item nor can he just dump the item on the order. THIS RULE IS VERY IMPORTANT. If she so desires, the waitress takes the "Menu Item" and places it with the appropriate "Order" card.
The cook who has just unloaded a "Menu Item" can reveal a new one on his grill. When an "Order" is complete and all "Menu Item" cards have been placed on it, it is set aside and a new "Order" is revealed. All completed orders must be kept separate.
Each cook has the benefit of one extra spot for a "Menu Item" card: "The Fryer". A cook who doubts that he will be able to sell the menu items presently on his grill may take one of these and turn it over to the "Fries" side of the card in front of his other menu items. No matter what the item was when it started, it is now "Fries"! "Fries" are necessary for some orders and, most importantly, they are used to make poutine! See Figure 2.
Poutine
Some orders call for poutine, the most popular dish in Quebec! There are no "Poutine" menu item cards. To serve poutine, you must combine 2 cards: a "Gravy and Cheese Curds" (which is the "Sauce brune et fromage en grains" card) AND a "Fries" card (previously placed in "The Fryer").
End of a Round
A round ends as soon as a player, waitress or cook, is able to dispose of all his cards. He then shouts "Stop!" and all activity must stop.
The cook with the most "Menu item" cards left, including those on the grill, in "The Fryer" and all unused cards, receives 1 mop point. The waitress with the least completed orders also receives a mop point. You should check that orders are filled with the proper menu items before the final count. There are therefore 2 mop points attributed in a normal round: One for the slowest cook and one for the slowest waitress! If there is a tie for the worst performance, each tied player gets a mop point. Write these down on a piece of paper.
New Round
Change waitresses. The new waitresses are seated to the left of the old. Separate, shuffle and deal the "Order" and "Menu Item" cards. Start a new round!
End of the Game
When a player receives his third mop point, he is declared the loser and the game is over. Should multiple players receive their third point at the same time, they share both the loss and mop job!
Variants
At the beginning of a round, a cook with mop points may give to any other cook or cooks as many "Menu Item" cards as he has points. EXAMPLE: A cook that has two mop points may give a total of two "Menu Item" cards. He can give them to two different cooks or all to the same one. This rule also applies to waitresses although all cards will go to the other waitress.
Live Variant
The game is played with the same rules, except that the waitresses are placed behind a table and the cooks are placed at another table, 10-15 feet away. Now, the cooks have to run the distance between the tables to offer it to the waitresses! They can only bring one "Menu item" at the time.
Bigger Staff
You can play Miss Poutine with more than 8 players if you have another copy of the game. You need one copy for each slice of 8 players. So you need 3 copies if you are 20 players. The number of waitresses also changes. You need 1 waitress for each slice of 2 to 3 cooks. So, in our example with 20 players, you need 14 cooks and 6 waitresses. Each waitress can only reveal 2 "order" at one time. Other rules remain the same.