Peču, smažím, vařím (Bake, Fry, Boil) is a conversational game designed to help students with different native languages practice speaking. Players take on the roles of chefs, each equipped with a pan, pot, or baking dish, and work together within a time limit to prepare as many recipes as possible from the available ingredients. The game is intended for 3 to 6 players.

In 2023, we designed and produced 300 copies of this game for the Association of Czech Language Teachers for Foreigners. It is now distributed to schools and other educational institutions.

The game's theme is based on Czech cuisine, allowing students to practice their vocabulary. This kitchen theme extends to the gameplay itself: players become chefs in a single kitchen, trying to complete as many recipes as possible within the time limit. The game can be replayed to achieve higher scores, allowing players to compete against their previous performances or those of other groups in the class.

The cooperative genre was intentionally chosen to engage all students evenly, while encouraging their collaboration and communication. Each recipe specifies the required ingredients and preparation methods. Due to different cooking tools, each player can only prepare specific types (or parts) of recipes. A player with a baking dish can bake but cannot fry or boil. Similarly, a player with a pot can only boil. This setup forces players to exchange or negotiate for ingredients to complete recipes together.

From the beginning, we aimed for the game to be practical for teachers: easy and quick to set up, with simple rules, compact packaging, and a fixed gameplay duration, allowing all groups to finish simultaneously. The time limit is flexible, with 10-20 minutes ideal, making it easy to play even at the end of a lesson. Each student has an aid sheet with the game phases and common phrases.

In the graphic design, we emphasized colorfulness, clarity, and a child-friendly style. The color scheme is unique, with shades of orange, blue, green, and accents of purple. Ingredient and dish illustrations have a purple outline, sometimes purposefully incomplete, complementing the visual design of the pan, baking dish, and pot. The tools appear twice in the game: as symbols and as a background for ingredients on recipe cards.

The game also has a print & play version, allowing it to be printed as needed if more copies are required. Thanks to the Vesna for testing the game. Contents: 6 tool tokens 6 phrase aids 1 rulebook 28 recipes 42 ingredients Printing and Production: Quatro Print