Umami: The Forest Food Fest

Umami takes its name from the Japanese word for the savory “fifth taste”, first identified in early 20th‑century cuisine. In Umami: The Forest Food Fest, players fire up food stalls to serve the most savory dishes their customers crave, sometimes by sneaking ingredients away from rival chefs. Cook up the most stars, and you’ll earn bragging rights as the ultimate Umami chef!

HeidelBÄR Games (CGE) publishes Umami: The Forest Food Fest, designed by Don Eskridge with charming artwork by Ikuko Nakai. Umami is for 2–5 players to play in about 20 minutes and it works well for ages 10 and up.

Setup

First, shuffle the Ingredient and Favorite decks. Next, deal each player four Ingredient cards and one Favorite card. Then remove Favorite cards as noted for your player count. After that, reveal four Favorite cards in a row with the deck to the left, and reveal four Ingredient cards below them. Leave a little space below the Ingredients for a trash pile. Finally, choose a starting player, give them the First Serving card, and start the feast!

About Favorite and Ingredient cards

Favorite cards represent customers’ favorite meals and serve as the main scoring goals. Each Favorite shows a specific combination of Ingredient values players must play to claim it. When a player completes a Favorite, they take the card to score it at the end of the game.

Ingredient cards form the core of play. Each card shows a color and value. Players draft Ingredients from the shared display and arrange them in their play area to meet Favorite requirements. Some Ingredient cards also include stars for bonus points, along with steal or blossom icons, more on those later.

Gameplay

On a player’s turn, they play two cards: one from their hand and one from the Ingredient area. Play them face up in any order to build columns. Each column represents a dish, with a maximum of five dishes per player. Each dish can only hold up to three cards; players trash one card face up if they add a fourth.

Winning a Favorite

Whenever a player’s dish ingredients match a card in the Favorites area, they immediately claim it. Move the Favorite above the dish to Set it. Once Set, players cannot add cards to the dish or steal Ingredients from it.

Players can take a Favorite dish from another player if their version “tastes better”. Each Favorite card shows an arrow indicating whether a higher or lower Ingredient total is preferred. Compare the dish totals; if the active player meets the arrow condition, they take the Favorite and place it above their own dish. Note that the arrows on a Favorite only applies when taking it from another player; it does not affect the initial claim.

At any point, players may claim a Favorite, including during another player’s turn or after a reveal. If multiple players qualify at once, compare Blossom icons on their Ingredient cards. The player with more Blossoms wins the dish; if still tied, the Favorite remains unclaimed.

Stealing

On their turn, a player can use a Steal card as their action by trashing it from their hand or the Ingredient area. That lets them take one Ingredient from another player’s unset dish. If the stolen Ingredient now completes a Favorite, they claim the Favorite right away. The other player then restocks by taking one Ingredient from the display or deck and adding it to one of their dishes.

End of Turn

After playing two Ingredient cards (one from their hand and one from the table), the player’s turn ends. Refill the Ingredient and Favorite displays to four cards each, then draw back up to four Ingredient cards in hand. If the Ingredient deck runs out, shuffle the trash pile to form a new deck. Players never refill the Favorite deck, and play passes clockwise.

Secret Favorites Phase

The Secret Flavors Phase begins when the last Favorite card leaves the display or when a player reaches 12 Ingredient cards in their dishes. Finish the current round, then begin the Secret Favorites phase. All players lock in their claimed Favorites, then reveal their hidden Favorites and place them in the display. Starting with the First Serving player, check to see if anyone now qualifies to claim a Favorite, and set a new dish if they do.

Then play one final round. Each player may play any number of cards from their hand to create dishes and claim remaining Favorites. During this final round, players cannot steal Ingredients.

Final Scoring

Now it’s time to score. Players earn one point for each star icon on their claimed Favorites and one point for each star icon on Ingredients in Set dishes. Stars on cards not part of a Favorite Dish do not score. The player with the most stars is the ultimate Umami chef! Break ties by the number of Blossom icons on Set dishes.

Impressions

I’m a huge fan of set collection games, and it’s probably the mechanism I own the most titles in. Umami: The Forest Food Fest really hits the spot, offering meaningful decisions with just enough take-that to keep things lively.

I liked drafting one card from the Ingredient display and pairing it with a card from my hand each turn. Most turns felt productive, and I rarely felt like I was stuck taking a card I didn’t want. Stealing ingredients adds a bit of extra spice and can help finish a dish at just the right moment.

Umami’s card play never felt too restrictive thanks to the five allowed dish columns. I usually kept one column open to pursue my hidden Secret Favorite. Leaving ingredients exposed is the main risk, since opponents can steal them and add tension.

A Serving the Whole Family Can Enjoy

Umami: The Forest Food Fest packs plenty of flavor for seasoned gamers, families, and newcomers alike. It’s an easy teach, and I can see it skewing a bit younger for kids who already enjoy card games. Thanks to its quick setup and small table footprint, games move fast and fit almost anywhere, whether that’s over lunch or breakfast date. With younger players, just make sure everyone is comfortable with a little ingredient thievery.

Replayability holds up well. The mix of shuffled Favorite cards and Ingredients keeps games from feeling too similar. I played Umami with both my game group and my family, and it landed well with everyone. It’s one I’m happy to bring to family game night and keep in my bag as a reliable palate cleanser when we want something quick.

As far as player count goes, I enjoyed the game more at higher counts, where stealing ingredients creates more interaction and Favorites change hands more often. It still plays well at two players, but with more chefs at the table, the fun heats up.

Ready to test your cooking skills to the test? Get your own copy of Umami: The Forest Food Fest  at your friendly local game store or directly from CGE.

---

The Family Gamers received a copy of Umami: The Forest Food Fest from HeidelBÄR Games (CGE) for this review.