Top Chef: The Game
© 2008 Brighter Minds Media, Inc.
This interactive version of the Top Chef TV show (shown on the Bravo network), lets you have a hand in the kitchen, where you face timed challenges. There's a nice variety of challenges and an unlimited number of ingredients, which are classified according to their food or flavor group. After you mix the ingredients, you're given feedback from the show judges who rate your dish, and inform you of such things as, "There's no place for chocolate in a stir fry." Like the show, you try to finish each challenge with a good score, or you get eliminated. The ultimate goal is to be the Top Chef. You will score points for quickness, multitasking, and combination of ingredients. The expert judges (including Padma Lakshmi and Tom Colicchio) can be harsh -- an incomplete salad may get you kicked out of the game, with the message "Please pack your knives and go!" Fortunately, it is easy to come back for another try. Testers found the game to be a bit clunky -- you don't always know why you're mixing the ingredients or how you can do a better job. You do walk away from the game with a better sense of flavors; for example, you learn how a sweet fruit can enhance a spicy sandwich. Content includes 15 episodes, each with different challenges. Progress is saved with a sign-in screen. While this isn't the best cooking game we've seen, you do learn some things about how flavors go together. And there's no dirty dishes! Created by Gamelab (the same studio that made Diner Dash) in collaboration with Brighter Minds and Bravo Media. Note that the game requires a registration key; otherwise you are only able to play the game as a timed trial.
$20, Windows, Mac OSX
Teaches: cooking, some math, reading
CTR Rating: 82%