![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.gamespot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/TH-3D_MockUp-GAMEBOARD-still_life_v2-Shot-Large.jpeg?w=636\")
The game itself is split into five rounds, with 1-5 players taking turns placing their four chefs at the various spots on the era\u2019s board, and is completed in only about 60-90 minutes. Each of the six main locations allows players to gather ingredients required to complete their recipes and provide other benefits. <\/p>\n
Additionally, players may collect special Insight cards, which Michael elaborated on: \u201c[Insight Cards] are different little bonuses that let you cheat in some way or gain an advantage when the conditions are met. These can range from giving you free ingredients to giving you extra bonus victory points to letting you do things when other players move into your space and whatnot,\u201d acting a bit as the \u201ctake that\u201d mechanic in Tasting History that they describe as \u201cforced assistance.\u201d<\/p>\n
In addition to their own boards, each of the three eras will feature period-authentic decks of cards to really help sell the showcase that time in history. These include decks of recipes to cook, events from the period that will serve as special goals each player can complete during the game–along with specifying their starting resources–and each era will have a special ingredient that, if played alongside the other requirements for a recipe, can gain you additional rewards. Rome, for example, will feature the fermented fish sauce garum, which Max previously did a whole episode on. <\/p>\n
It\u2019s also with these eras that I have my biggest question marks and concerns. The fact that the base game comes with the three different boards, each with their own set of recipes, events, advancements, and more–many of which you won\u2019t see every game–could give it a great amount of replayability. However, I worry that instead of feeling interesting and exciting to play in their own right, they will just feel like a reskin, swapping out Roman snails for cowboy beans. If you are going to pack in two extra boards and a couple hundred more cards to play with, I want there to be something that makes me excited to check them out. <\/p>\n
One thing that both Max and Michael made very clear is that it is designed to be a standalone board game, and it just so happens to be themed around Tasting History, meaning it can be enjoyed even if you don\u2019t get the whole \u201chardtack\u201d shtick. <\/p>\n \u201cIt’s all about the gameplay first,\u201d Max explained. \u201cI have played a lot of board games that are very on-theme for certain properties, and I’ve played them once and never had a desire to play it again because I think, \u2018Oh, that was fun. Next.\u2019 <\/p>\n “My goal is to have a game along the lines of Wingspan [or] Lords of Waterdeep that I can play 50 times and enjoy it as much on the 50th time as the first time.\u201d <\/p>\n Don\u2019t worry, though, fellow tasting historians–Max isn\u2019t forgetting about you: \u201cIf you do watch the show and you’re a big fan, there are so many little nods to the show specifically in this, [and] not only the fact that most of the recipes I have already done,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The idea is to incorporate the \u201chistory\u201d aspect that is such a critical part of the show into this tabletop rendition. Max said, \u201cWe’re working on possibly getting a way to actually link to those recipes within the game.\u201d <\/p>\n Michael elaborated on one idea being thrown around involving QR codes on the recipes: \u201cFor example, \u2018Oh, I want to learn more about sweet and sour beef and why that’s really cool in the setting.\u2019 You just scan that with your phone and, boom, you get to watch, you know, 20 minutes of Max just talking about it immediately.\u201d As someone who loves both the educational and cooking qualities of the show, I appreciate that it\u2019s even being considered.<\/p>\n Both Max and Michael are well aware of the fine thread they are balancing, trying to make a game that can appeal to board gamers–offering them replayability, depth, and worthwhile decisions–and the channel’s 4.5 million subscribers, who might be playing their first board game that isn\u2019t Uno or Monopoly and need something approachable and fun. <\/p>\n \u201cWe also want this [Tasting History] to be accessible,\u201d Michael said. \u201cMax happens to be a board gamer, but his audience is not necessarily a bunch of ravenous board gamers. So, we want this to have a level of accessibility.\u201d <\/p>\n Getting to that place, though, has been quite the adventure in and of itself. \u201cBefore I had first talked with Max, I was envisioning something like a Ticket to Ride or even a lower-level Catan… I say this affectionately, but like, baby’s first board game for when people are coming [to] this from the mass-market stuff. Then after one conversation with Max where it’s like, \u2018Oh, he’s an actual board gamer, and he wants this to be a board game first and foremost,\u2019 that changed the entire direction of where the project went,\u201d Michael revealed. These changes even include turning away from a cooperative experience in favor of the final competitive setup.<\/p>\n \u201cOne of the earlier versions of the game was that you had a communal feast [during which] you would draw every game that the players were trying to accomplish, but kind of competitively, communally together. You know, you got bonuses for completing it first, but the goal of the game was everyone was trying to complete it.\u201d Michael explained. \u201cIt was more cooperative-leaning in that regard. The expression on Max’s face when I said, \u2018Now, we can make this full co-op…\u2019I am sitting here assuming Max Miller, the learned, \u2018I’m trying to spread knowledge and insights to the internet masses here,\u2019 would be more like, \u2018Let’s all work together to complete a goal.\u2019 And then he just goes like, \u2018Oh no, no, no. I want this to be competitive.\u2019\u201d Michael chuckled, before Max chimed in with a laugh, \u201cI’m not huge into co-op games. Once in a while, but I like winning!\u201d<\/p>\n Swapping my Tasting History subscriber hat for my board-gamer one, hearing Max and Michael showcase Tasting History\u2019s mechanisms and flow, I\u2019m impressed with how well it seems to have come together to create that sort of approachable depth that other mass-market-appeal games like Wingspan or Ticket to Ride have. That said, I haven’t played it yet, so how successful it is remains to be seen, but there are certainly qualities and designs here that would make me feel comfortable betting on their success. <\/p>\n One example is not locking out a space just because someone else got there first. Much of Tasting History reminds me of Everdell (one of my wife\u2019s and my own favorite games and one I would recommend anyone to play) with its worker-placement and time-progression aspects, but here, you can freely place a chef somewhere that is already occupied. That eliminates a good amount of the \u201cmeanness\u201d that this could have had and makes the whole thing feel more approachable. Though some of those Insight cards will cause a bit of that \u201cforced assistance,\u201d it’s not quite to the same detriment for the other player. Other considerations like simplified setup options are being included to further assist and give options to board-game newcomers, which should lower that barrier of entry even further.<\/p>\n For other interested historians and board-game aficionados, the folks at Salt Entertainment has a prototype mod of the game on the popular digital tabletop client Tabletop Simulator, which you can find over on Steam. Unfortunately, I don\u2019t think the solo mode that lets you go up against Max himself will be included, which sounds like all sorts of fun. \u201cSolo mode is currently in development, [in] which you’ll be playing against Max Miller himself. We’re currently balancing him because he went from being way too hard to being a little too easy, and now he’s in a general good area. He does kind of cheat a little bit, but you know, that’s kind of fun. He literally has his card where he just says, \u2018I don’t like the ingredients I have. I’m just going to clack some hardtack together and just improvise a recipe here,\u2019\u201d Michael laughed.<\/p>\n \u201cCreated for families, history lovers, food enthusiasts, and gamers alike\u201d is one of the big slogans featured over on the game\u2019s Kickstarter page. As someone who is a longtime fan of Tasting History and even longer a fan of board games, what Tasting History: The Board Game looks to deliver is a great choice both for a quick game after putting the kid down or at my next game night with my group of friends who tend to get competitive. Time will tell whether all the ingredients come together in a feast worthy of Ceasar, or something that would have been better served at Emperor Domitian’s Feast of Death.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.gamespot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/tasting-history-4.jpeg\")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.gamespot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/tasting-history-1.jpg?w=636\")
\n
\n
Read Full Article At Source <\/a>
\n
\n