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The Ultimate Guide to Playing “Lên Mâm”: A Board Game for Beginners

"Lên Mâm" is an engaging board game that immerses players in the vibrant world of traditional Vietnamese cuisine during the festive Tet holiday. As players, you'll embark on a culinary journey, collaborating to contribute ingredient cards and create delectable dishes. It's a delightful celebration of Vietnam's rich culinary heritage, offering a unique and entertaining gaming experience.

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14 July, 2024

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The board game “Lên Mâm” is a delightful twist on traditional Vietnamese culture, offering a unique and engaging experience for players. This game is a perfect choice for food enthusiasts as it revolves around the exciting activities of grocery shopping and cooking, with the ultimate goal of preparing a grand feast for the Tet holiday. Let’s delve into the details of this captivating game!

1 Introduction to “Lên Mâm” Board Game

Introduction to “Lên Mâm” Board Game

“Lên Mâm” is the first Vietnamese culinary-themed board game designed and published by a talented group of young game creators, Ngũ Hành Games. The game gained popularity in early 2019, capturing the essence of a joyful family gathering and preparing the year-end feast together. The creators aimed to incorporate cultural and folk elements into the gameplay. To win this game, players must strategically use ingredient cards to prepare Tet holiday dishes and accumulate the most points.

For further reference: New Player’s Guide

2 Learn the Rules of “Lên Mâm” in 5 Minutes

Learn the Rules of “Lên Mâm” in 5 Minutes

Step 1 Anh/Chị Hai randomly selects a card from the deck to determine the main dish. The remaining players are dealt seven cards each.

Step 2 With the cards in hand, players take turns playing between one and three ingredient cards to cook the main dish or playing a card that is not an ingredient for the main dish.

Step 3 “Lên Mâm” (Complete the Dish): If you play all four required ingredients for the main dish, you complete it. “Phá Hoại” (Spoil the Dish): If extra or incorrect ingredients are played.

Step 4 The game ends when the deck is exhausted, and the player with the most points wins.

For additional guidance: New Player’s Guide

3 How to Play “Lên Mâm” Board Game

How to Play “Lên Mâm” Board Game

Unboxing “Lên Mâm”

The game includes: 100 ingredient cards, 10 function cards, and 1 meeple

20 cards for Thịt Kho Nước Dừa (Coconut Braised Pork) (4 types of ingredients)
20 cards for Tôm Khô Củ Kiệu (Shrimp and Pickled Radish) (4 types of ingredients)
20 cards for Chả Ngũ Sắc (Five-Color Sausage) (4 types of ingredients)
20 cards for Bánh Tét (Tet Cake) (4 types of ingredients)
20 cards for Canh Khổ Qua (Bitter Gourd Soup) (4 types of ingredients)
5 Salt cards
5 Spoil cards
1 Anh/ Chị Hai (Elder Sibling) meeple

Setting Up the Game

Shuffle the deck and deal seven cards to each player. Place the remaining cards face down in a pile called the “Market.” The oldest player gets to hold the Anh/Chị Hai meeple.
Leave a vacant space in the center of the playing area, which will serve as the “Pot” for cooking. Each player also keeps an empty space in front of them, called the “Plate.”
The game can be played in multiple rounds, and players take turns clockwise, starting with Anh/Chị Hai.

Detailed Gameplay

Cooking

Players take turns playing ingredient cards into the “Pot.” Anh/Chị Hai decides the dish to be cooked by playing an ingredient card into the Pot.

After playing a card, players draw from the “Market” pile to maintain seven cards in hand.

Cooking Correctly: Play between one and three ingredient cards from the same dish category as the one chosen by Anh/Chị Hai.

Example: If Anh/Chị Hai chooses to cook Bánh Tét, the next player can play up to three cards of nếp (sticky rice) and thịt mỡ (pork belly).

Cooking Incorrectly: Play only one card that is not an ingredient of the dish chosen by Anh/Chị Hai.

Example: If Anh/Chị Hai chooses to cook Bánh Tét, and the next player plays a Củ Kiệu (pickled radish) or Khổ Qua (bitter gourd) card, it is considered incorrect.

Completing the Dish (“Lên Mâm”):

When the Pot contains enough cards to either complete or spoil the dish, the “Lên Mâm” phase begins. This phase can result in either “Completing” or “Spoiling” the dish.

Completing the Dish: When the Pot contains all four different ingredients of the same dish, the player who plays the last correct ingredient card takes all the correct cards and places them on their Plate for scoring.

Example: If Anh/Chị Hai plays a “Gạo Nếp” (sticky rice) card, and after a few turns, the Pot contains “Gạo Nếp,” “Đậu Xanh” (green beans), and “Trứng Muối” (salted egg), the player who plays the “Thịt Mỡ” (pork belly) card completes the dish and takes all the correct cards to their Plate.

Spoiling the Dish (“Phá Hoại”): When the Pot contains two incorrect ingredient cards, the player who plays the second incorrect card spoils the dish. Starting with the player to the right of the spoiler and moving counterclockwise, each player draws one correct ingredient card until all are drawn.

Example: If Anh/Chị Hai plays a “Gạo Nếp” card, and after a few turns, someone plays a “Nước Dừa” (coconut milk) card (from Thịt Kho Nước Dừa), and the next player plays a “Tôm Khô” (dried shrimp) card, the latter player spoils the dish.

Two-Player “Lên Mâm” Phase: If a player spoils the dish, the other player receives half of the correct cards (rounded up).

Anh/Chị Hai: When a player completes a dish, they take the Anh/Chị Hai meeple, becoming the new Anh/Chị Hai.

Function Cards: These cards are considered correct but cannot be used to complete a dish.

Salt Card: When a player plays a “Muối” (salt) card, the player with the highest score loses two points.

Spoil Pot Card: The player who plays this card clears the Pot, takes the Anh/Chị Hai meeple, and starts a new dish (only used when playing with four players).

Scoring and Winning

When the “Market” pile is depleted, the game enters the scoring phase.

Players discard any remaining cards in their hands and calculate their scores based on the cards collected on their Plates.

Each complete set of four different ingredients from the same dish earns six points. Each individual ingredient card is worth one point. The player with the highest score wins.

4 “Lên Mâm” Board Game – Northern Vietnam Edition

“Lên Mâm” Board Game – Northern Vietnam Edition

Introduced in 2021, the Northern Vietnam edition of “Lên Mâm” immerses players in the culinary traditions of Tet in Northern Vietnam, featuring dishes such as Bánh Chưng (sticky rice cake), Thịt Đông (braised pork belly), Canh Măng (bamboo shoot soup), and Dưa Hành (pickled onions).

This version includes 72 ingredient cards, 4 dish tokens, and 1 Chị Cả (Eldest Sister) token. The artwork and graphics have been significantly improved, making the game more visually appealing.

All ingredient cards have a built-in function that can be activated when played into the Pot with a card of a different color from the chosen dish.

The Northern Vietnam edition also introduces a special card, “Nước Sôi” (boiling water), which has its own scoring mechanism. The number of “Nước Sôi” cards a player collects does not affect the completion or spoiling of a dish but contributes to their overall score.

5 Notes and Tips for Playing “Lên Mâm”

Notes and Tips for Playing “Lên Mâm”

During the “Lên Mâm” phase, whether completing or spoiling a dish, all incorrectly played cards are discarded.
As each ingredient appears only five times in the deck, pay attention to which dishes can be completed first.
If you already have some individual cards of a dish on your Plate, try to collect the remaining cards of the same dish to earn more points.
Use the Salt card strategically to deduct points from the player with the highest score.

“Lên Mâm” is an entertaining and lighthearted game suitable for a wide range of players. We hope that the information provided above will enhance your understanding and enjoyment of this delightful game!

Frequently asked questions

Lên Mam A is a popular Vietnamese board game for two to four players. It’s a strategy game where players move their pieces according to the roll of the dice, with the aim of being the first to get all their pieces off the board. The game is a fun and challenging way to spend time with friends and family.

Each player starts with 16 pieces, which are placed on the player’s respective starting points. The aim is to move all your pieces off the board by moving them in a counter-clockwise direction around the board, eventually reaching the finish point in the center. On their turn, a player rolls the dice and moves their pieces according to the number rolled. If a player lands on a point occupied by an opponent’s piece, the opponent’s piece is captured and returned to its starting point.

A key strategy is to focus on capturing your opponents’ pieces, especially those that are close to the finish point. This can be done by carefully planning your moves and utilizing the ‘mam’ strategy, where you move your piece to a point occupied by an opponent’s piece, capturing it. Additionally, try to protect your own pieces from being captured by moving them away from vulnerable positions.

The game board consists of a square grid with a distinct path for each player, starting from their respective corners and ending in the center. Each player’s path is divided into 24 points, with the starting and finishing points being distinct.

Yes, there are a few variations of Lên Mam A that can be played. One variation is called ‘Lên Cờ’, which introduces additional rules and strategies, making the game more complex and challenging.