Critter Kitchen: À La Cart adds location Carts, new critics, Restaurateurs and zous-chefs, plus the components and rules for six or seven players. It requires the base game. For a group of two to five, you can use the new cards and Carts without changing to the larger-group mode. This guide separates those choices, because the six- and seven-player procedure changes chef assignment significantly.
What comes in the expansion?
The expansion rulebook lists 18 Cart tiles with reference cards and their associated item tokens, four new Critics, four Restaurateurs and 24 zous-chefs. New Zous-chef abilities can be mixed into the base deck or used as alternatives. Cards marked with the cutthroat icon are more aggressive; the rulebook explicitly permits leaving them out for a less confrontational game. The box also supplies boards, shields, chef figures and challenge plates for two more players, plus Break Time cards and a Mystery Die for the six- or seven-person setup.
How do Carts join a two- to five-player game?
Shuffle the Cart reference deck, excluding Zous Too when only two play. Reveal a Cart for Garden Top Shop and another for Desert Vendor; add one at Water Market with three or more players. Put the matching Cart tile at each location and follow its reference card’s setup. A Cart adds its items to the choices at that location, but its reference card defines the precise replenishment, use and any special effect.
Cart colors identify different handling: some collected items stay publicly visible and need no refrigeration, while others do count toward the fridge limit. Certain Carts have special instructions; a zous-chef Cart adds its own intern and bonus tokens. Cart items do not go into the normal Token Bag. Most unclaimed Cart items are discarded at round end rather than shifted into the Chef Academy; consult the reference card for exceptions such as Carts that retain items. Mixing every Cart token into the bag would change the base game’s item supply incorrectly.
Can two people use all expansion content?
Not every card is for two. Remove Zous Too from the random Cart deck at two players. The Wolverine critic also needs at least three players, as the expansion rulebook marks. The other new critics, Restaurateurs and zous-chefs can generally replace or mix with their matching base-game types, subject to card-specific text. Use the base rules for normal chef queues and scoring unless a new card or Cart changes them.
Six- and seven-player mode changes assignments
At six players, use all ordinary locations except Lantern Lane; at seven, use them all. Set up Zous Too at Garden Top Shop and add the expansion’s marked ingredient, spice and Rumor tokens to the bag. Each player gets a Break Time card as well as location cards. The maître d’ rolls the Mystery Die. During planning, every player assigns one of their three base chefs to break and sends the other two to locations; a zous-chef, if held, is assigned normally. A player whose resting chef matches the die result gains two soup when chefs move into place. If someone forgets to assign Break Time, the die-result chef takes the break automatically.
That means “six or seven players” does not simply put 18 or 21 ordinary chefs into the same queue system every round. Each restaurant uses two base chefs for shopping, which helps the additional players fit the map. The Zous Too Cart is prescribed in this mode rather than randomly chosen, and other expansion cards may still have their own restrictions.
Which part should a buyer add first?
If your existing group has two to five players and wants more variety, try the new critics or a few Carts after everyone understands the base shopping flow; read each selected reference card at the table. If you specifically need a sixth or seventh seat, the added player components and Break Time procedure are the relevant reason for buying this box. Neither module replaces the base game. The base-game overview and meal-scoring guide still apply except where an expansion card changes them.
Publisher sources: Cardboard Alchemy’s English À La Cart rulebook (PDF), Lucky Duck Games’ expansion contents, and base-game rulebook (PDF). Checked 4 October 2026. This is a feature and compatibility guide, not a firsthand verdict on which Cart is most fun. Use the rules in the specific Cart reference card for its item effects.
Explore Critter Kitchen: Overview · How to play · Strategy · Scoring · Solo · À La Cart expansion.