Do you have what it takes to become a Food Truck Titan? To best the competition and secure your “American Dream on Wheels” you must be cunning, quick thinking, and shrewd; able to handle adversity and the ups and downs of food truck management while keeping your foot on the gas and cruising to a juicy victory. Are you ready to take a bite out of the competition?

Truck off is an easy to teach, quick to play game that sets 2 to 6 people competing against each other as food truck titans, each battling it out to get the coveted spots at the most lucrative venues. To win you must bring home the most profits after 5 cut throat rounds, to do so each round players will simultaneously select two locations to send out their trucks. A die is rolled at each location to represent the total venue payout that will be split evenly amongst the trucks parked there. Then, players simultaneously select any number of action cards they want to play that will allow them the chance to maximize their efforts this round and, potentially, stop their opponents in their effort to do the same.

Thematically, this game really hits the ups and downs of food truck management. You may get a great spot at the hottest venue, but a rough roll of the dice or a parking lot full of food trucks may keep your payout from fattening your wallet. There’s a great dose of “take that” mechanic involved in this game that comes from the special action cards. While some allow you to add another truck, move your truck to a different venue, or double your payout, others allow you to move your opponent’s truck, or shut down a truck or an entire venue all together.

The card management of players is key as you must balance your short-term dealings with your long-term goals because while you may use any number of special actions on any one round, once you use them they’re gone for rest of the game. Use them too early and you may be left in a bind later, hold them too long and you may miss your opportunity to score big. 

A game like this normally would only be able to be played with a minimum of three players. However, the rules offer a great two player variant that changes the game play of the action cards just enough to keep the take-that tactical feel while adding a different type of strategy element to the experience that allows two players to battle it out. 

Rather than having a hand full of action cards, players select at random 8 of their 10 actions cards for a total of 16 combined action cards. These then are laid out in a grid where only the action cards at the bottom that do not have an card laid on top of them are available to be used by the players. 

This adds a different kind of strategy to the game as each player can now see all of the available action options and each card they choose to use opens up a new action for their opponent to select and use. You must not only decide what is best for you to use right now, but weigh that against what you think your opponent is going to select after you and how it will impact your game. Rather than selecting any number of actions you’d like, players are limited to choosing just 2 each round, but you must execute 2 actions, there’s no saving a good card for a later round. 

Since we typically play just the two of us, we were pleasantly surprised to find that the 2 player set up is actually a lot of fun. It’s great to have a game that isn’t just relegated to a large group setting. Over all we really enjoyed our experience with Truck Off and are looking forward to playing it both together and with family and friends in the coming months.

Game Credits:
Truck Off: The Food Truck Frenzy
Published: 2017
Designer: Ryan Lambert
Artist: John Ed de Vera
Publisher: Adam’s Apple Games

Full Disclosure: We received a copy of this game from Adam’s Apple Games. As always, our reviews and opinions are our own.

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