Timed Order Triage
Orders keep arriving, each on a timer, and you decide which to save first.
- Prototype complexity
- Who plays
- Solo decisions
- Design focus
- Time · Planning · Risk
No.045Overcooked! 201The core loop
Action → feedback → next choice- 01Scan the order queue
- 02Judge remaining time
- 03Commit to one order
- 04Deliver and reprioritize
↻Feedback changes the situation — the next round starts from there.
Walk through one round
A simplified design example. Situations and numbers illustrate the mechanic, not exact rules from a reference game.
- T1
Turn 1 · The situation
Three orders: A has 20 s left and needs 15; B has 35 left and needs 10; C has 40 left and needs 25.
- T2
Turn 2 · The player chooses
The player does A, then B, then attempts C.
- T3
Turn 3 · The feedback
A ships at 15 s, B at 25 s, and C can't finish until 50 s, ten seconds late.
- T4
Turn 4 · The next decision
In review they realize prepping part of C during A would save all three, and start interleaving.
How it plays
Each order has its own patience timer, and expiry costs points or customers. Players weigh nearly-done, nearly-expired and high-value orders, sometimes sacrificing one to save the rest. Cards changing color, shaking and timer bars are the most direct pressure.
What the player weighs
- Do the most urgent first, or the fastest to finish.
- Deliver in sequence for a bonus, or break order to avoid timeouts.
02Start small
Scope is an editorial estimate for the minimum prototype, not the reference game or a production schedule.
03One mechanic, different implementations
Overcooked! 2
Orders line up with individual timers, and delivering them in sequence builds a tip multiplier that resets if you skip, making order choice a strategy.
PlateUp!
Each table has a patience meter, and as I recall a group running out of patience ends the run, so triage decides survival.
The difference worth noticing
In Overcooked! 2 a timeout mostly costs score; in PlateUp! it can be fatal, making triage heavier.
Case notes are Yoroll editorial summaries; rules may change between versions.
04What could you combine?
Regulars served first daily grow fonder and more patient, while those neglected for days sour, turning queue order into relationship management.
Prototype this combo in Yoroll→Follow the next idea
Preserving by Processing
Fresh food rots; a little processing makes it last through the lean days.
- Prototype complexity
- Who plays
- Solo decisions
- 01Acquire perishable food
- 02Watch freshness drop
- 03Process or store it well
- 04Eat when needed
Cooking Doneness Window
Too early it's raw, too late it's burnt; a good dish only exists in a short window.
- Prototype complexity
- Who plays
- Solo decisions
- 01Put food on heat
- 02Watch doneness cues
- 03Pull it inside the window
- 04Get a dish or char
Buy Here, Sell There
Buy low in one port, sell high in another, and the profit lives in the journey.
- Prototype complexity
- Who plays
- Solo decisions
- 01Compare regional prices
- 02Buy where it’s cheap
- 03Survive the trip
- 04Sell where it’s dear