Wok and Roll
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🐸 Una rana saggia sa quando dividere l’ordine… e quando aspettare il salto giusto.
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The FroGames Card
Keep the two white dice. No, wait: the green one. The others watch, hoping you get that five. You mess up the chain, you waste the chili. The menu fills with empty boxes. You try again tomorrow.
WHAT IT IS ABOUT
Dice, menus, and the art of Singaporean zi char
Wok and Roll brings the atmosphere of Singaporean Chinese restaurants (zi char) to the table in a roll-and-write designed by Daryl Chow for Origame in 2020. The game includes two menus, Simple and Expert, to scale the difficulty and maintain high replayability.
On your turn, you roll 6 dice: you keep some, then all other players use the remaining 4 white dice to compose their dishes. Each ingredient must be marked on the menu, combos multiply points, but wasting ingredients is costly. Whoever manages their pantry best wins.
What they say abroad
"In this modern Asian dice game, you and your fellow players are developing menus to become the best zi char (Singaporean for Chinese restaurant) eatery in town."
— Origame
Satisfying combo chains, two menus for progression, and that Singaporean twist that sets it apart from genre clones.
— FroGames
Wok and Roll
Official solo mode with basic rules: roll all the dice, keep two for yourself, and use the rest as if you were an extra player. The experience is complete, the combos work identically, only the tension of seeing others steal the ingredients you wanted is lost.
FrogScore · FroGames editorial rating · based on rules, international reviews, and play sessionsThe ingredients of your zi char
What's on the table
6 ingredient dice
Four white (base: rice, noodles, vegetables, meat) and two colored (special: fish, chili, tofu). The active player chooses, the others use what's left.
Simple and Expert Menu
Two score sheets with increasing complexity. The Simple teaches you combos, the Expert adds special abilities and stricter conditions to maximize points.
Special abilities
Completing certain rows on the menu unlocks single-use powers: reroll dice, change ingredients, multiply points. Activating them at the right moment makes all the difference.
Waste track
Any unused ingredient is marked here. Accumulating too many costs you final points: the game rewards those who cook everything, not those who throw dice blindly.
Come si gioca
Video dimostrativo di gameplay.
🎲How to playThe rules in four steps▼
How to play
The flow of each round
A turn lasts two minutes: roll, choose, score. Everyone plays almost simultaneously.
The active player rolls all the dice: 4 white (basic ingredients) and 2 colored (special ingredients). They can choose to keep some and re-roll the others, or keep all of them immediately.
The active player locks the dice they want for themselves. The other players will only use the 4 white dice remaining on the table to compose their dishes.
Simultaneously, each player marks the obtained ingredients on their menu: filling boxes, activating combos, earning points. Unusable ingredients must be marked on the waste track.
Whoever has completed a row can activate a special ability (re-roll dice, change ingredients, bonus points). The next player becomes active and the round restarts.
⏱️Your first gameThe chronicle, moment by moment▼
A game in five moments
What happens at the table
Not the rules. The experience.
Clean menu, high hopes
Everyone looks at the empty sheet. The first player rolls the six dice, chooses the ones they need. The others share what's left, marking the ingredients on their menu. First boxes filled, no waste. It seems easy.
Combos start working
Someone completes the first row of dishes, activates a special ability. Another chains three consecutive boxes and doubles the points. The dice start to matter: whoever chose poorly in the first turn is now chasing with non-matching ingredients.
The menu fills up, waste accumulates
Mid-game. The active player rolls a die nobody wants: three white rice when everyone has already filled that column. Whoever takes it scores a waste, whoever doesn't risks losing points at the end. Tension rises.
Decisive special abilities
Someone uses a power to re-roll the dice: the chili pepper needed to close a 12-point chain appears. Another changes an ingredient on the menu and completes an impossible dish. Forced moves become victories.
Final count and heavy waste
Completed menus, points tallied, waste subtracted. Whoever managed better wins by 3-4 points. Someone swears they won't waste ingredients next time. Someone else wants to replay immediately with the Expert menu. Game finished in 35 minutes.
🐸Good to know beforehandThree honest things, from friends▼
Good to know beforehand
Three things you need to know
Luck on dice matters
You can plan your combos, but if the chili pepper you need doesn't appear for three turns in a row, the plan falls apart. The active player has more control, while passive players are subject to others' choices and hope for the right dice.
Expert Menu is not just harder
It changes the structure of dishes, adds conditions for special abilities, and requires longer combos. It's not a variant: it's a different game. If the Simple menu bores you after 5 games, the Expert menu will keep you entertained for another 20.
Scales well but isn't identical
With 5 players, turns are quicker (everyone scores almost simultaneously), but dice selection is more chaotic. Solo play offers more control but less tension. It works at all player counts, but the sweet spot is 3-4 players.
🏆Victory and defeatWhat the ending rewards▼
How it ends
How to win
The game ends when all players have completed their menus or after a fixed number of rounds (depending on the chosen menu). Points are counted.
Victory
- Sum the points of all completed dishes on your menu
- Add bonuses from chain combos and activated special abilities
- Subtract points lost for each wasted ingredient marked on the track
How you lose points
- Each unused ingredient marked on the waste track costs final points
- Incomplete dishes on the menu do not give points (some empty cells zero out entire rows)
- Special abilities not activated at the right time: lost forever
Whoever managed their pantry best wins. Whoever wasted the least, chained the longest combos, and activated abilities at the decisive moment takes home the game.
💬Frequently asked questionsQuick answers before checkout▼
Frequently asked questions
FAQ about Wok and Roll
What mechanics does Wok and Roll use?
Roll-and-write (roll dice and mark on a sheet), set collection (collect ingredients to complete dishes), chaining (combo chains that multiply points), and simultaneous choice (everyone plays at the same time using dice left by the active player).
How long does a game last?
30-45 minutes with the Simple menu, up to 45-50 with the Expert. Turns are quick because almost everyone scores simultaneously: zero downtime, even with 5 players.
Is the Expert menu really necessary?
Yes, if you want more depth. The Simple menu teaches you the mechanics and works for quick games or playing with beginners. The Expert menu adds layers of decision-making, more complex abilities, and more satisfying combos. After 5-6 games with the Simple, you move to the Expert and don't look back.
Does it play well solo?
Yes, it has official solo rules: you roll all the dice, keep two for yourself, and use the remaining ones as if you were a second player. The experience is complete, the combos identical, but it lacks the tension of seeing others steal your ingredients. Solo rating: 4/5.
Is it available in Italian?
No, this edition is in English. The game is almost entirely iconic (dice have symbols, not text) and the menu sheets are intuitive. You need to read the special abilities, but once learned, you won't consult the text again.
The people behind the game
Who invented it, who designed it, who publishes it — and what else they've done.
Wok and Roll is a roll-and-write for 1-5 players, 30-45 minutes, ages 10+, designed by Daryl Chow and published by Origame. The game brings the atmosphere of Singaporean zi char restaurants to the table: roll ingredient dice, compose dishes on your menu, chain combos to multiply points. Includes two menus (Simple and Expert) to scale difficulty, official solo mode, and simultaneous choice mechanics that eliminate downtime even with 5 players. Perfect for those looking for a tactical, immediate, and high-replay-value roll-and-write. Available on FroGames.it.
Wok and Roll
Frequently Asked Questions
The answers you're looking for, no beating around the bush.
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