Reading time: ~10 minutes
New Player Guide
Welcome to Foodogeki. By the end of this page you'll know how the eight role categories work, why "convert undecided people" is the win condition, and how to build a starter deck. No prior tower-defense experience required.
This guide assumes you're at Arena 1 with the starter deck. If you're already past Arena 3, jump to Meta & Strategy.
Step 1 — How matches end
Foodogeki is a 3-minute card-battle. Each player runs one food truck (the equivalent of a King's Tower) plus a stock tower. The goal is to win on customer revenue when the timer expires — or destroy the opponent's food truck for an early victory.
Customers come from converting undecided people — the lunch-rush crowd scattered across the arena. Convert more of them than your opponent, and they bring more money to your truck. Most matches are won on revenue, not destruction.
Step 2 — How to play cards
You start with a small Buzz pool (the resource at the bottom of the screen). Buzz refills passively as the match plays out. When you play a card, you spend its Buzz cost. Most cards cost between 2 and 6 Buzz.
If you spend 3 Buzz to defeat your opponent's 5-Buzz card, you've gained 2 Buzz of advantage. Stack those moments and you'll outpace them.
Step 3 — The eight roles, explained simply
Every card in Foodogeki has one of eight action roles. Knowing the role tells you what the card targets:
| Role | Targets | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Attract | Undecided people (converts them) | Discount Diva |
| Attack | Opponent cards only | Bouncer |
| Destructor | Opponent buildings (truck/stock) | Sneaky Sam |
| Disruptor | Opponent's customers (counterfeits cash) | FatKat |
| Loot | Opponent's customers (steals cash) | Granny Grifter |
| Spell | Buffs/debuffs/AoE damage | Chilli Charge |
| Building | Stationary structure (some spawn troops) | Buzz Booth |
| Crew | Auto-triggered crew (no deck slot) | Stock Man |
Step 4 — Hybrid roles
Many cards are hybrids — most commonly Attract + Attack. Discount Diva waves her sign to attract, swings it like a club to attack. Master Chef chats with undecided people and clobbers troops with a spatula. Hybrids are the workhorse of most decks because they do two jobs at once.
Pure-attract specialists (Hashtag Harmony, Busker, Twiggies) trade combat utility for higher conversion rates. They cannot defend themselves — escort them.
Step 5 — Your first combo
The "Booth + Diva" push
- Drop Buzz Booth at the back of your half. It starts spawning Noris every 3 seconds. Cost: 4 Buzz.
- While Noris stream forward, play Discount Diva behind them. Cost: 3 Buzz.
- Diva walks up converting undecided people. Noris reach the bridge and start engaging defenders.
- If your opponent commits a strong defender, drop Chilli Charge (2 Buzz) on the push. Buffed Noris and Diva tear through.
Total: 9 Buzz over ~12 seconds. Sustained pressure that's hard to stop without committing 8+ Buzz.
Step 6 — Defense first, attack second
The single biggest mistake new players make is overcommitting to attack while their stock tower dies undefended. When your opponent drops a card, wait — see what they're doing. Use the cheapest defender that can clear the threat. Don't drop your 5-Buzz answer to a 3-Buzz problem.
Step 7 — Cycling
Your deck has 8 cards. Your hand has 4. Play one, draw the next. Cycling cheap cards is how you get back to your win condition faster — if your win condition is Buzz Booth + Discount Diva, and you've already played both, the fastest way to get them again is to cycle through cheap cards (Zapotle, Chilli Charge) until they come back.
Players who can predict which card their opponent will draw next are the players who win matches.
You're ready. What now?
Browse the cards
Read backstories, compare stats, find your favorite role.
Explore the roles
Deep-dive on Attract, Attack, Destructor, and the rest.
See the current meta
Tier list of roles, featured decks, matchup chart.
Join the community
Ask questions on Discord, share decks on Reddit.
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