FAQ
How do I play?
Each round shows a five-point taste shape: sweet, sour, salty, umami and bitter. Type a food you think has that taste, and press Enter. There are seven rounds, and you have 60 seconds for each. Every round is a different kind of shape: some are a spike on one taste, most mix two or three. The loud ones come first and the subtle ones last.
What happens when the timer runs out?
That round scores nothing and the game moves on. The clock keeps running if you reload or leave the page, so a refresh won't buy you more time.
How is my answer scored?
Out of 100 per round, in three parts:
- Shape, up to 60. Are the tastes in the same proportions as the target?
- Strength, up to 20. Is your food about as intense as the target?
- Rarity, up to 20. A bonus for a less obvious food. It only counts when the shape is close, so an obscure food that misses the shape earns very little.
The tiers are Mud, Leftovers, Hot Plate, Chef's Kiss and Golden Truffle.
Where do the taste numbers come from?
They are our own estimates. We wrote a taste profile and a rarity score for each food, using published sensory-panel research as reference points (see Credits). They are not laboratory measurements, they have not been verified by a professional taster, and reasonable people will disagree with some of them. If one looks wrong to you, tell us.
Why wasn't my food accepted?
The game only knows the foods on its list, around 1,300 so far. If it says "Buddy has never eaten that," the food isn't on the list yet. Small spelling mistakes are corrected: you'll see the suggested spelling and can press Enter again to accept it.
Why did a good answer score low?
Usually because one taste was off. After the reveal, "Taste by taste" shows each of the five tastes for the target and for your answer, side by side.
Is everyone playing the same shapes?
Yes. There is one daily for everyone, numbered, with the same seven shapes. A new one starts at midnight New York time.
How is "better than X% of players" worked out?
When you finish a daily, your total is compared with the totals of everyone else who has finished that same daily. The figure is the share of them who scored lower than you. It appears once enough people have finished for it to mean something, and it keeps changing through the day as more people play. Only your first finish of the live daily counts toward it.
Can I replay today's daily?
No. You get one attempt at each day's daily. If you close the page part-way, you pick up at the round you were on, and once you finish, your result stays until the next daily.
What is the archive, and what does the unlock do?
The archive holds every daily that has already run. Today's daily and the four before it are free to play. A one-time unlock opens all the older ones, plus Infinite mode, which deals endless random games. Details are on the unlock page.
I bought the unlock. How do I use it on another device?
Open the unlock page on that device or browser, enter the email address you paid with under "Already bought it?", and it is unlocked too. The same works if you clear your browser's data.
Who is the pig?
That's Buddy. He starts in the pen. Every point you score moves him closer to the fancy kitchen, and 700 points gets him to the stove.
Is it free? Are there ads?
Today's daily and the four before it are free, and the game currently shows no ads. The rest of the archive and Infinite mode are a one-time purchase.
What do you do with my data?
There are no accounts. We keep a record of the foods people type and how they scored, with nothing that identifies who typed them, so we can add missing foods and improve the scoring. Your own progress and scores are saved only on your device. The details are on the Privacy page.
Should I use this to decide what to eat?
No. TasteBuddy is a game. It is not dietary, nutritional, allergy or medical advice, and some items on the list are ingredients or flavourings that are not meant to be eaten on their own.
Where can I see the answers?
The answers page shows the hidden food and the best-scoring answers for every daily, starting the day after it runs.
How do I contact you?
Email hello@tastebuddy.dev.