Cheese Factory - Game Review

Title: Cheese Factory

Designed By: Jason Anarchy

Art By: Alex Cohen and Gaelen Adric Izatt Galloway III

Published By: Jason Anarchy Games

Released: 2023

Player Count: 2-4

Time to Play: 30 Minutes

Ages: 14+

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Overview:

In Cheese Factory, you’re a chef racing to craft cheeses and collect the most cheese points. It’s a light, cute hand management and set collection game with plenty of take-that moments. You’ll juggle card draws, build helpful machines, and time your attacks so your rivals’ plans melt before they can score.

What's purr-ty cool:

5 star chefs

The chef cards are genuinely adorable, and the unique abilities keep games from feeling similar. Most powers are single use, which makes them easy to teach and perfect for lighter groups. I also appreciate the practicality: the back of each chef card doubles as a player aid with the turn flow and action reminders. It’s a small touch that speeds up play.

A tidy action economy with real choices

The action point system gives you a clear, satisfying decision every turn. Spend one point to draw a random craft card and push your luck, or spend two to take a specific face-up card that fits your plan. That trade-off between tempo and precision feels balanced. Machines add another layer—build the right ones early and they quietly power up your turns, helping you complete cheeses and bank the points shown on the cards. Cheese Factory is pretty light, but is a great way to introduce new players to action point systems in games. Since a lot of information is face up, you can more easily coach new players as they learn what to do.

Take-that with timing

If you enjoy a bit of mayhem, the Cheese Fire cards deliver. Blowing up an opponent’s machine at the right moment is both strategic and funny, and it forces players to think about when to commit to building machines. The flip side matters: if your machine gets torched while theirs sticks around, it can feel rough. You’ll want a group that’s okay with take-that; if that’s your table, these swings are part of the fun.

The cat's meow:

"I don’t always make cheese—but when I do, it’s from your machine after I light it on fire. Mmm… smoky brie." - Solo the Spokescat

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Disclosure: Pudgy Cat Games was provided a copy of this game in exchange for a review, however, this review reflects the honest thoughts of the author.