Advertisement
Players follow the instructions of a nominal "mom" to cook various meals. This is done through a variety of kitchen tasks performed using the device's controller (usually a touch screen), such as chopping vegetables, slicing meat, flipping food in a pan and arranging the final items on a plate. Each of these tasks is accomplished by completing a mini-game that typically lasts less than 10 seconds. The structure of the series consists of the player progressively playing a series of short minigames.
Each minigame represents a different activity during the meal, such as mixing, frying, or chopping the provided ingredients. The minigame mechanics themselves range from quickly drawing parallel lines to chop items, to rhythmic play (in which ingredients are added to the skillet or heat is adjusted at the correct time). If the player makes a serious mistake or time expires without making sufficient progress, that step in the cooking process is considered a failure. When this happens, an angry "Mom" graphic is displayed with flames coming out of her eyes and the caption "Don't worry, Mom will fix it!" is displayed. .
Completing a dish may require playing one minigame, or up to twelve minigames. The player's performance is scored after completing each dish, based on the average result of each mini-game. Depending on the final score, the game may award the player a bronze, silver or gold medal. The highest medal earned for each dish is recorded and displayed next to each dish on the selection screen.