The Food $20 draft, played live.

What is in the deck

The Food deck has 40 cards. You won't see the order. A few of the names you might draw:

• Burger
• Pizza
• Fish and Chips
• Dumplings
• Chicken Wings

A worked spend

You have $20 for 5 picks. Spend $8 on Pizza and you've got $12 for four more cards. The reserve rule keeps $1 back for every slot you still owe, so your next bid tops out at $9. Win Burrito, Chow Mein, Fried Chicken and Dumplings at $1 each and you finish with $8 left over. That's your score. Try $5 on every card instead and the rule stops you on the fourth: $5 left, two slots to fill, so $4 is the most you can bid.

How to draft Food

Food is the best category for a first draft with someone who doesn't follow sport. Regional bias decides the bidding: someone from the UK will pay for Fish and Chips, and someone from the US may not. Watch your opponent's first bid to learn what they eat, then price the rest of the deck against it.

The rules are the same for every category and take a minute to read: how to play, or why an auction beats a snake draft.