Zest

TCG undefinedZest is a food TCG by Effy and Ruby. The TCG opened for prejoin April 1, 2013.

It went on hiatus June 2014 and was later adopted by Jessica. In March 2016, Effy began working on it to bring it back.

Zest reopened June 5, 2016.

Current Staff

 * Effy - Owner

Former Staff

 * Ruby - Co-Owner
 * Suza - Forum Helper, Card Maker
 * lollie - Forum Helper
 * Sujini - Forum Helper
 * Danielle - Forum Helper
 * Jenny - Card Maker
 * Shawnna - Chief Forum Helper

Original run
Zest started out as a common want while Effy and Sheva discussed ideas for future TCGs. The two originally agreed to co-own the TCG, and Sheva came up with the template. Due to time constraints due to University, Sheva could not start on the project until the summer. Sheva backed out of the project and gave full reign to Effy, and Ruby stepped in as co-owner.

Prejoin began April 1, 2013 and was incredibly successful with 43 prejoiners in less than a week. The TCG's popularity far exceeded both Effy and Sheva's expectations.

Second run
Zest returned as a mini TCG due to high demand from its original players.

Effy began working on it circa March 2016 after conducting a poll on Exposure Forums February 2016 to determine whether there was still interest. Due to the original domain expiring June 4, 2016, Effy prepared Zest to open to the public for its second Prejoin event, entitled "(p)Rejoin", and opened the TCG June 5, 2016.

Cards
There are two types of decks on Zest: Normal and Special.

Normal Decks
Normal decks feature dishes from various food groups.

Special Decks
The Special decks are worth 2, and are typically member created or relate to website events.

Member Cards
Member cards are worth 0 and may be traded freely between members. For every 15 member cards collected a player may claim a mini mastery. Member cards containing an orange in the bottom right-hand corner mean that said member is a Prejoiner.

Leveling
Levels are based on card worth. To level, a member must have the correct amount of cards. The levels are named after different kinds of chefs. The level names were decided by Shawnna.
 * Patissier: 001-100 cards
 * Tournant: 101-200 cards
 * Grillardin: 201-300 cards
 * Rotisseur: 301-400 cards
 * Poissonnier: 401-550 cards
 * Saucier: 551-700 cards
 * Sushi Chef: 701-900 cards
 * Senior Chef: 901-1100 cards
 * Sous Chef: 1101-1500 cards
 * Executive Chef: 1501-2000 cards

Mastering Decks
When a player has collected all 15 cards in a deck, they obtain the mastery badge. Mastered cards cannot be traded off.

Currency
Zest uses an automated point system. Members may use points to play extra games and buy items in the shop. Points may be "found", or earned through games and activities.

Former currency
Zest used lemons and limes for currency, which could be exchanged on the forums for either cards or ingredients. The Wild Ingredient coupon could be exchanged for a choice ingredient.

Stories
Because of the complications caused by recipes, Zest brought stories, or portals, to the table. Members could unlock stories and complete the missions the stories required as they wished. Recipes were completed and introduced in the stories.

Participating in the stories was completely optional, but offered a more chellenging side of Zest to players who wanted to enhance their game. The stories were run using Portalish by Effy.

Ingredients
In Zest's original run, players could obtain ingredients from various games and other website activities. Ingredients were used for recipes, which were required to complete levels; when stories were introduced, mastering recipes was required to complete a story.

Recipes
Mastering recipes was a requirement to level up in Zest's original run. There were several different recipes to choose from, and members had collect all the cards and ingredients listed on each recipe card to complete it.

Layout Gallery
Zest has multiple skins players may choose from while browsing.