Café Order Challenge
Adults navigate a café ordering game, making real requests, negotiating preferences, and handling authentic service interactions. Players move through 24 speaking challenges anchored to genuine communicative gaps: asking for recommendations, explaining dietary needs, comparing menu options, and resolving ordering problems.
A free Board Game for Adults at CEFR B1 level. Topic: ordering food at a café.
Speaking prompts on the board
- Ask your partner what they usually order at a café and why they like it.
- You are the server. What questions would you ask a customer to understand their preferences?
- Describe the perfect coffee for you — include size, temperature, and any special ingredients.
- Act out ordering a complicated drink with multiple requests. Your partner guesses what you want.
- Ask your partner about a food allergy or dietary restriction they have and how they handle it at restaurants.
- Your team must agree on the best time of day to visit a café and explain why.
- Explain why you would or would not recommend a café you know to a friend visiting your city.
- Stand up and mime ordering at a café counter without speaking. Your group guesses your order.
- Compare two different cafés you know — which one has better service and why?
- You have 30 seconds to present your ideal café experience — include location, menu, and atmosphere.
- Ask your partner what they would do if a café made a mistake with their order.
- Your team must agree on three menu items that represent your country's food culture.
- Describe a time when you had a bad experience at a café and how you handled it.
- Show with your hands and face how you would politely ask a server for something you forgot.
- Explain what makes a good café server and what behaviours would make you leave a negative review.
- Discuss with your group: should cafés charge extra for oat milk or plant-based alternatives?
- You have 60 seconds to convince your partner to try a drink they have never had before.
- Compare the experience of ordering at a busy café versus a quiet one. Which do you prefer?
- Act out a situation where you want to return a cold drink that arrived too hot.
- Ask your partner about their most expensive café purchase and whether it was worth the money.
- Explain how you would describe your favourite café to someone who has never been there.
- Your team must agree: what is one rule all café customers should follow for good behaviour?
- Describe what you would order if you had only five euros and explain your choices.
- Ask your partner what café habit they have developed during the past year and why.