Top 10 games to play with your food

Admit it: like any dedicated gamer, you’ve been so absorbed by a particular game that meals that you've missed meals and forgotten fluids. But it’s important to keep energy topped up during marathon bouts of Disgaea or multiplayer sessions of Monster Hunter.

The wise have learned how to do the two things at the same time, while avoiding a sticky analogue nub or smeared touchscreen. And daft as it may sound there’s definitely something in matching your foodstuffs to the game in hand, for inspiration, slow-burning sustenance or simply a sugar rush boost at a crucial moment.

You’ll have your own suggestions of course, which we invite at the foot of the page.

Top 10 games to play with your food

If scientists are to be believed the ultimate brain food is oily fish, but try eating mackerel while engaging with a handheld platform - it’s likely to lead to slippery buttons and a smelly console.

Finger food is the way to go, and there’s no better way to get some tasty omega 3 while solving a few of Dr Kawashima’s conundrums than scoffing a bit of sushi.

On a serious note, people who eat fish once a week are 34 per cent less likely to suffer from Alzheimer’s disease not to mention other brain-related conditions. Sushi and Brain Training seem like a match made in heaven.

Game: Mercury Meltdown
Food: Maltesers

Apart from the obvious spherical theme, Maltesers are one of the greatest snacks ever invented to eat while you’re gaming. The reason is simple: even at an early age we learn that cute trick of squeezing open the bag - just so - to allow a single Malteser to roll its way down the impromptu chute and into the hand.

Of course, you can come up with some Heath Robinson-esque delivery mechanism too, but whether your method is simple or elaborate Maltesers are the perfect snack if your eyes need to be constantly glued to the screen.

Game: The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
Food: Fish Finger Sandwiches

This is an unashamed paean to nostalgia. For me it’s Birdseye Fish Finger sandwiches coated with mayonnaise, for you it could be Spam fritters or jellied eels.

When Link to the Past was released on GBA it served as a glorious introduction to the Zelda series for a new generation, and a rainbow speckled trip down memory lane for the rest of us.

The return of such gaming gems are always welcome and, if you’re really feeling in the mood, should be celebrated with a gastronomic corollary. After all, there’s nothing like the taste and smell of food to take you back.

Game: Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness
Food: Banana

Super Monkey Ball would be obvious but that game doesn’t really require the slow-burn energy that’s feted by everyone from tennis stars to ballerinas. No, in this regard the humble banana is the perfect - if not essential - food to have while engaging in those cascading mental processes demanded of Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness.

As easily digestible energy food, it will keep you going for a long time. But, also, just look at the symbolism. Is there any other food on the planet that chimes so well with Disgaea’s own surreal internal ill-logic?

Game: Sid Meier’s Pirates!
Food: Chocolate coins

What better way to celebrate and enjoy the extravagant me-heartiness of Pirates! than stuffing your face with chocolate coins as a reward.

The only downside is that the joyous rewards are meted out at such a rapid pace that you’ll soon become sick from all the gobbling. Best leave them for marrying the nobleman’s daughter or sacking an ancient colony.

Fans of The Apprentice might prefer Treasure Flakes, if they ever go into production.

Game: Me & My Katamari
Food: Toffee apple

The toffee apple has to be one of gastronomy's strangest inventions: it's a raw apple covered in toffee, after all. Yet it's not this that brings to mind Keita Takahashi's celebrated piece of video game whimsy, but more the fact that it's open to customisation on a gargantuan scale.

Once the apple is coated in the sticky stuff there's a zillion toppings to give it extra zing, anything from candy fruit to brandy snap. Significantly the more you add the larger it gets, until getting it in your mouth becomes a health hazard.

Game: echochrome
Food: Carrot and celery sticks

The Escher inspired universe of echochrome is beautifully austere, uniform and, dare we say it, cold. And let’s be frank: it’s not for everyone.

The kind of person who enjoys this title probably errs toward a stoic rather than an Epicurean outlook on life and gastronomy. Healthy but ultimately conservative varieties of vegetable snacks are order of the day here.

Game: Dead Head Fred
Food: Jelly Babies

This under-acknowledged gem had its issues, but the conceit of a headless hero able to use decapitated noggins for special powers was genius. It also became the first ever video game to win a writing award from the Writers Guild of America.

What better snack to parallel its central motif than Jelly Babies. Interestingly, research has discovered that childless women are less likely to bite the heads of Jelly Babies first than those with children. Draw your own conclusions.

Game: God of War: Chains of Olympus
Food: Ambrosia Creamed Rice Pudding

Kratos’s task is an epic one - you’d expect nothing less from a story based on Greek myth – so sustaining your energy while immersing yourself in the game's atmosphere is going to take something special.

Ambrosia is the food of the Gods, of course, and while you could argue that the Devon Company’s name is nothing more than a clever marketing stunt, there are few who would argue against its rice pudding as the stuff of legend.

Game: Wario Ware, Inc
Food: Dolly Mixtures

Arguably the game that provided the springboard for the casual games industry – Wario Ware’s bite-sized zaniness proving that great things do indeed come in small bursts.

Dolly Mixtures would be the perfect accompaniment, their fresh vibrant bursts of flavour complementing the three second explosions of gameplay.

Practicality is paramount here, too, because reaching for that bag at the wrong moment will surely result in a lost life. Split the bag open wide and enjoy. Or better still, pour them into a bowl before you even begin.

Other game snacks to consider