Fast food was never faster than at the "The Grille," the most popular hamburger joint in the city. As Short-Order Sam, you must fill the orders coming in from those picky customers. Some want just a burger. Some want cheese, tomato, or lettuce. Some want cheese and tomato...it gets very confusing. And to make matters worse, the food dispenser keeps spitting out condiments while the open flame oven keeps placing more burgers on the conveyer belt. You've got to be mighty quick to be successful at Pressure Cooker.
The game opens with Sam in the middle of the assembly room. Above him is the grill, which makes the burgers; to his right is the condiment dispenser; to his left is the conveyer belt and below him the electronic order board as well as the entranceway to the wrapping room.
The electronic order board displays three customers' orders. Sam can assemble any of the orders shown. Lettuce, cheese, onions, tomatoes, and buns tops fly out of the chutes on right. To catch a condiment, Sam must line up his belly with the condiment. If it hits his head or feet, it will fall to the ground and Sam will lose a point from his performance rating (more on this later). If an unwanted condiment is being hurled at you, Sam can bounce it back by holding down the fire button when it hits him.
After catching a condiment, Sam places it on a burger on the conveyer belt. When a customer's order has been properly filled, a bun top will fly out of the food dispenser, and Sam must place on top of the burger.
To deliver a completed burger to the customer, Sam must head down to the wrapping room and drop it either in the red, green, or blue chute. The proper chute is determined by the color displayed on the electronic order board.
Sam begins the game with 50 performance points. Points are deducted when Sam makes a mistake, like missing a condiment or letting a burgers fall off the conveyer belt. The game ends when Sam's performance points reaches zero. Sam gains ten points every time his score reaches 10,000. Score points are awarded for good performance, such as completing burgers and catching condiments.
Each wave consists of 12 customer orders. Successive waves become more difficult as customers order more complex burgers and the food travels faster.