Sugar Heist is a set collection heist game where you play as babies battling it out for candy – some you collect yourself and some that you take from others.
Was this game sent for review or self-purchased?: Sent for review by Maestro Media.
In two sentences, what do you do in the game: A player’s turn consists of three phases (place like-pairs in vaults from your hand, collect new cards, and optionally buy battle cards and battle). You also have the option to bargain with other players for cards you want but the rest of the game is strictly competitive.
Have we played any other titles by this publisher?: We have played others but this is the first we’ve reviewed. We have some Binding of Isaac booster content we are posting shortly as well.
What was surprising about this title: The way that the battle cards change up the routine of the game is great. Some battle cards help you in battle, some give end game points, and some have immediate effects like taking an empty vault from an opposing player and immediately placing cancdy in it. It made it really worth purchasing battle cards (which you have to spend precious candy on).
How likely is this to return to the game table?: Not as likely as other Maestro Media titles for us. It’s a solidly good set collection game, it just probably would be something we bring out once in awhile.
Game length: About an hour or so. You play until the candy deck runs out twice and it is a large deck so it takes a little bit of time.
Language Barrier Playability: Not great for language barriers. The candy cards and vaults don’t need any translation at all. However, the Battle Cards have different descriptions on them that would all need translated which may affect the ability to strategize efficiently.
Artwork: Reminiscent of early 2000s cartoons aimed at teens of the time. Violent but cute, colorful and silly. The color scheme is mostly dark purple contrasted with colorful candy cards. The artwork on the cards features humorous scenes like a baby calling “Mom!” which immediately ends a battle because they tattled.
Quality: Great. Solid cards in a card game, what more can you ask for? The box and rulebook quality are also great.
Strategy: Decent. There’s a luck element to the cards you draw, but you can strategize which vaults the cards go in. You can also stragetize by haggling with other players. Most of the strategy however lies in battles, using battle cards that are to your advantage at the most opportune times.
Instruction Manual: Great. The instruction manual was very straightforward with clear examples. The rulebook wasn’t too repetitive or verbose.
Organization: Good. All cards fit inside easily.
Final thoughts: This is a fun, easy heist game to bring to the table, especially if you like set collection. We enjoyed the silly theme and always enjoy light competitive titles.
Sushiball Games 