A sweet haven for cake lovers, Cakeland is in need of a new ruler. The strawberries and blueberries have been competing for some time now, but it’s time for the final face-off! Will your side be the ruler supreme?

What Is It?

A 2-player “I-Split-You-Choose” abstract strategy game. Players are gerrymandering a cake full of berries to attempt to win rule over Cakeland. Players alternate between cutting the cake into groups of 4 tiles and choosing a slice to eat. Whoever has more of their berries on the eaten slice earns a candle. The player with the most candles at the end wins!

Who Is It For?

Lovers of abstract strategy and cake! It’s a bit of a different take on “I-Split-You-Choose” because it’s only 2 players, and the way that things rotate each round is unique, but if you’re a fan of that mechanic, you’ll likely enjoy it. I would recommend it to 2 players most of all; there are variants, but it really shines best at 2. Finally, I’d recommend it to ages 8 and up as it’s not too difficult to learn.

Variants

States – State maps are available for download on the game’s site to vary the board and keep things interesting after many plays!

3-Players – In this variant, the 3rd player chooses which mystery tile to use when a random tile is on an eaten slice of cake. They are only able to win if the other two players tie. It’s an okay variant, but mostly a little dry for the 3rd player, in my opinion.

Solo Mode – For this, you split the cake as normal and eat 3 slices per round (so 3 rounds), and you just want to get as many candles as you can, as normal. If you collect 5 or more, you earn the right to rule Cakeland! … At least for some time. An okay solo game, but a bit too simple for my taste; doesn’t offer enough challenge.

Components + Quality

All the cardboard tiles are pretty average thickness. The art is simple but nice. Team card tiles are cute with the little slots to put your candles. Candles are small, and a little thinner, but fine. The rules are easy to read, learn from, and teach from. Finally, the box is a fine size for what’s in it, which is always nice when you hated boxes that waste space, haha!

PROS

  • CAKE!
  • Small and easily portable
  • Unique with how you don’t get to choose anything/get leftovers on the turns you split
  • Quick to learn, teach, and play
  • Mystery tiles add some randomness which adds some tension when choosing your slice to eat

CONS

  • Does not actually come with cake 🙁
  • The board doesn’t change much turn to turn. Players can split the tiles differently, unless certain shapes get locked once other pieces are eaten, so turns can feel repetitive sometimes.
  • Relatedly, when shapes get locked, the last few turns sometimes don’t offer a lot of decisions for either player

Final Thoughts

Overall, it’s a pretty simple game for 2, which is always nice for those looking to add a quick game to their collection for just them and a friend. I often felt like the game was over 2 or 3 turns before it was technically over because the cake had to be split in specific ways with what was left, which meant the splitter had no choice in cutting, and the eater had few choices in what to eat. But, since it’s a pretty quick game, that’s not the worst problem to have.

It also seemed to often come down the the randomness of the mystery tiles, which was kind of neat because of that feeling right before flipping it over to see if you’d win a candle, or maybe tie.

I could really see playing this with a wide range of players, as long as they enjoy abstract strategy. And maybe split some cake afterwards!

My Final Ratings:
Overall Game – 6/10
Aesthetics – 6/10
Replayability – 5/10
Difficulty – 4/10

Additional Information:
Designers – Eliot Aretskin-Hariton; Justin Gray
Artist – Joe Mauro
Publisher – Self Published
MSRP – $15.00
BGG
BGA
Website

*I was provided a copy of this game to do this review*

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