Candy Islands

“Candy Islands” is a simultaneous bidding and social deduction game in which players compete against those on either side to win battles, claim cards, and earn points and other abilities for later bids.

I played the game with Jack (.8.) and Toby (5).

Between each player is a stack of cards (think “7 Wonders: Architects” if you are familiar with it). In every round, you bid a certain amount of candy cannonballs in each hand that you’re going to use against the players to the left and right of you.

The winning player gets to keep the card, which could be points or a minion providing additional powers for later bids. A key balancing mechanic is that you swap cannonballs, meaning that if you make a big play one turn, you are weaker on the next turn.

Some abilities include being worth more points, not having to be given up at the end of the turn, or stealing a cannonball before tallying up. All cards are visible in front of each player, making you well aware of each player’s abilities at the start of the turn.

It’s a fun game that doesn’t take too long and involves a decent amount of decision-making. The rulebook is not super clear, and I had to make a few assumptions as I read through it, but maybe that’s just me.

All the tokens are of high quality, the cards are nice, the screens are good, and the wooden tokens are well-produced with a strong theme. I’m not overly in love with the artwork, and I think the “Candy Islands” theme does the game a bit of a disservice. A slightly more realistic pirate theme might have worked better.

It reminded me quite a lot of Dice Fishing, which I think I prefer slightly more, but different people may have different preferences. We had a good time with “Candy Islands,” and while it’s not a “you must buy this” kind of game, we enjoyed it and will definitely play again.

“Candy Islands” was provided free of charge from Hachette Games as part of a donation to the school where I work, with the understanding that I would review it here. Our thoughts and opinions are our own (trying to get children not to be brutally honest, anyway).