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I usually come up with a sweet and delicious intro to my reviews. Something juicy that reflects the tone, theme or gravitas the game in question brings to the table. For Candy Lab though – what can be said about this bite size morsal? Candy Lab is a small game. But one that still manages to be more of a mouthful than the price reflects. That could be the whole review right there. If you would like a more in-depth reflection on my thoughts (that will take longer to read than likely playing Candy Lab) then read on…
Wipe them fingers clean first though.
I Have A Confection To Make
I originally bought Candy Lab to fill out an order I was making. I had a £50 Zatu voucher that I was using up and needed a game to plug the last couple of quid. Candy Lab was the first game that I saw for the right amount of money so it got shoved in my basket without a second thought. Not unlike the ‘special offers’ I see in stores at the checkout. I have worked in retail for 16 years. I know they aren’t special, but I still buy them like the hungry consumer I am.
Full disclosure: I expected this game to be complete and utter dog poop.
I was wrong.
I was genuinely pleasantly surprised with Candy Lab. It is a simple, unassuming game that delivers on what it aims to. It doesn’t break new ground but it doesn’t need to. The game sees you lining up all the lovely tactile candy bars in the centre of the table and playing order cards to collect them. Each candy bar has a point value and an action printed on it. When you collect the candy bars you trigger the actions, and they are worth points if you still have them at the end of the game.
There is some simple hand management needed here too. As you do not draw a card typically on your turn, unless you have none left. You will need to discard collected candy pieces (or use certain candy actions) in order to replenish your hand. Whenever candy pieces are taken, the row is smushed back together so that it forms a single concurrent row of candy. Couple this with the fact that most order cards will have you taking more than 1 candy at a time, it is crucial that you take the pieces that benefits you the most. If you don’t, the combination may not be available when it gets back to you.
The tactile nature of the candy pieces also helps this game stand out a little. As the candy pieces could have easily been cardboard tokens. I appreciate that they made the core component stand out. And even saying that, all the components are great quality. The cards are smooth and waterproof. There is a player aid for every player. The player aid is actually easy to read and symbology is easy to remember. Even the instructions are well written. Heck I have paid 2, 3 even 20 times the cost of Candy Lab for other, bigger games that disappoint on all these levels.
Don't Jump The Gun
As much as I enjoyed my time with Candy Lab – it isn’t perfect. No game is. The main thing you will find with Candy Lab is its lack of replayability. Once you have played the game a couple of times, there really isn’t anything new the game can offer you. But that is ok. For a game you can play in 10 mins, you can’t really ask for much more. If you have young gamers in your group/family then this will of course be a game that will have much more milage for them. My perspective comes from purely playing the game as an adult, with other adults. But this theme, along with its simple mechanics and tactile nature will appeal for a younger audience for sure.
The game is designed as a 3-4 player game. Whilst you can play it 2-player (and it works perfectly fine), there is no dedicated 2 player variant. For a 2-player game you need to set up a dummy player’s hand of cards so that they are there for interaction purposes. This is not something that bothers me, but I know that it might bother others.
The game does have ‘take that’ mechanics such as exchanging hands of cards and discarding candy pieces. But because the game doesn’t take long to play, this never really bothered me like it usually does.
Constantly realigning the candy pieces after every turn can be bit of a chore after a while.
That is about all there is to Candy Lab. With it being such a small game, there are not many things that can be brought up as gripes.
That Really Mint A Lot
I enjoyed Candy Lab. Probably a little more than you enjoyed my pun heavy subtitles. It served as a great game to play with the game group at uni and for those who aren’t as into the hobby as I am. It was also a nice easy game to play whilst socialising or as a pallet cleanser between bigger games.
Whilst I admit it doesn’t exactly blow down any doors, for the price, it is still worth picking up. Especially if you have younger gamers around as they will get a lot more milage from the game. It doesn’t outstay its welcome. Its super easy to learn and teach. You can’t really go wrong with Candy Lab. Give it a try. I was pleasantly surprised when I did
