Sugarrr: Review
Information:
Mechanics: Set Collection, Hand management,
Player Age: 8+
Player Count: 2 - 4 Players
Time to Play: 30 - 45 Minutes
Game Designer: Eris Alar
Game Artist: Josh Huf
Publisher: Delta Phase Games
Year Published: 2025
Disclaimer: A review copy for the game was provided by the publisher.
Introduction:
Sugarrr is a rummy/hand management game where players are trying to feed these cute but enormous dinosaur creatures. Players will score fruit cards during the game by having the last card on a pile equal to the amount of cards in that pile. These fruits will count as nothing unless the player can gain some Fruit-O-Saur cards making different fruit score.
Game Anatomy:
Fruit Cards:
There are six fruits in the game, grapes, pineapples, pears, apricots, strawberries, and blueberries.
These fruits will appear twice in the deck numbered 2 - 8.
Fruit Salad Cards:
The fruit salad cards have no value. However, during the game they are a wild card. They can be placed on any card and have any card placed on them. At the end of the game they are worth one point each.
Fruit-O-Saur Cards:
At the end of the game the value on the fruit cards does not matter. The Fruit-O-Saur cards determine the fruits scoring my values. Each fruit will have one Fruit-O-Saur valued from 1 to 5.
At the end of the game each fruit pile will have the amount of cards of that fruit type counted then multiplied by the total value on the Fruit-O-Saur cards of that type.
Setup:
- Shuffle the fruit deck, deal each player five cards, five cards displayed in a row for the market and five cards displayed in a row for the play area.
How to Play:
Each player will have a turn in clockwise order until the fruit deck has run out. After this turn is resolved every player will have one last turn. All the cards in a player's hand at the end of the game are scored into that player's score piles.
On a turn a player can either swap cards or play cards. Swapping isn't an optimal move but to set up a great next turn can be essential. To swap, a player may discard any of their cards to the market and draw cards back from the market. The market will have five cards at the end of the turn.
The act of playing cards is easy. The player plays cards on one of the piles in the play area. The fruit card the player places must either be the same fruit or the same number as the previously placed card.
Any amount of cards can be played from a player's hand on a turn as long as it is a legal placement and is on the same pile. If a pile reaches or exceeds 10 cards at the end of a turn that pile will be discarded. Remember fruit salads are wild (for both being played on and playing on cards). When the player ends their turn they will re-draw their hand back to give cards from either the market or the draw pile. The market will refresh after the player has re-drawn their hand.
If the top card of the pile when the player ends their play equals the size of the pile then that player will take that pile into their scoring pile.
If this is not the case the player will be able to add Fruit-O-Saur cards to score their fruit cards equal to the amount of cards the player played this turn. For example if the player plays three cards and the top of the pile does not equal the size of the pile, they will be able to take either a Fruit-O-Saur valued at 3 or two Fruit-O-Saur cards valued at 1 and 2.
After the fruit deck has run out and the final turn has occured. Each player will count how many cards of each fruit they have and multiply that value by the Fruit-O-Saur value on the cards they have of that type. Lastly each fruit salad on a player's score piles is worth one point. The highest victory points in the winner.
Final Thoughts:
- Easy to remember turns but interesting rummy/ hand management gameplay.
- Interesting choice on which card to leave on the top of a pile, as the players seeking fruits for their scoring pile or score multiplier to make those fruits worth points.
- Can be very lucky based at times with the cards that are drawn.
I was instantly intrigued by Sugarrr as the art style is simply very welcoming and fun. As I looked into rules more I found an interesting hand management puzzle. The gameplay is very simple, the crux of the decisions comes from which card a player wants to leave on the top of a pile as they play cards. If the number matches the amount of cards in that pile the player will take the pile for potential scoring at the end of the game, if not the player will add a value of Fruit-O-Saur cards into the scoring multipliers. It is a fine balance of when to do which, as both is crucial players will need lots of fruits that they have Fruit-O-Saur for, but they also need to gain these Fruit-O-Saur cards before anyone else to make the fruit hoarding worthwhile. This is a great gateway game that is welcoming to anyone due to its fun theme, even better there are plenty of choices for how players resolve this puzzle. I am giving Sugarrr a Silver Deal of Approval.
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