Are you the type of person who can’t get enough cake? Do you sit on your sofa eating cake while watching “Cake Boss?” Are there pictures of the producers of “Cupcake Wars” sitting in a shrine above your pantry? Do you wish Gordon Ramsey would stop yelling so much about undercooked scallops, but would rather want him to tell the blue team that his dead grandmother made better cakes than them? Maybe you should take a look at “Cake Duel”, a light-hearted two-player card game by Game Designer Haitao Mao. It plays in two-minute rounds, so gameplay is fast and furious…meaning you won’t have to wait hours like you normally would if baking an actual cake. Win-Win!
The game itself comes in a square box similar to that of “Crappy Birthday” and equally as colorful. It contains 35 cards, 12 tokens, 1 carrying pouch, and a rule booklet. The 35 cards are broken up into 20 core cards, 10 special cards, 2 core reference cards, and 3 special reference cards. The 12 tokens are broken up into 7 cake tokens and 5 victory tokens. To set up, the core deck of 20 cards is shuffled and four cards are dealt to each player to form their personal hand. The first player (whomever has the best sheep impression) gets 3 cake tokens while the second player gets 4. Including the 10 special cards is optional and has additional set-up instructions.
Editor’s Note 8/27/18: Per the developer – “The backer edition contains extra 9 promo cards. The promo set isn’t necessary to enjoy the game but adds more variety when switched in for the special set. The special set and pouch are both included normally.”
If I had to compare this game to anything else in my collection, I’d have to say that it resembled “Sheriff of Nottingham” but is much faster-paced. Essentially, players take turns being the active player. The active player can claim one or more attack cards face down in an attempt to steal cakes. In response, the defender can either lay down cards to block the attack OR challenge the attacker. You see, the attacker can claim cards they didn’t actually put down…so it’s up to the defender to decide whether or not the active player is bluffing. Similar bluffing rules apply too…that is, the attacker can’t lie about the quantity of cards nor can they claim multiple troop names at once. At the end of every turn, players resolve the claimed card effects. Then, the attacker resupplies (drawing up to four cards) followed by the defender.
The goal of the game is to win three bouts in order to win the duel. A bout ends when either player has no cakes, when either player challenges, or when both players pass in which case the person with more cakes wins. Losing a challenge can be brutal especially if you are up on cakes, but that makes the bluffing element far more tense in my opinion. Trophy tokens are used to keep track of how many bouts a player has won thus far. Cakes are reset at the end of every bout with the loser going first (and thus getting three cakes with the defender getting four). All the cards are reshuffled too, with each player getting four to form their new hand.
The special set cards are…well, special. They form a separate deck at the beginning of the game and two are drawn (without looking) to be added to the core deck. Players may claim ANY special card, even if it’s not in the deck. The special deck introduces new Sheepie, each with unique abilities. For example, the Assassin can steal five cakes and is blocked by one defender. The Oracle can look at an opponent’s hand AND the attacker gets to take another turn. In addition to special cards, there is a team variant/rule set that requires two copies of the game in order to play.
In summary, “Cake Duel” is pure casual ruthlessness. It’s weird using both “casual” and “ruthless” to describe a game, but I’m a critic and that’s what I’m going with. It’s got a casual theme appropriate for players of any age, but the bluffing mechanic makes it a ruthless and intense experience. Above I compared the game to “Sheriff of Nottingham”, but on further reflection it also resembles “Coup” in a way, what with the ability to resolve claimed card abilities, even if you didn’t actually play them. Players never flip their cards unless challenged, so it can be both fun and difficult to keep track of what you and your opponent have “claimed” up to that point. Experienced bluffers will thrive in this game, though I’ve known plenty of kids who lie well…
“Cake Duel” successfully funded on Kickstarter in October 2016 but had some issues in development. The game is currently available for pre-order for $25 as of 8/15/2018, which at first glance seemed a little high. However, the quality of this game is absolutely fantastic and I loved the free travel pouch that came with it. It’s clear that the developer went all out with this game, so I can totally recommend this product at its current $25 price tag. As mentioned above my copy was a Kickstarter Backer Edition, so the retail copy may not 100% fully match.
Final Verdict: 8/10
—