Icing on the Cake Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Object of the Game
• 4-Player Game Setup
• How to Play
  • Round 1: Making Your Cake
  • Round 2: Icing Your Cake
• End of the Game
• 3-Player Game Setup
• 2-Player Game Setup
• Scoring Summary

Components

• 4 cake player boards
• 64 cake tiles
• 64 icing cards
• 16 cut cards
• 4 character tiles (needed in the 2- and 3-player versions)
• 64 flavor tokens
• 10 3D candles (assembly required: insert the top candle piece into the slot of the bottom piece)
• 1 knife token
• 1 scoring pad

Object of the Game

Create the highest-scoring cake after two rounds of play.

• Round 1: Assemble the base of your cake using cake tiles.
• Round 2: Stack icing cards on top of your cake. Add flavor tokens and candles.

4-Player Game Setup

1. Each player takes a cake board and places it in front of them.
2. Shuffle the cut cards and place them face down in a pile.
3. Shuffle the cake tiles (teal color) and divide them into 4 decks of 16 tiles. These will be used in round 1.
4. Shuffle the icing cards (pink color), divide them into 4 decks of 16 cards. These will be used in round 2.
5. Place the flavor tokens and candles within easy reach on the table.
6. The player whose birthday is the closest starts the game and takes the knife token.

Note: Take 1 sheet from the scoring pad and have a pen ready to note down the scoring.

Note: For the 2 and 3 player variant, read also the rule adjustments at the end of the rulebook.

How to Play

Round 1: Making Your Cake

Cutting the Cake

Flip over the first deck of 16 cake tiles and arrange them into a 4x4 grid in the middle of the table. See the Cake Grid example.

The player with the knife token:

1. Flips the top card from the cut cards deck;
2. And decides how to position it.

Then, using the divisions shown on the card, the player splits the middle 4x4 grid into four sections and selects the best section to claim.

Cutting the Cake example: The first player selects the cut card orientation and slices the cake according to the colored sections. They pick the first piece, followed by the other players drafting their pieces in clockwise order.

Making your cake

1. Each player in clockwise order picks one section of 4 tiles from the grid and places them anywhere they would like on their cake board. The tiles don't have to be connected.
2. The active player passes the knife token to the next player clockwise, discards the cut card and places new cake tiles on the table.
3. Round 1 ends after 4 turns, when players have filled their respective cake board.

Cake Placement example:

1. The player drafted the yellow section and places the 4 tiles on their cake board.
2. The chocolate tile with sprinkles facing the edge of the cake board at the bottom;
3. The carrot tile with sprinkles on both outer edges in the top right corner.
4. Connected to this tile, the second carrot tile with sprinkles facing the edge of the cake board.
5. Finally, the strawberry tile with the sprinkles facing the edge of the cake board at the top.

The tiles can be placed in any available spot on the cake board.

Scoring Round 1

Use the score sheet to record player scores.

• Players earn 1 point for each tile. Corner tiles with sprinkles on two edges count as 2 points.
• Players lose 1 point for each sprinkle edge inside their cake.
• Players score points based on their largest orthogonally connected group of cake tiles of the same flavor. The total number of tiles in this group is then multiplied by 2.

Scoring Round 1 example: The player scores 12 points for their sprinkled edges minus 1 point for 1 sprinkled edge inside the cake. Player scores 10 points for the 5 connected strawberry cake tiles (5x2). Their total score for round 1 is 21 points.

Note: Make sure player's cake tiles remain on the player boards for round 2.

Round 2: Icing Your Cake

The player with the knife token at the end of round 1 starts round 2. Play continues counterclockwise.

1. Arrange 16 icing cards into a 4x4 grid.
   • The player with the knife token divides the icing. Dividing the icing cards works exactly the same as Cutting the Cake.
2. Each player selects one section of 4 icing cards from the grid and places them on their cake to earn bonuses (refer to Cake Bonus Toppings). The cards do not need to be connected.
3. Once all players select their section and place their cards, flip 16 new icing cards to make a 4x4 grid.
4. Pass the knife token to the next player counterclockwise.
5. Round 2 ends after 4 turns, when players have completed their cake.

Cake Bonus Toppings

When players stack an icing card on a cake tile of the same flavor, they earn a matching flavor token. Place the token on that cake piece.

• Each flavor token is worth 1 point.
• For each set of four flavor tokens (vanilla, strawberry, carrot and chocolate), players earn a candle that they can place on any space on their board. Each candle is worth 4 points.

Bonus Toppings example: The player drafted 4 icing cards and stacked each one on top of a matching cake tile flavor. For this, they earn one token of each type, which also grants them a candle to place on any spot on their cake.

Scoring Round 2

Use the score sheet to record player scores.

• Players earn 1 point for each icing card with sprinkles on the edge of their cake board. Corner cards with sprinkles on two edges count as 2 points.
• Players lose 1 point for each sprinkle edge inside their cake.
• Players score points based on their largest orthogonally connected group of icing tiles of the same flavor. The total number of tiles in this group is then multiplied by 2.
• Players count the flavor tokens on their board which are worth 1 point each.
• Players count the candles on their board which are worth 4 points each.

Scoring Round 2 example: The player scores 14 points for their sprinkled edges minus 2 points for 2 sprinkled edges inside the cake. Player scores 8 points for the 4 connected strawberry cake tiles (4x2). The 6 flavor tokens are worth 1 point each and the candle is worth 4 points, for a total of 30 for round 2.

Scoring round 2 example totals (as printed on the example board): 14 - 2 = 12 points (sprinkled edges); 4 x 2 = 8 points (connected group); 6 points (flavor tokens, 1 each); 1 x 4 = 4 points (candle); TOTAL #2 = 30 points.

End of the Game

Players add up the scores of both rounds. The player with the most points wins. In case of a tie, the player with the most candles wins.

3-Player Game Setup

Follow the steps of a 4-player game and give each player a character tile. Each character has a different color.

Cutting the Cake (3 players)

During the first cutting phase of each round, the cut card is oriented randomly, and players receive the cake pieces based on their character color. Discard the remaining cake pieces at the end of each turn. After the first turn of each round, play proceeds normally with the start player.

Note: After the first turn of each round, players can select any cake or icing section without having to match their character color.

Example: In the first turn of both round 1 (cake tiles) and round 2 (icing cards), the yellow section is removed from play. The remaining sections are distributed to players based on their character color. In subsequent turns, players can draft from any available section. The remaining pieces are removed from play.

2-Player Game Setup

Follow the steps of a 4-player game and select one random character tile. Place it on the table near the middle grid.

Cutting the Cake (2 players)

During the cutting the cake phase, the start player will choose the orientation of the card and remove the cake tiles matching the color of the character card. Discard the remaining cake pieces at the end of each turn.

Example: After selecting the orientation of a cut card, the first player removes the cake tiles (in round 1) or icing cards (in round 2) that are part of the red section. Any leftover cake pieces are discarded at the end of each turn.

Scoring Summary

Read the rules for detailed scoring.

Round 1

• +1 point per outer edge with sprinkles
• -1 point per sprinkle edge inside your cake
• +2 points per corner pieces with sprinkles
• x2 points per connected cake tiles of the same flavor

Round 2

• +1 point per outside edge with sprinkles
• -1 point per sprinkle edge inside your cake
• +2 points per corner pieces with sprinkles
• x2 points per connected icing cards of the same flavor

Bonus

• +1 point per flavor token on your cake
• +4 points per candle (for a complete set of flavor tokens)