Sunny Day Sardines: A Tiny Tin of Set Collection

Collect colorful sardine cards to fulfill colorful orders and become the sardine cannery’s employee of the month.

Sunny Day Sardines is published by 25^th Century Games. It is a 2-4 player game that plays in 15 minutes.

Gameplay

There are two decks: order cards and sardine cards. The decks are shuffled separately. Each player is dealt two sardine cards, then five are placed face-up to form the market. Sardines come in four different colors, and the cards will show 1-2 fish, either the same color or different colors. Four order cards are then placed face-up to form the order display, showing different colors and numbers of fish.

On a player’s turn, he can either discard the correct sardines from his hand to claim an order card from the display, or he can take sardines from the market to add to his hand. When taking from the market, a player can either claim two cards that each show a single sardine, or he can take one card that shows two sardines. At the end of his turn, the display or market is then refilled, and the player must discard down to six cards if necessary.

To complete an order, the player must discard at least the correct sardines listed, but it's possible to exceed the required number and still fulfill the order — particularly by discarding sardine cards with multiple sardines on them.

The game ends once the last card in the order deck has been added to the display and everyone has had an equal number of turns. Players add up the points on all the order cards they claimed during the game. The player with the most points wins.

Review

Sunny Day Sardines is simple, straightforward, and very portable. It’s a small deck of cards that fit neatly in a tin. You could play this game easily at a restaurant or beach or over a cup of coffee.

The rules are very simple, and there’s not a whole lot to the game. You’re just collecting sardines and trying to complete specific orders, either trying to steal one out from an opponent or going for ones you don’t think they’re after.

There can be a little bit of a memory element as you try to remember which cards the other players have chosen, and some luck-of-the-draw as the orders and market get refilled. Maybe just the right order to match your hand is about to be pulled.

It’s an attractive little game, and kind of a quirky theme, but it did feel just a little flat. As a filler, it can be an enjoyable enough bite-sized game, but it’s not very memorable and we came away from it feeling a little nonplussed. Good for travel but unlikely to be pulled out very often at home, unless you have a deep passion for sardines!

Pros: Very portable, plays quickly and teaches fast, good travel game

Cons: Not particularly memorable

Disclosure: we received a complimentary review copy of this game.