Thrift Treasure: Take the Cake

We seem to be fortunate to have thrift stores that actually have a lot of games we want to play. For each game we feature in our weekly Thrift Treasure series there are dozens of games we leave behind for someone else to enjoy. Of course, some of these are examples of games we recommend you never buy new. Others we already have in our collection and some are just targeted at an age level that isn’t appropriate for anyone in our household.

This week we made an exception and picked up a copy of Take the Cake by Gamewright even though it was recommended for ages 4+. We couldn’t resist the artwork, the plastic cupcake-shaped dispenser or the cute wooden “cake sprinkles” in the box. It’s a game that is out of print, so this might have been our only chance at procuring a copy!

Setting up the game is very quick – shuffle the sixteen cupcake cards and deal out four of them to the center of the play area. Put all of the wooden shapes (triangles, squares, circles and stars) inside of the cupcake and shake it to mix them. Place the box top open side up next to the cards. Determine first player and give them the die.

On each player’s turn (Take the Cake supports up to four players) they will roll the die to determine how many shakes of the cupcake they are allowed. Once the number is established, they’ll grab the shaker and turn it upside down, shaking it as many times as the number they rolled into the box top.

If any (or many) of the wooden shapes come out, they are examined to see if they match any of the four face up cupcake cards. If so, place the shapes on the matching spaces on the cards and return any extras back to the cupcake. If any of the cards are now complete (full of matching shapes), the active player collects the card (with the shapes still on it) and draws a new card to replace it. It is now the next player’s turn.

Play continues in clockwise order until all shapes have been removed from the cupcake and successfully placed in a matching space on a card. At that point the game ends immediately and the player with the most collected cupcakes wins Take the Cake! If there is a tie, the player with the most sprinkles (wooden shapes) among those who tied is the overall winner!

While the age recommendation is accurate, Take the Cake didn’t turn out to be a complete bore for us! It was quite fun shaking the shapes from the cupcake and frustrating when you didn’t get the ones you needed. Definitely worth the 88 cents we paid at Goodwill and recommend you keep an eye out for a copy for yourself! You’ll find some copies on Amazon, but the better deals seem to be on eBay. Or as always, watch your local thrift stores for a heavily-discounted copy!

What is your favorite type of cupcake?