Sundae Split

The active player (the dealer) deals all the cards for that round into as many piles as there are players, some face up and some face down. The other players then choose one pile in order; the dealer keeps the last one. Cards that score points include: bananas (bonus for whoever has the most), cherries (multiplier with your most collected flavor), flavor sets of vanilla/chocolate/strawberry, and whipped cream-sprinkle pairs. Vegetables give negative points. The game ends when the deck is empty; whoever has the most points then wins.

Sundae Split makes the "I-split-you-choose" mechanism the heart of the game, and it works surprisingly well: the splitter has a puzzle to solve, the choosers a bluff to see through. Reviewers frequently compare it to Sushi Go!, but point to the more interesting and interactive core thanks to the splitting mechanism. The scoring system with six different categories gives the game more tactical depth than its deceptively simple theme suggests. A smooth and accessible card game that works perfectly with both children and adults — and always ends with the question of who actually put that broccoli in their stack.