Surplus of Sloths Preview

I will say what I’m sure every one of you are saying right now: There’s a surplus of sloths? Where? How do I get one then?? And if there IS a surplus, why does it cost $6,000 or more to buy one online? If you had a pet sloth, what would you name them? I’d go with something like Humboldt. Will this card game answer these and other sloth questions? No, but you may still learn something.

Surplus of Sloths is a quick-playing card game for 2-5 players utilizing hand management, open drafting, and a mechanic I’m not sure I’ve seen before and I’m just not sure what to call it. Please let me know if it has a name, because I’m interested in learning. Oh, and it’s about sloths. But probably not how you think.

DISCLAIMER: We were provided a prototype copy of this game for the purposes of this review. These are preview copy components, but I do know for sure that some of the final components will be different from these shown. Also, it is not my intention to detail every rule in the game. You are invited to download the rulebook, back the game through the Backerkit campaign, or through any retailers stocking it after fulfillment. -T

To setup for a game, separate all sloth types (suits) and set aside the same number of suits for the number of players plus one. In a two player game, there are three suits, etc. Shuffle all of these cards together to form the main deck. Deal each player three cards. Players will look at these cards and choose one to be added to the Surplus Net at the beginning of the game. From the main deck, deal out a matrix of cards face-up according to the rulebook. Decide which player will play first and give them the starting token (this will be different in final copy). You are now ready to play!

In Surplus of Sloths, players will need to consider their turns and their overall strategies according to a main concept that the cards that are collected in the main game only allow players access to the SCORING cards in the Surplus Net. I will explain.

Each game setup will have a set of cards in a matrix on top of what is called the Surplus Net. These cards represent sloths that have fallen into the river. Yes, fallen into the river. You are allowed to save one of the sloths from the river on your turn by simply adding the card to your hand. Other players are then tasked with rescuing another sloth from the same row that the starting player chose from. There will always be one sloth that was not saved, and they will be caught up in the Surplus Net. This is a row of cards, grouped by suit, below the main matrix. For the sake of visualization, I have separated the river from the Surplus Net using the first player marker in the photo below.

Now, the cards that are drafted are added to the players’ hands in order to create numeric runs of the same suit. The cards are numbered 1-7 and there are three X cards. The X cards are wilds for filling gaps in a run, but are much more useful for scoring if left to be caught by the Surplus Net. Once the main deck runs out, players compare the lengths of their runs in each suit and the player with the longest run then takes all the cards in the Surplus Net. ONLY the cards in the Surplus Net count towards scoring, and they are worth face value, unless an X card is present. One X doubles the score, two X cards triple the score, and so on. So there is a battle internally between saving cards to add to a run in hand versus letting a sloth fall to the Surplus Net for scoring at the end of the game.

Speaking of, the player with the most points at the end of the game is the winner!

Components. Again, we were provided a prototype copy of the game, so the cards are functional and the art is nice, but not at production quality. I don’t have any insider information regarding the art style, but I am thinking this art is locked. I do know that the sizes of components will be different, along with the start player token.

Okay, so here’s the rub on this for me. I like the game. I do. I don’t feel the theme fits at all. BUT! I know next to nothing about wild sloths and whether they often fall into rivers and if their rescuers are only allowed to save one at a time. Maybe this is a real thing and I am just ignorant to it. But in playing the game, I don’t get the feeling of saving sloths.

The mechanics are great, but I just don’t know what to call it when you spend the whole game trying to get a long run so you beat others, but then those cards are not used for scoring, only the rejects that the table didn’t want to draft in the first place. What do you call that? Some kind of golden ugly duckling mechanic? I’m miffed. The gameplay is super solid though, and I do really enjoy having to wrack my brain and make certain sacrifices in order to bolster the scoring pile.

Here is another caveat from me. Please don’t play this with someone who is AP prone. Especially not two-player. As soon as one of these players realizes that you can essentially card count your way to a victory, the compromise has been enacted. My colleague Laura is AP prone. I already told her we are not to be playing this two-player for that very reason, unless we agree to a strict 5 second per turn rule.

This one has a quirky little theme, but it asks you to play the game on your head. It’s not all about the longest run you collect, but about the high-paying sloths you let get caught by the huge net. If this sounds like a barrel of sloths to you, then please consider backing it today!