Last modified May 9, 2026 by Jarjar

Overview
Sweet Lands is a rather robust game, which comes to us from Japan, designed by Totsuca Chuo (Ostia) and illustrated by Tatsuki Asano, transporting us to a candy kingdom. Following the king's death, a victim of his excessive sweet tooth, we are summoned to build the most prosperous candy city and thus claim the throne. This game offers 2-3 hour sessions rich in resource management, agricultural and industrial development, and collaboration with local citizens (cards). The game comes with over 200 cards, 14 unique characters with asymmetrical abilities, and 449 beautifully illustrated wooden tokens.
We open the box here.

My first impressions
This is an absolutely magnificent game, breathtakingly elegant in its mechanics! One of the best discoveries of the year! Challenging yet incredibly enjoyable to play, it offers familiar mechanics, but superbly interwoven. It's a game that doesn't forgive a bad start. The build-up is long, but oh so satisfying and pleasant to develop! And what about the final turn, where you finally reap the rewards of your labor: it's magical to see your victory marker climb almost continuously! =)

While not overly intense, the interaction is definitely present, particularly through the choice of actions which can block certain options for other players, as well as in the race for bonuses during and at the end of the game. The interaction remains more of a nuisance than a true game-changer.

Sweet Lands offers truly remarkable strategic freedom. Each game provides a unique experience, allowing for a high degree of control over your tactical choices. You choose your play style. The combinations seem endless, and all approaches appear viable.

You start with very few resources and only a handful of Citizen cards: you have to build everything. This might seem daunting during the first game, but it becomes much easier with each subsequent game. The game is played over 5 rounds and introduces innovative mechanics, such as placing Route tokens and activating bonuses linked to automated buildings.

It is not limited to managing the territory's material resources: it also places a central place on collaboration with citizens. The 200 Citizen cards allow for enriching and diversifying its strategy.

There are a few minor drawbacks, however: some icons are ambiguous, even if their function can usually be deduced. The currency, represented by small cubes, is difficult to handle. Finally, the player aid on the back is printed in very small type, not ideal for my old eyes!

GAME FACTS
The Kickstarter campaign ran from October 29 to November 27, 2024, with an initial goal of 1,530,000 yen. It ultimately raised 106,282,028 yen (US$686,909) thanks to 6,806 backers, a good success, certainly exceeding their expectations.
>> The founder of Uchibacoya was looking for games he wanted to play… and ended up creating them himself. He plays up to 1,000 games a year.

SOLO MODE

No AI, just cards that block three to four basic actions at the start of each turn. The tension of mid-game and end-game objectives is absent. However, this mode allows for testing different strategies. A very good and fun puzzle game!

EXTENSION

Uchibacoya CEO Junpei recently posted a message on BGG regarding upcoming expansions in 2027:

We're currently working on the system design for the expansions. We're almost finished, but we need to take the time to confirm that the game is enjoyable even without any bias. We love the games we create, so we need to take that into account when we evaluate them!

For each expansion, we will add a major rule. These rules cannot be used simultaneously; the Halloween Expansion and the Summer Vacation Expansion each replace all the other rules when used. In addition, each expansion introduces new characters. The characters will appear in Halloween costumes and summer outfits.

The company will soon launch a new game on Kickstarter in the same graphic universe called RosalieThe game revolves around a rose garden and features debt management, business operations, and stock market crashes caused by competition! It seems just as cute and very intriguing!

TECHNICAL SHEET
Number of games played: 7 (solo, 2 and 3 players)
Best player configuration: 2-3
Price paid: CAD 200
Level: experienced player (BGG complexity: 4.14/5)
My best score: 176
Campaigns kickstarter $686,909
Rules

MY FIRST IMPRESSIONS
I loved :
>> Yes, a slow start, but oh so delightful on the 4th and 5th laps!
>> Magnificent production, superb presence on the table.
>> Quite a unique art direction.
>> Open game, with a lot of options.
>> High replayability.
>> The rulebook is very well presented, with a progress bar (a first!) and clear module identification on the side. Well done!

I liked less :
>> Some icons are not referenced in the rulebook.
>> The icons on the appendix are very small, and a game aid would have been welcome.
>> Money isn't very easy to handle.
>> Some components lack a bit of polish.
>> Lots of icons, especially on the character sheet, which can be intimidating during the first few games.
>> Curved chainrings :/ The industry really needs to fix this problem, it comes up far too often!

Sweet Lands is a fairly robust expert game hidden behind a beautiful and cute art direction, offering precise management and high replayability, a true gaming gem!

FUN FACTOR 🙂🙂🙂🙂