A Family Review of Go Nuts for Donuts

Play Time: 20 Min / Players: 2-6 / Complexity: Low / Age: 8+ / Publisher: Gamewright / Designer: Zachary Eagle

What You Will Find in Our Go Nuts for Donuts Review

• How to Play
• Gameplay Experience
• Components
• Final Thoughts

Sponsored Links:

We first tried Go Nuts for Donuts at Wellycon 2024 back in June.  At the time it was a big hit for us, and we were lucky enough to win a copy to take home. Now that we have had it for a few months we can tell you if the fun factor held up or if its popularity faded like…well a week old donut.

How to Play Go Nuts for Donuts

The goal of Go Nuts for Donuts is to gain as many tasty donuts and points as you can. The game ends when the deck of donut cards runs out.

To set up Go Nuts for Donuts, you’ll need to shuffle the donut cards and lay them out face up in a row, with one more donut on display than the number of players. Each player is then given a set of selection cards with numbers on them that correspond to the donuts on the table. So, for example if you have 4 donuts on the table and 4 donut spots labelled 1-4 each player will get a set of selection cards numbered 1-4.

At the start of each round, everyone secretly chooses a donut by selecting the numbered card that matches their desired treat. After everyone has made their choice, all the cards are revealed at the same time, adding some suspense as you wait to see if you have competition for your chosen treat. If a donut is chosen by only one player, that player gets to keep it, but if multiple players select the same donut, it gets discarded, creating a bit of disappointment for anyone left empty handed.

Each type of donut has unique scoring conditions, some like the glazed donut will give you the points displayed on the card, others like the jelly-filled donuts provide greater rewards if you accumulate more of the same type, and there are even some that give you negative points but provide some other benefit like allowing you to snatch up cards from the discard pile. The variety of donut cards increases with the player count.

Players then gather their selection cards and new donuts are drawn to refill the row. The game continues until there aren’t enough cards left to fully replenish the donut display. When the final round wraps up, players tally their points based on the donuts they’ve collected. The player with the highest score wins, but in the case of a tie, the one with the most donuts takes the victory.

Go Nuts for Donuts Gameplay Experience  

One of the things that immediately attracted us to Go Nuts for Donuts when we first tried it was the moments of suspense and excitement as you all wait to flip your cards and see if you snapped up your preferred tasty treat. It’s a great way to keep everyone engaged. I love it when games incorporate these moments of collective suspense.

Because you come away empty handed when you pick the same donut as someone else it really forces you to think not only about what your preferred donut is but also whether you are likely to get competition for it. I might be desperate to get hold of the one jelly-filled donut in the row to expand my collection, but I need to think about whether anyone else needs the same card. Am I better off going for a less desirable card in the hopes I come away with something and others come away empty handed? That’s the sort of decision you will need to make in this game.

Speaking of donuts, there is a great variety here and they are pretty diverse. I love how the variety of cards available expands as player count increases. It really does open up some new strategies and scoring opportunities. That makes the game feel quite different at higher player counts.

When you only have two or three people playing there really aren’t any cards that can mess with your opponents. But as the player count goes up there are cards that allow you to cop a points penalty to gain some other reward, like for example the day-old-donuts that deduct 7 points from your total in return for retrieving 3 cards of your choice from the discard pile. So how does this help you mess with your opponents? Well, if in subsequent rounds you can get hold of a cinnamon twist all players pass a card to the left, meaning you can dump your scummy day-old-donut to some other poor unsuspecting mug, and they cop the point penalty without the associated reward.  

The sort of interaction I mention above is one of the reasons why I prefer this game at higher player counts of 4 or 5, because there is just more variety of cards and strategies to pursue. I also find at 2 or 3 players you can more easily get stuck picking the same cards as someone else for multiple rounds resulting in players coming away empty handed with no sweet treats.

This is probably my biggest gripe with Go Nuts for Donuts. Overall, it’s a really fun game and everyone who we have introduced it to has enjoyed it. But…. players can at times end up going multiple rounds picking the same card as someone else and getting nothing. If it happens once in a while it’s no big deal. When it happens 3, 4 or 5 rounds in a row people can get really frustrated and it can detract from the fun factor. Although it isn’t frequent it does happen.

This brings me to a comparison that I am sure a lot of people will make with another Gamewright game, Sushi Go! Both games have a fun food theme, both games are very simple and both games feature set collection. I think the difference with Sushi Go! is it doesn’t suffer from the issue I mentioned above. Everyone in Sushi Go! gets a card each round, whereas in Go Nuts for Donuts at times you can go multiple rounds without getting a card at all. But….I think there is more suspense and excitement in the card reveal for Go Nuts for Donuts because everyone is awaiting eagerly to see if they secured their chosen treat.

Components

The components are simple in Go Nuts for Donuts but that is a good thing, they don’t need to be over the top in this sort of simple game. One thing I just love is the illustrations for the various donuts and the variety of cards. The explanations on the cards are also simple and easy to follow, which makes it easy to teach.  

Sponsored Links:

Final Thoughts on Go Nuts for Donuts

Go Nuts for Donuts is a fun and simple family game that we really enjoy. Although there can be frustration if you miss out on a donut multiple times in a row, it’s still fun enough to come out regularly at our house.  

So here is how we all feel about it. My wife and daughters (aged 9 and 12) love this game although my wife usually feels like 2 or 3 games in a row is enough. My son (16) and I really enjoy it too but probably not quite as much as they do. So, in short this is a great family game for us we can all enjoy.

Is Go Nuts for Donuts easy to learn?   Yes, very easy to learn.

What will Go Nuts for Donuts teach my kids? This game encourages players to keep an eye on their opponent’s strategies so that you avoid duplicating their picks for donuts.

What age is appropriate for Go Nuts for Donuts?    The box says 8+ but I think you could introduce this to kids a year or two younger, it is very simple to learn.

Does Go Nuts for Donuts have good replay value?   Yes, especially at higher player counts as more card variety is introduced.

We hope you enjoyed our Go Nuts for Donuts review. If you have any more questions or just want to share your thoughts on this game please leave a comment below, or get in touch through our contact page.

About the Authors

We are parents who love board gaming. We have three children and have been enjoying board games as a family ever since we had our first child. We share our real unbiased experiences and opinions on board games so you can decide if they are right for your family. We also write guides and articles to help you get the most out of your family game time. If you enjoy our content and want to support us you can do that through our Ko-fi page by clicking on the button below.