One day I hope to figure out the magical voodoo behind NinjaBee’s Kefling series. On paper, the idea sounds like a complete snore: Micromanage resources and build structures along a linear construction path. But, like SimCity, the concept works amazingly well and can hold players for hours on end.

A World of Keflings: Sugar, Spice and Not So Nice is the second of two themed DLC offerings coming out just in time for the holiday season. While Curse of the Zombiesaurus falls squarely in the Halloween theme, Sugar, Spice and Not So Nice straddles the line; the candy theme works for either Halloween or Christmas. It’s a short entry, but regardless of when you play it, plan on losing a couple of hours.

A World of Keflings: Sugar, Spice and Not So Nice is a stand alone adventure in the vein of It Came From Outer Space. Rather than integrating into the larger game, it is a sidestory accessed by starting a brand new game from the menu.

You begin by helping a Wizard set up a magical tower, only to find out he’s been playing you the entire time. To cement his grip, he sends his pot-bellied henchman, Augustus, to drain the Caramel Lake, freeze the Chocolate Volcano and shatter a Giant Turtle. The loss of these landmarks causes the rightful ruler, Charlie, to lose his memory (turning him into an Amnesiacorn). Your job is to reverse Augustus’s damage and help Charlie get his memory back.

Sugar, Spice and Not So Nice follows the same structure as other Kefling games. You start with a small group of helpers and are charged with creating structures, each targeting a specific objective. For example, to unfreeze the Chocolate Volcano, you need to build a Cinnamon Smelter (or something like that) that allows you to create the necessary object. In order to do that, however, you need to have a Bakery and other support structures.

What sounds like a logistics nightmare is incredibly easy in-game. Objectives are slowly handed out. The resources/ components needed to create a few structures can be intimidating, but with smart planning, you can figure out how to never run into a resource crunch, allowing you to pop needed components out on demand.

Compared to A World of Keflings, Sugar, Spice and Not So Nice is more streamlined. You are never asked to build something decorative or that doesn’t fit within a logical build order. At the same time, nearly everything you need comes out of three core outlets, so there isn’t a lot of resource juggling going on either. This is a great thing, so I hesitate listing it as a "negative," but as someone who likes figuring out logistical workflows, I never felt challenged. If I needed a part, it was very easy to get. There is no chain of resource refinement, which I really liked about the two (core) Kefling games. Still, this is all personal preference, so some may enjoy the easier path through the game.

Also dropping into the "personal preference" category is the game’s sense of humor. Overall, I love the lighthearted humor behind the series. It’s fun. Sugar, Spice and Not So Nice leans heavily on referential humor, which gets tiring. In one mission setup, you can see up to ten different references. They are funny, but there’s a limit before it gets tiring. References are better when they are used sparingly, not when an entire conversation is built from references.

As a side note, I ran into an odd issue where the game kept dropping off the network at random times. There are a number of reasons for this, but I found it odd that the connection issues only happened while playing this game. The game also locked up on me twice (both during a load screen), so be aware and save often.

Any and, really, all issues I had with A World of Keflings: Sugar, Spice and Not So Nice are based on personal taste, rather than major issues with the core gameplay. The game is short (around 2 hours max), but a lot of fun, especially for the price (320 MSP). Newcomers will need to purchase the main game, but it’s a great value and comes highly recommended, if only for the chance to see your XBL Avatar stomp around the game world. (It’s even better if you toss costume options into the mix).