So Clover!

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Details

Sourced from: https://jmo.name/games

Player Aid Author: Jarrod Moore

Description

Cooperative word-association game where players write clues for paired keywords and then solve each other's Clover boards.

  • Give each player a Clover board and an erasable marker
  • Shuffle the Keyword cards and place them face down within reach of everyone
  • Each player draws 4 Keyword cards and randomly places them on the recessed spaces of their Clover board
    • Do not let anyone else see your cards
    • The 8 Keywords around the outside edges will create the 4 Pairs you need to clue

The game is played over 2 phases:

  • Choosing Clues: everyone secretly writes clues for their own Clover board
  • Resolution: each player will be the Spectator once while the other players try to reconstruct their board

During this phase, everyone works at the same time and keeps their own Clover board secret.

  • Look at the 8 Keywords around the outside edges of your cards
  • Each Clue Zone points to a Pair of Keywords
  • For each of your 4 Pairs, write a clue in the matching Clue Zone
    • A clue must be a single word
    • Compound words, proper nouns, acronyms, numbers, and onomatopoeia are allowed
    • You cannot use either Keyword, a translation of a Keyword, a word from the same family, or a made-up word
  • Once you have written all 4 clues, remove all 4 Keyword cards from your board
  • Without looking at it, draw 1 extra Keyword card and shuffle it together with your 4 original cards
  • Place your Clover board in front of you with the 5 Keyword cards face down on top of it

When everyone has finished, move to the Resolution phase.

Each player will be the Spectator once. During your turn as the Spectator, you cannot communicate in any way.

  • Choose the first Spectator
  • The Spectator places their Clover board and 5 Keyword cards face up in the middle of the table
  • The other players work together to place 4 of the 5 cards back into the correct spaces on the Clover board
    • The extra card is a decoy and will not be used
    • Players may place cards on the board while discussing possibilities
  • If there is disagreement, the player to the left of the Spectator makes the final decision
  • Once everyone agrees, the Spectator verifies the board

After the Spectator has scored their board, the player to their left becomes the next Spectator.

The team has up to 2 attempts to solve each Spectator's board.

First Attempt

  • If all 4 cards are placed correctly, score 6 points
    • This is 1 point per correct card, plus a 2 point perfect bonus
  • If at least one card is incorrect, the Spectator silently removes each incorrect card and puts it in the middle of the table
    • Do not say what is wrong
    • The team gets a second and final attempt

Second Attempt

  • The team adjusts the placement of the remaining cards
  • The Spectator removes any incorrect cards
  • Score 1 point per correct card, for a maximum of 4 points

After scoring, the Spectator turns over their Clover board, writes their score in the middle, and discards the 5 Keyword cards used for that board.

The game ends after every player has been the Spectator once.

Add together the points from all Clover boards to get your team score. Record it in the Record of Legends and try to beat it in a future game.

Once everyone is familiar with the game, you can make the Resolution phase harder by adding more decoy Keyword cards.

Before the game begins, agree how many extra Keyword cards each player will add before Resolution. Every player uses the same number of extra cards.

Thumbnail courtesy of BoardGameGeek and the respective publisher.