Clips

“Win together or lose together” is the motto of “Clips,” a thoroughly challenging deduction game by Emanuele Briano, published by the Viennese game publisher Piatnik. In it, manufacturers of high-quality textiles must successfully fulfil their customers’ orders. But be careful: even a few mistakes can cause the clothesline to snap!

The rules are quickly explained, and before you know it, the fine fabrics come into play. Various orders await the players and must be fulfilled according to the order cards laid out on the table. Teamwork is key here: The twist in “Clips,” however, is that players aren’t allowed to see the front sides of their own fabric cards—only those of the other players. Players can then provide clues using coloured clothespins, which are attached to the game cards. This makes “Clips”—recommended for two to four players ages ten and up—a real eye-catcher!

Since players aren’t allowed to discuss the numbers or colours on their hand cards, they have to pay close attention and guess what the others are trying to communicate with the colourful clothespins. Ultimately, players must match their own fabric cards to the correct tasks—which requires correctly interpreting the clues. If they fail to do so, there’s no bonus. And if there are too many mistakes, the clothesline snaps, and everyone loses the cooperative game.

To prevent this from happening, before each new round of “Clips,” players collectively decide which of the ten levels—rising in difficulty—to play. The first levels are easier to master, but as the game progresses and players must correctly handle large orders and special assignments, no one can slack off while the challenges and the suspense increase. With its unique gameplay strategy, “Clips” encourages logical thinking while also requiring cooperative play and mind-reading, because the tasks at hand can only be completed through teamwork.

The colourful illustrations by Christine Alcouffe depict fine textiles which, thanks to supplementary symbols, are also accessible for people with colour blindness. This way, all fabric deliveries in the colourful family game “Clips” can be processed in about 20 minutes.