Year: 2021 | Players: 2-6 | Minutes: 30 | Ages: 10+
This So Clover! review was made after playing the game over 20 times, with at least a couple of games played at each player count.
What is So Clover!?
So Clover! is a cooperative word game in which everyone attempts to link multiple words together and come away with the highest score possible.
So Clover! was designed by François Romain and is published by Repos Production.
So Clover! Rules Overview
Your goal in So Clover! is to get as many points as you can by finding links between your own keywords and figuring out your teammates’ clues. The rules for So Clover! are very straightforward.
Everyone gets a Clover board and four Keyword cards. You then shuffle your Keyword cards and randomly place them in the slots on your board. After that, you have to write down one-word clues for each of the four pairs of words on your board. Finally, you remove the four cards, add one more card from the deck, shuffle them, and put them face-down on your board until the next phase.
During the Resolution phase, players take turns being the Spectator while the other players look through the Spectator’s five cards and attempt to put them on their board correctly. The Spectator isn’t allowed to help in any way. After they’re done, the Spectator removes any incorrectly placed cards and the group has one more attempt to place the cards correctly. You get one point per correctly placed card and two bonus points for a perfect score on the first try.
After everyone has been the Spectator, you add up your points to get your final score.
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So Clover! – Pros and Cons
Pros
- I like word association games, and So Clover! does word association in a new and very fun way. The best moments are when you can only find a very loose connection between two words and your team somehow figures it out. It creates those memorable Wahoo! moments.
- I really like the kind of tension this game brings for both the Spectator and the guessers. Even though it’s a laid-back type of game, it’s hard not to feel at least a little bit of pressure when you need to come up with clues and when you’re trying to figure out your teammates’ clues.
- So Clover! has plenty of replay value. There are 220 Keyword cards and four words on each card, so you’re pretty much always going to have different combinations of words.
- Like most party games, So Clover! is extremely easy to teach. I’ve taught it to about 15 people and everyone understood the rules in a couple of minutes.
- Unlike most other co-op party games, So Clover! actually plays very well as a two-player board game. It can be tougher since you don’t get to bounce solutions off of anybody else, but it’s great if you like the added challenge. It’s really odd to me that the publisher marked this as a 3-6 player game because it definitely works with two.
Cons
- I wouldn’t put this on my best board games at higher player counts list. When you have more than four players, the odds of everyone having an equal say in solving the problems go way down. It definitely does work (and can be loads of fun) at the five and six-player counts, but I’ve found it’s a more consistently satisfying experience as a three or four-player game.
- I’ve seen multiple people have a tough time being the Spectator. It can be pretty stressful listening to everyone as they try to solve your board, and it can also be tough to just sit there and do nothing. I like those things because they add a bit more tension to the game, but they can make some people uncomfortable.
So Clover! – Final Thoughts
So Clover! is one of the best co-op party games that I’ve played. It’s easy to get into, it’s a ton of fun trying to find connections between random words, and it’s very replayable. Even when we don’t pay attention to the scores, we still have a blast playing So Clover! It’s probably going to stay on my shelf right next to Just One for years to come.
The only people I wouldn’t recommend So Clover! to are those who aren’t big fans of word games. Just about everyone else will get a kick out of this one.
Update: So Clover! is now on our Best Party Games and Best 5+ Player Board Games lists!
So Clover! Links
BGG | Amazon | Miniature Market
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