A Review by Greg J. Schloesser
Games at a Glance - Cluzzle
Publishers: Eagle Games & North Star Games
Designer: Dominic Crapuchettes
Type of Game: Party
Players: 3-6
Length of Play: 1 hour
Age Range: 8 and up
Price: $29.99
Learning Curve: 2/5 (5 being most difficult)
Challenge: 2/5 (5 being most challenging)
Level of Fun: 4/5 (5 being most fun)
In 1988, Barbarossa, a game designed by Klaus Teuber (whose Settlers of Catan series was still in his future), captured the prestigious German Spiel des Jahres (Game of the Year) award. Players were required to sculpt items with clay while guessing the identity of their opponents' sculptures. The twist, however, was that the sculptures should not be too hard or too easy, as either end of this spectrum would yield few, if any, points.
In addition to the sculpting, the game included another aspect that included moving one's pawn around a board. Sadly, this aspect of the game wasn't nearly as much fun as sculpting. Apparently, gamer and designer Dominic Crapuchettes shared this belief, as he has created Cluzzle, a cousin of Barbarossa, and his version completely eliminates the rather unsatisfying board aspect of its relative.
In Cluzzle, each player receives a lump of clay, a "clay station" on which to sculpt their creation, two "question" markers, an answer sheet and a card listing seven to nine words. There are dozens of cards in the deck, adding a great variety of possible creations. Each player chooses one of the words from their card and sculpts the word using the clay. Once finished, every player slides their sculpture to the center of the table and the questioning begins.
Each player may ask up to two "yes" or "no" questions of their opponents. The idea is to secure information as to the identity of the players' sculptures. However, ideally you would like the information supplied to be of benefit to you only, and not your opponents. There is no turn order to the questioning, but players are under the pressure of a timer, and have only two minutes in which to ask their two questions and record their guesses. This forces players to think quickly and also prevents the game from dragging.
Players record their guesses for each player's sculpture on their sheet. Each player's sculpture (known as a "cluzzle" in game parlance) is then examined, and each player reads aloud his guess as to its identity. The designer only reveals its true identity if someone guesses correctly. If no one correctly identifies the sculpture, that design will remain in play for the next round. Otherwise, if one or more players correctly identifies it, it is removed from play.
Each player who guesses correctly, as well as the designer, receives money on the form of "clay dough." (Note: The new edition of the game includes a scoring track as opposed to paper money.) The amount of money received changes with each passing round, with one to three "clay dough" bucks being received. Thus, as in Barbarossa, it is best to make your creation not easily identifiable. However, if you make it too difficult and no one guesses its identity after three rounds, you score zero points. So, as mentioned, the key is to make your creation not too easy, yet not too difficult.
If there are still sculptures that have not be correctly guessed, a new round is conducted with new questions asked. Sculptures cannot be altered during these subsequent rounds. Money is again earned after each round, and a session is completed once all sculptures have been correctly identified or when three rounds have passed.
A game is played over three "clay sessions," before which players may draw a new card to give them new sculpting options. The player with the most "clay dough" after three sessions is victorious.
Cluzzle is a wonderful party game, as every player is actively involved throughout the proceedings. Further, the most talented artist in your group does not have an advantage, since it is best to be rather ambiguous with your sculptures. The use of the timer keeps the game moving along at a brisk pace, while the elimination of the superfluous board that was present in Barbarossa keeps the game centered on the actual fun part of the game - the sculpting. So, grab you clay and get ready to "cluzzle"!