A true mark of a fantastic game is when your teenagers pull it out to play over and over.

And you know it’s an even bigger hit when they want to play it during dinner night after night.

Such has been the case with So Clover!

That’s also why it was such an easy decision to include it in our 2022 Board Game Gift Guide.

Repos Production has struck gold again with this super easy to play and fun cooperative party game.

 

How to play So Clover!

So Clover! is a cooperative word association game where players work together to get the highest score they can.

Players will load their clover up with cards, secretly write clue words on their clover leaves, then mix up the cards and try to figure out the other players’ card arrangements.

To begin, each player gets their own clover board and randomly draws and places 4 word cards on their clover board. Then players simultaneously and secretly write word clues on the clover leaves of their board.

When placed on the clover board, there will be two words paired up for each clover leaf. The clue word a player writes on the leaf should somehow tie those two words together or relate to them both in some way. Clues must be only a single word and can’t be made up words or use a word from the same family as those in the pair.

For example, if the pair of words showing is “Cannon” and “Technology”, a player might think of “Fuse” or “Gunpowder” for their clue word. Or for the pair “Leak” and “Edge”, they might think of “Waterfall”, “Faucet”, or “Dam”.

After writing their 4 clue words, players remove the word cards from their clover board, draw 1 random card from the deck, and shuffle the 5 cards together.

Once all players have finished writing their clues and shuffling in an additional word card, it’s time for players to reconstruct everyone’s board.

One at a time, players will have their board attempted to be rebuilt by the other players.

Players choose one player to begin and that player places their clover board and their shuffled 5 cards in the center of the table. Then that player can’t say anything or give any hints while the other players work together to place 4 cards correctly on the clover board.

Using the word clues on the clover leaves, players discuss and place the cards how they think they should be arranged to match the clues.

When they agree on the placement, the player who is having their board reconstructed will either say that every card is correctly placed, or they will, without saying anything, remove the cards that are wrong. If there were wrong placements, the other players have another chance to place them correctly.

After that, players collectively score points based on the placement. They score 1 point for each correct card placement and 2 bonus points if they got them all correct on the first try.

Then another player’s board is reconstructed and points awarded.

Once all players have had their board rebuilt, the game ends and players compare their final score with the “Record of Legends” to see how well they did. The Record of Legends sheet also has a table for players to record their scores from game to game.

 

Can the whole family enjoy So Clover!?

So Clover! is a fantastic family party game!

The recommended age for the game is 10+ and that’s because players younger than that may have a hard time coming up with clue words that tie two random words together in some way.

Everyone we’ve played the game with has had a great time playing and always wants to play another round.

We love how simple the game is to teach and play while keeping you thinking.

Since the cards are randomly placed on your clover, there can be some really tricky combinations of words to create clues for. So the first couple of minutes will have you scratching your head for clues that will help the other players guess your pairs of words correctly.

Then the next few minutes will have you scratching your head trying to figure out what the other player’s clues are trying to tell you about how their cards need to be arranged. Since it’s a cooperative game the good news about this last part is that you’re openly discussing these options with the other players. You may also be surprised by the possible ideas you’ll talk through when analyzing others’ clues.

Sometimes it’s hard to sit still when the other players are talking through their thoughts about your clues. Since you can’t say anything or give away any hints, you’ll just have to ignore when they’re way off base from what you were thinking.

Plus, there will be a random fifth card thrown in the mix. And sometimes the words on that card will fit super well with the clues you wrote. And that can also throw a wrench in their discussions when trying to place the right cards in the right spots.

We also really love that the game plays up to 6 players!

Actually, you could technically play with more players if you team up. There’s 6 clover boards included in the game as well 220 keyword of cards (with 4 words on each card). Even though we’ve played through every card multiple times, the way they get randomly set up on our boards, the chances of getting the same two word pairing in future plays is super slim. So every game play with draw out unique clues.

And that’s why we keep playing it over and over – including multiple times during dinner night after night.

 

How does So Clover! score on our “Let’s Play Again” game meter?

So Clover! hits top marks on our “let’s play again” game meter. We have yet to play the game without playing multiple times in a row. And I don’t imagine we will ever play just one game when it hits the table.

The only set up to the game is to wipe your clover clean and deal out 4 cards to everyone. And since it’s mostly simultaneous play, the game flys by in about 10 to 15 minutes. So it’s super easy to play again and again.

And because it’s so fun to play, we’re pulling it out regularly night after night.

We highly recommend getting a copy of So Clover! for your family!

We’d like to thank Repos Production and Asmodee for a review copy of So Clover!