Klink
Designed by: Darrell Cannon
Klink is a game of poker-style tells and blind luck. The goal is to score the fewest possible points, but fate here is a fickle mistress at best…
The game consists of a set cards with number values ranging from -5 to +20 (although most cards have a value between 1 and 10). On your turn you draw two cards, and look at just one of them. You then choose whether to keep the cards – and flip the unseen one over – or pass them on to someone else, who then faces the same choice: look at one of them, keep or pass. If you are the only player to receive cards who hasn’t already looked at one of them, you must keep both!
It sounds like passing cards would always be good – you don’t want points, after all. But there are a few twists: one is that two cards of the same number cancel each other out, scoring zero. Another is that a run of at least three numbers triggers a special ability (choose from three available) that can see you inflict cards on other people, or flip cards of your own face-down. Don’t forget some cards have negative value as well, which are good in this game!
But the biggest twist is at the end of the round, which arrives as soon as any one player has ten cards in their collection (face-up or face-down). The player with the most cards gets a bonus of minus ten points, whereas the player with the fewest score plus ten. Exception: if you somehow manage a whole round without picking up any cards at all, you score nothing!
As soon as one player hits 66 points the game ends, and the player with the fewest points is the winner.
Sam says
There’s so much left to chance in Klink that lovers of control and shrewd play may find it more frustrating than fun, but we love the confection of card-flipping silliness, table-reading and brinkmanship. When you’re passed some cards do you look at the same one as the player who passed them to you? They didn’t like it after all… But maybe the other one is good, or good for you. Or maybe there’s a double-bluff and the card they saw actually helps you. It’s a miniature pedal-propelled roller-coaster that usually takes about 20 minutes, and is great value for it.
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Take That!
There’s a little direct interaction from the special ability cards, and a lot more from the card-passing, although you’d be hard-pressed to take anything too personally.
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Fidget Factor!
Very low-level, although the game probably suits 3-4 rather than 5-6
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Brain Burn!
Score the fewest points. Pretty simple.
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Again Again!
On first blush Klink can seem both slightly mathy and slightly like it’s happening to you. Subsequent plays when everyone’s up to speed can bring out some fun meta-games and tangible sense of ludicrousness.
