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Similo is a small cooperative filler game. It can be taught in a few minutes and only takes 10 minutes to play. There are other sets of Similo available ranging from Similo: History to Similo: Harry Potter. This set is all about Similo Fables, funnily enough, and includes characters such as Little Red Riding Hood, Pinocchio and Puss in Boots. Let’s start by looking at how this simple game plays.
How To Play
One person will be giving clues to the rest of the group as to the identity of the secret character. The clue giver shuffles the deck of 30 cards and counts out the top 12 cards. After choosing one of these at random to be the secret character, the 12 cards are shuffled and laid out face up on the table in a 4x3 grid. The rest of the deck is put to one side as a draw deck.
The clue giver then draws 5 cards from the draw deck. They choose one of these cards to play. It can be played vertically which signifies that the secret character is like the played character, or it can be laid on the table horizontally to show that the secret character is not like the played character.
The other players have a little chat and decide on one of the 12 cards to remove from the game. If they remove the secret character it’s game over; if not, all well and good. The next round starts in the same way with the clue giver drawing one card into their hand and then playing one card to the table as a clue. This time though, the other players have to get rid of 2 cards. They have to remove 3 cards in the 3rd round, and 4 cards in the 4th. In the 5th and final round, there are just 2 cards left. Again a clue is given and one card is removed. If the last card on the table is the secret character, you’ve won!
Components
The first thing you’ll notice about the game is the gorgeous artwork. It’s all done in a consistent style and even has the same direction and quality of light on each card. Each character has a simple thematic background that can also be used when giving clues. The cards have a linen finish and a short description of each character up the right-hand side of the card. For a small card game, the components are very nice.
Is It Just A Kids’ Game
The theme and the simplicity would make you think that it is a game for children. And yes, children will enjoy this. The only tricky part for younger children (6 and under) will be the use of ‘not’ when giving clues. Which cards do they get rid of? Ones that are not like the clue card or ones that are like it? The logic is quite difficult for young children.
Get past that and the game can certainly be played by children. It can also be good as a game for people who are not into modern hobby games or have never played a cooperative game before. That’s all very nice but can seasoned grizzled gaming veterans get any pleasure from this game? Yes, they can. Much like Mysterium, this game can be difficult purely because of the cards you hold in your hand. Sometimes you look down at the cards you’re holding, which all look terrible as clues, and put your head in your hands. At this point, you have to think carefully about the clues you’ve already given and what the other players have been talking about in terms of what they’ve gleaned from the previous clues. Then you try to give them something a little more obscure but also incredibly clever that references a tiny detail in the background. Then you sit back and hope they can pick up on your genius clue. Probably not.
After the game, you can look back at the clues and have a healthy discussion about the clue giver’s ability. The familiar cry of: ‘What the %&$£ were you thinking!’ can be heard after most games. Then the clue giver will give their pathetic convoluted defence based on how they were sure everyone would get their clue based on the fact that the clue card had a tiny speck of dust in the lower left corner and this obviously referred to the Cinderella card. Okay, sometimes your hand is so bad, you get desperate. It’s all good fun.
Combining Sets
But wait, there’s yet more fun to be had for fully-fledged gamers. You can combine Similo decks. We’ve got Similo: Fables and Similo: Harry Potter and it is very easy to play with both sets. One set is used for the cards on the table including the secret character, and the other is used for the draw deck and for giving clues. These two decks work very well together but I’m guessing that other decks would be just as much fun.
You can give some really obscure clues depending on how well people know the different characters. My favourite clue was to give the Cinderella card as a clue to guessing the secret character, Hagrid. I know, that sounds stupid until you see the background of the Cinderella card is covered in lovely pumpkins referring back to the scene in The Prisoner of Azkaban where Buckbeak is going to be beheaded in a patch of pumpkins. Bizarrely this clever little clue actually worked for once and I didn’t get shouted at!
Conclusion
Similo Fables is a great game for the start or end of a game night. It’s good with a range of different people and group sizes, and plays very quickly. The only downside is that sometimes the game can be quite easy if you get the perfect card in your hand. Even so, a quick shuffle of the deck and you’re straight back into another potentially more challenging game. It’s a pretty addictive game.
The way that you can mix decks is inspired and adds a lot of replayability. Each new deck you buy greatly adds to the options you have available. The game is so cheap that it’s a nice impulse buy or stocking stuffer. I would recommend Similo Fables to anyone who likes quick, easy-to-learn cooperative games with lovely art and fun gameplay.
