While I own and am familiar with the original “That’s Pretty Clever” tabletop roll & write game, I would never claim to have mastered it. After all, it involves dice and we all know how much dice love me. Well, maybe you don’t. If it were legally possible, I’d file a restraining order against dice everywhere. Luckily, plenty of games out there have dice manipulation mechanics that make these kinds of games enjoyable. “That’s Pretty Clever” (TPC), another roll & write, is no exception. Having never played “Twice as Clever” (the sequel / TAC), I was sent “Clever 4Ever” (C4E) and “That’s Pretty Clever Kids” (TPCK) in the mail out of the blue. No press email or note…it just showed up. This is the part where I’d normally thank the developer, publisher, or PR rep who sent it but under the circumstances I’ll just give a blanket “thank you”. Next time send a note!
1-4 Players, Ages 12+, Average Play Time = 30-45 Minutes
Setup & Gameplay
Each player gets a sheet of paper and something to write with. The game came with 1 pencil…yes, 1. My copy of “TPCK” came with 4. I guess “C4E” was manufactured around the same time as the “Great Golf Pencil Shortage of 2022”. The box (with the insert included) along with the 6 dice are placed where all can reach them.
Like the original “TPC”, the game is played over 6 rounds with each player taking turns being the active player each round. When a player is the active one, they’ll roll all 6 dice and choose 1. Any dice of lesser value goes on the box insert / silver tray for others to pick from later. They roll again, repeat. They roll one final time and repeat. As they select dice, they’ll fill in the boxes on their sheet in an attempt to score a bunch of points. The green die will force you to fill in the green area, and etc. Once done, the other / passive players pick 1 from the silver tray to mark off on their own sheet.
“TPC” peeps will catch on immediately as it’s literally the same ruleset.
Along the way, folks will earn bonus abilities that they can use to help them in their journey. +1’s, for example, allow them to pick any die out of the 6 available and use it. The reroll allows you to…well, you guessed it. Obviously there are limitations to these abilities as some can only be used on the active player’s turn and so on. The new ability “I” haven’t seen before (it may have been in “TAC”, I don’t know) was the silver tray ability which allows the player (usually the passive one) to manipulate a die’s pips before picking it. This can be used many times at once so a 3 can become a 6 if you spend 3 of the silver plater abilities.
Each area has its own way of scoring.
The yellow area contains 3 rows…one for bonuses, one for negative scoring (but with great one-off bonuses), and one for positive scoring (no bonuses). Filling in entire columns earns more points.
The blue area mimics that of “TPC” in that you use the white die as well only here, you find the coordinate and mark it off. 2 in a row, column, or diagonal unlock the points/bonuses in that line.
The gray area is probably the most complex. You pick a shade of color and fill the tetromino piece in but only if the gray die value meets or exceeds the number of squares you’re X’ing. You go from left to right filling in adjacent tetromino areas as you go. Filling in complete columns earns points.
The green area has 2 rows…one on top and one on bottom. The bottom row unlocks abilities, but to get any points you have to fill in the top space too. The sum of the two on that column is the point value. You go from left to right, treating each row separately.
The pink area goes left to right and you score better for going further right. Depending on the number you input, you might get bonus points, a free number of the same type, the bonus ability below the space, etc.
The white die is wild and can be used in any area.
Of course, foxes are scattered throughout that are worth your lowest scoring area should you nab them. 3 foxes are 3 times that of your lowest scoring area and so on.
This is an oversimplification of the rules so I’ll kindly direct you to the let’s play video at the end of this review. I hate repeating myself…I’m old. (ha!)
The Review
The “Clever” games aren’t true engine builders, but they feel like one. That’s what attracted me to these games in the first place. My favorite part is crossing something off that gives me a free green X, which then unlocks this ability which I use later that round to take an extra die over there which sets me up for this…swoon. The satisfaction of chaining all those space abilities together is oh so satisfying. By the same token, it hurts my soul to see the game end when I STILL have much more chaining to do. You’re never able to do everything you want in 6 rounds and that’s something I just had to painfully accept.
My suggestion to you casual folks…don’t worry about mathing it out too much. Just “roll” with it (see what I did there) and enjoy the ride. It’ll sometimes take you places you’ll regret but you’ll rarely ever want to get out of the car (unless you had Taco Bell prior). For those of you who do love the number crunching and theory-crafting, this’ll keep you busy a while. It’s compact and family-friendly so it’s appropriate for almost anyone. I can’t vouch for the color blind however…I didn’t see any special markings on the dice to tell them apart.
“Clever 4Ever” is a simply-executed roll & write with a lot of meat (there’s your box quote, PR people). I will admit that I was a lot more intimidated by “C4E” than I was “TPC”. The original “TPC” clicked pretty quickly, even though I hadn’t seen anything like it before. Even with that “TPC” knowledge, I had to go back and re-read the examples in the “C4E” many times to understand what was expected. As such, I’d recommend “TPC” to the uninitiated first as a stepping stone to “C4E”. You can even try “TPC” digitally for free online which I covered a few times on my YouTube channel. The rest you can buy in your App store if you so wish it. I have no idea when the boxed copies retail here in the US as I did not get a press kit.
Oh and next time, put more pencils in the box. It’s not a deal breaker, but it is annoying.
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Score: 8/10 (Great)
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