Ganz Schön Clever (That’s Pretty Clever) is a 2018 Kennerspiel nominated roll and write by Wolfgang Warsch. The quick paced game produced by Schmidt and distributed in America by Stronghold Games plays between 1-4 players and takes roughly 30 minutes to complete. Similar to the games Qwixx and Qwinto and inspired by Imhotep, in Ganz Schön Clever the player rolls different colored dice- each with a different scoring mechanisms, bonuses, and completion options. Players have the ability to choose very different scoring paths and each gives them the opportunity to chain bonuses.

How to Play

The game centers around six different colored dice, each with its own unique abilities:

• Yellow- Using the yellow area of the score pad, players cross off the value shown on the yellow die. Players may only cross off one value at a time. Players score by completing columns.
• Blue- Working within the blue box on the score pad, players take the blue die value and add in the end result white die value, marking off the sum. The more spaces marked off in the blue area, the higher the point value.
• Green- Working along the linear green path, players must continue getting green die value greater than or equal to the number indicated in each square. As players mark off blocks in the green line, the number of points received increases.
• Orange- A free sequence with multipliers along the path. Any number on the orange die can be placed in any block. Players score the sum of all numbers along the orange line.
• Purple- Numbers must go in ascending order along the purple path, with a 6 resetting the sequence. Players score the sum of all values along the purple line.
• White- Used in conjunction with the blue die to create a sum but also a wild die (can be used as any color, but if using as blue you must add the blue die to its value).

During each round, the active player rolls all six dice and selects one to use on their score pad. If any of the remaining dice are a lower value, they are placed on the silver plate for the passive players to select from at the end of the active player’s turn. The active player takes all remaining dice and rolls again. After three rolls, the passive players select one die from the silver plate to mark off one space on their sheet. The round continues with a new active player rolling all six dice until all players have been the active player once. Then a new round begins with the same turn structure. Play continues for a number of rounds depending on the number of players. The player with the highest score wins.

What sets this game apart from other roll and write games is the bonus system. At the beginning of the first four rounds, each player gains a bonus that can be used immediately or when the player chooses. These bonuses include rerolls, the ability to take an extra die, a free “X” to be used on the yellow, blue, or green spaces, and a free “6” to be plugged into the next orange or purple spaces. The colored sections of the scoring pad give similar bonuses that have the possibility to be chained together. For example, a player can choose to take a yellow die which completes the row to gain a green “X”. That green “X” could then allow the player to gain a blue “X” which can be used to complete the row to gain an orange “5” to be filled in the next space. The last kind of bonus included for each colored section of the scoring pad is the fox head. The fox heads are only used for end game scoring. Each marked off fox head will score the player’s lowest point total an additional time. For instance, if the player’s lowest point total was yellow with ten points and the player was able to mark off three fox heads, the player would score an additional thirty points for end game scoring.

Review

Ganz Schön Clever makes no excuses for what it is. It is a challenging roll and write that does not need a theme. The game play is unique and there is currently nothing on the market like it. The bonuses add a nice layer of complexity and often can help focus the player with small goals. Although luck based, there are plenty of paths open to players and neither of us found ourselves without a die to place. Both of us chose different strategies with Joe trying a balanced approach and Heather focusing on completing as much of the yellow, orange, and purple areas as possible. Neither strategy gave us a runaway lead. With so many options on how to play and the luck factor, this portable game has a lot of replayability. The game played quickly and you always felt if only there was one more round you could accomplish more.

We found very few negative aspects. The majority of the components are wonderful. A clear rulebook, well constructed dice, a sizable scorepad, and utilizing the box for gameplay was a nice touch. We found the markers to be small, hard to hold, messy, and we preferred to use our own pencils or laminate a few sheets to be used with overhead markers. The scoresheet is a bit intimidating at first glance but the comprehensive rulebook made it easy to decipher. Heather found the all the symbols straightforward except for the +1. Although in the same format as the bonuses that give you extra points, the +1 is not added to your score. Instead, the player may use an extra die. Confusing at first, but with a few playthroughs, this is easily remedied. Joe tried three games of solo mode and thought the simulated player did not adequately represent a “human” player. It felt tacked on and as if it was not originally planned to have a solo mode. Overall, both of us thoroughly enjoyed this unique roll and write.

Heather: 4.5/5 Paws
+ Unique, fast paced, multiple paths to victory with minimal blocking, challenging and fun
– Symbols to delineate between extra die and extra points scored

Joe: 4/5 Paws
+ Well thought out scoring system with the ability to chain bonuses, easy to learn and teach, plays quickly, component quality
– Superfluous solo mode, markers are too small