Overview

Clout is the new "collectable throwing game" from Peter Adkison's Hidden City Games. A friend of mine is an investor in the company, so I received starter packs this weekend and have had the chance to play the game with 2-4 people a bunch of times over a couple of days.

Expandability: This set is Clout Fantasy (there will be more genre themes released later, and perhaps licensed IP-themed sets as well). I've heard that all Clout sets will be playable against each other, so you could, for example, play the Elves faction against a theoretical Sci-Fi faction that comes out later.

Components

Starter Pack Contains:

• 1 box 15 Elf faction chips (green)
• 1 box 15 Undead faction chips (black)
• 1 Rules booklet
• 1 Measuring strip.

Because each Starter Pack contains 2 stacks of 15 chips, one starter pack is sufficient for two players to play against each other. There are actually two versions of the starter pack. The second variety includes Centaur and Goblin factions instead of Elves and Undead.

Chips: The chips are nice and solid, and heft well enough to toss easily. Each chip has its basic combat information displayed on it, in an easily-read format. The art for the chips is from some of the same folks who worked on Magic: The Gathering, so their aesthetic value is very strong. Each faction is on a different color chip. If players choose to use the same color against each other, I'm told that the chips can be marked with wet or dry erase markers without harming them.

Rules: Well-written and concise. I didn't run across any serious problems in interpreting the rules.

Measuring strip: This is a fabric strip with black marks on it to represent the range increments for the chips interacting with each other on the play surface. It's quite handy and easily used. I thought checking range on the table would be my least favorite part (as I dislike miniatures games) but it was painless. Another nice thing is that the strip also has a set of red range marks on it, larger than the normal ones, which you can let unskilled or younger players use instead, to give them an advantage. That was very nice when I played against my young son.

Game Play

Each player begins with a stack of 15 chips from his chosen faction.

Chip characteristics: Each chip features attractive art, and has the following information: Name, Range, Defense, Clout Points, and the text which notes the powers and abilities of the chip. Clout Points are counted for all chips remaining in play at the end of the game, and determine the winner. Each player may only have 25 Clout Points in his stack.

Chip types: Chips are divided into Troops, Effects, and Bases. Bases add value to troops near them at the end of the game. The starter pack stacks each have 2 bases. The first chip you throw must be a Base.

Throwing: When throwing, the chip must be released at least 30cm above the surface, and the chip must go in an upward arc from the player's hand. Throwing accurately is very important, which is something I like a lot about this game. If you spend thousands of dollars on rare chips it won't mean a darn thing unless you can throw well. Some factions' abilities lend themselves more to players who can throw well (e.g. Undead have strong abilities with short ranges), while others are suited to players who do not throw well (e.g. many Centaur chips can be moved a distance after they land). Chips that bounce or roll off the table when thrown are removed from play. A chip that is knocked off the table by a newly thrown chip is replaced at the edge of the play area.

Play Surface: There are no rules for what kind of surface you should play on. We played on a dining room table and it worked quite well. The chips tend to bounce more from a hard surface though, so if you have a table cloth, felt poker-mat, or battle mat to lay out on the table, you'll lose less chips off the side of the table.

Chip Effects: Most chips have an effect on other chips, the most common being a Strike. When a chip lands, you use the measuring strip to see what is in range (though it quickly becomes simple to eyeball it, and you only need to check once in a while). If so, you simply compare the Strike value of your chip against the defense value of the target. If it is at least equal, you eliminate the other chip from play.

Some chips raise or lower the attack or defense strength of nearby chips, so there's some strategy in where you land your chips relative to each other, to increase their power or defend one another. There are many interesting special abilities, and each faction has a specialty. Elves "Boost" one another, Goblins "Team" up, Undead may "Destroy" their enemies, and Centaurs as previously mentioned can "Move" a bit after they land.

There's an enormous potential for different strategies based on what sorts of abilities you include in your stack. I expect there to be hot debates online about how to use each faction.

Winning: Chips remaining in play at the end of the game count for victory. Total the number of Clout Points for all chips the player has on the table. Chips within the range of any of a player's Bases count for one extra point (even if the chip is normally worth zero Clout Points).

Replay & Collectability

Overall the game is challenging and fun for me, but the rules are simple enough for my 10 year old. Replay value is very high, because the more you play, the better you get at throwing the chips.

Because this is a collectable game, some abilities will be more rare than others, but even the common chips seem to provide a serviceable arsenal.

Although I have not been able to confirm it, I'm told the price for starter kits will be around $20, and booster packs of 2 chips will be about $2.50.

Each box of 36 boosters will contain at least 3 "chase faction chips," which for Clout Fantasy means "Dragons" -- multi-colored yellow and black striped chips featuring dragons and their masters. Since you need 15 Dragon chips to play them as a faction, I expect there will be a strong market in single chips online and in game stores that deal in the secondary market for cards and clix.

Conclusion

Clout Fantasy is a lot of fun for me, and for my 10 year old. I never liked CCGs, but this game appeals to me, and I plan to start buying boosters when they become available. I've reviewed this game very highly, so it's only fair to say that I've been in the game industry a long time and I personally know some of the folks involved in creating and funding this product. However, I don't spend my time and money on games just because I like the people who make them. Clout is simply a lot of fun. Give it a try.