5 Great Modern Yahtzee Alternatives, According to a Board Game Expert
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This roll-and-write game is packed with colorful dice that players roll for chain-scoring opportunities and bonus points. You can play it as a solo game or with up to four players total.
Players: one to four
Duration: 30 minutes
Rules: website (PDF)
That’s Pretty Clever (originally Ganz Schön Clever in German) is the first in a series of four roll-and-write games that come in small boxes and can be played anywhere you can carry the game. I credit the success of this title with sparking the explosion in roll-and-write games that followed its initial release in 2018.
Once again, it has six different-colored dice and a scoresheet, this time with five separate sections. Your goal is to mark off as many squares as you can to maximize your final score, but every section of your scoresheet is tied to a specific die, and each scores in a different way. You roll all six dice to start your turn, choose one die, roll some or all of the remaining dice, choose one, and then roll and choose one more time. When you’re done, the dice you didn’t use are available to your opponents, who can choose any one to use themselves.
The beauty of That’s Pretty Clever is in building bonus chains: You get bonuses for certain boxes you check off, and you can work the dice a little so that the bonuses compound. When you do this correctly, one die lets you mark three or four boxes in succession. (To win on a regular basis, you have to master this technique.) A lot of thought is required in choosing which boxes to fill out when, which gives the game some depth that most roll-and-writes that preceded it lacked.
It has a great solo mode, as well, and you can buy (or just print out) new scoresheets with different rules. If you like That’s Pretty Clever, you can also pick up the three sequel games—Twice as Clever, Clever Cubed, and Clever 4Ever — for fun variations on the same concept.
