Similo Review: A Clever Cooperative Card Game for Families
Story by Nick T · 987 readers
Similo turns illustrated clues into a quick team puzzle, with smart artwork and plenty of room for different interpretations.
Similo makes a neat puzzle out of a simple question: which card is the clue giver trying to get the group to find? A giraffe, Marie Curie, Poseidon and the Three Little Pigs might seem to have little in common, but the game’s expressive illustrations give players plenty of ways to connect them. That makes this compact cooperative card game an appealing family pick, with enough ambiguity to keep adult groups thinking, too.
The range includes Animals, Wild Animals, Fables, Myths, History and Spookies, alongside sets based on popular properties. The art has an inviting, child-friendly look, but the game’s appeal goes beyond the youngest players. Its challenge comes from reading a clue, weighing possible connections and trying to agree on which cards no longer fit.
A quick setup, then a shared deduction
One player becomes the clue giver and secretly selects a card. That card is shuffled with eleven others, then all twelve are laid face up in a four-by-three grid. The clue giver draws five more cards to form a hand, and the group is ready to play.
Each turn, the clue giver puts down one card without speaking. A vertical card signals that it shares something with the hidden target; a horizontal card indicates a difference. The rest of the group uses that hint to remove cards from the grid. They discard one card in round one, two in round two, three in round three and four in round four, leaving two candidates. Pick the secret card and the whole team wins.
The five-card hand is the main source of pressure. A clue giver may know exactly which feature would point toward the target, yet not have a card that shows it clearly. The group then has to infer the intended link from whatever is available. A bird card might suggest that other birds belong in the grid, for example, but the connection could instead be a shared background colour, an expression or the shape of a character’s eyes.
That visual richness is where Similo earns its keep. The illustrations invite close looking, and several plausible connections can coexist. Groups need to explain their reasoning and listen to one another, even though the clue giver must stay silent. That rule can be tricky for players who want to steer the discussion, and the format relies on everyone leaving the target card alone when guesses go wrong.
More variety with two sets
Owning a second set opens up a tougher way to play: use one deck for the twelve-card display and draw clues from the other. The rules also allow cards from both sets to be mixed together. In the reviewer’s experience, keeping the sets separate works better, particularly when the decks cover very different subjects. Linking characters from Fables to animals can be a stretch unless the pictures give the table a useful shared detail.
Non-property sets are especially suited to this cross-deck approach. The Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings sets pair more naturally with one another, while mixing them with the other collections can be less satisfying. The reviewer has played more than 70 games in person, as well as many digital matches on Board Game Arena, and reports winning and losing in roughly equal measure. Since a game lasts about ten minutes, a missed guess is easy to follow with another round.
Player count changes the feel of the discussion. The reviewer prefers two or three players: a larger group brings more interpretations to the table, which can complicate an already open-ended clue. That extra discussion may suit some groups, but smaller tables make it easier to follow how the team reached its decision.
Art and family play
The standout feature is the art. Characters have strong personalities, and visual details create links from card to card across the different sets. Younger players can enjoy the pictures straight away, while experienced players may find that the less obvious connections make a clue much harder to read than it first appears.
Three young players each named different favourites. Max, 9, picked Animals for its funky artwork and likes being the clue giver; he finds it tricky without feeling overwhelming. George, 13, favours History because he finds it the hardest set, and would like a Deep Sea collection. Harrison, 16, called it one of his favourite puzzle games to play with children and chose Animals and Wild Animals.
The practical package suits the short play time. The rulebook is brief and clear, the card stock is good, and the box takes up little space in a bag. The twelve-card display does need room on the table, but a playmat can give the layout a more finished look; it’s a nice extra rather than a requirement. The rules recommend ages 7 and up, while the reviewer’s own suggested age is 6 and up.
Verdict and details
Similo is a light cooperative game built around observation and communication, not deep strategy. That focus is also its strength: the group can get started quickly, and the artwork gives every table a fresh set of clues to interpret. The reviewer rates it 4.7 overall and especially praises the illustrations, family play and portability. The main drawbacks are the limits of the clue giver’s hand, the desire to own more sets, and a poor impression of the Essen promo decks. Foreign-language versions may also appear for sale on Amazon.
The reviewer’s favourite set is Fables, by a small margin, while the children lean toward the animal collections. The game has also built up happy memories across family and adult games, and its presence on Board Game Arena makes it possible to play with distant friends. For groups after a quick, welcoming puzzle that still rewards close attention, Similo is an easy recommendation.
Players: 2 to 3 or more
Recommended age: 7+ from the publisher; 6+ from the reviewer
Playing time: 10 minutes
Setup and takedown: 1 minute
Designers: Martino Chiacchiera, Hjalmar Hach, Pierluca Zizzi
Publisher: Horrible Guild
RRP: £11.99
Similo is listed in the Board Game Review Hall of Fame. Players looking for other group games might also enjoy The Mind, Mysterium Park, Just One or Awkward Guests.
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