Cluzzle
Cluzzle Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Setup
Each player receives a Clay Station, 4 Question Tokens, a container of clay, a Guess Sheet and a pencil. Take a small piece of your clay and place it on the start position of the scoring track. This piece should be about the size of a pea because anything smaller will stick to your fingers. You will move this piece of clay to keep track of your score.
Decide how many games you will play. We recommend playing three games. Each game takes 15 to 20 minutes.
Making Your Cluzzle
Each player draws a random Cluzzle Card and secretly selects an object to sculpt out of clay. You will sculpt only 1 Cluzzle per game.
Cluzzles should be sculpted on the movable Clay Stations to keep clay from getting on the table. Do not take more than 5 minutes to make your Cluzzle.
Your Cluzzle should not be so easy that it is figured out right away, nor should it be so difficult that no one can figure it out before the end of the game.
When you are finished sculpting, place your Clay Station around the circular centerboard. You cannot modify your Cluzzle for the rest of the game!
Asking & Answering Questions
There are 3 rounds in each game. Turn over the black 2-minute sand timer to start the "Asking & Answering Questions" phase of each round.
During the round, each player may ask up to 4 "Yes or No" questions about any of the other players' Cluzzles. Each time you ask a question, flip over one of your Question Tokens so that the gray side with the dark X is showing.
There is no turn order for asking questions. You may ask a question of any other player at any time during the round. However, you must wait for the current question to be answered before asking another question.
There are only 5 legal answers that a player can use to answer a question. They are shown to the right.
Legal Answers:
- Yes
- No
- Sometimes
- Partly
- I Don't Know
When the black 2-minute sand timer runs out, the "Asking & Answering Questions" period of the round ends. If you have begun asking a question before the timer runs out, you are allowed to finish your question and the other player must answer it.
Guessing & Scoring
Turn over the white 30-second sand timer to start the "Guessing & Scoring" phase of each round. Players have 30 seconds to write down guesses on their Guess Sheets for the other players' Cluzzles. Players don't guess their own Cluzzles. Once the sand timer runs out, all pencils must be put down and no more guesses may be written.
Start with any player's Cluzzle and take turns reading out your guesses for that Cluzzle in clockwise order. A guess is correct if what is written on the Guess Sheet exactly matches the chosen word(s) on the sculptor's Cluzzle Card. The only exception is if the word on the sculptor's card is singular and the guess is in plural form (or vice versa).
The sculptor should say if anyone guessed correctly only after every player has read their guess from their Guess Sheet. The sculptor should not say what their object is if none of the players have figured it out (unless it is the end of the game) because the other players will still try and figure it out in the next round.
Players receive points according to the scoring chart at the bottom of the page for correctly guessing other players' Cluzzles and for having their Cluzzle correctly guessed by at least one person. Players do not receive extra points if more than one person correctly guesses their Cluzzle.
If your Cluzzle has been guessed correctly, your Clay Station and Cluzzle are removed from the game at the end of the scoring phase. You do not make another Cluzzle during this game and other players do not get to guess your Cluzzle in future rounds. However, you continue to play for the remaining rounds by trying to figure out other players' Cluzzles in the normal fashion.
After scoring each Cluzzle in the 1st Round, players flip their Question Tokens back over to show that they may each ask another 4 questions during the next round. The 2nd Round and the 3rd Round proceed in the same manner as the 1st Round.
Scoring Chart
| Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Not Guessed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Correctly Guessing Other Players' Cluzzles | 1 point per Cluzzle guessed | 2 points per Cluzzle guessed | 3 points per Cluzzle guessed | 0 points |
| Having Your Cluzzle Correctly Guessed | 1 point regardless of how many people guessed it | 2 points regardless of how many people guessed it | 3 points regardless of how many people guessed it | 0 points |
Winning the Game
The game is over after 3 rounds or once all of the Cluzzles have been guessed. If the group has decided to play multiple games, then keep your scores and start playing the next game. Otherwise, the player with the most points is the winner!
Tiebreaker: Turn over the white 30-second sand timer. Each tying player has 30 seconds to try to build the tallest clay structure before the timer runs out. At the end of the 30 seconds, turn the white sand timer over again. The player with the tallest clay structure left standing at the end of the 30 seconds is the winner!
After playing, run water over your clay for 5 seconds before putting it in its container. This will keep it from drying out over time.
Cluzzle Rules Details
The Quick Start on the first two pages should be sufficient to start playing Cluzzle. These next two pages are designed to address questions that only come up occasionally. If this is your first time through the rules, make sure to look at the "Hints" in the light orange box in the lower right of this page.
More Details on Making Your Cluzzle
Players have three options for sculpting the object they have chosen from their Cluzzle Card.
Option 1: Sculpt only the object.
Option 2: Sculpt the object as part of a larger object. For example, the Blue Player chooses the object 'Branch' from his Cluzzle Card. He can choose to sculpt a tree that has several branches.
Option 3: Sculpt the object as part of a scene. For example, the Green Player chooses the object 'Waffles' from her Cluzzle Card. She can choose to sculpt a breakfast scene, with a stack of waffles on a plate and a fork and knife next to the plate.
More Details on Asking Questions
If you accidentally ask a question that has already been asked, the sculptor should answer the question, but you do not have to flip over one of your Question Tokens.
Players are allowed to clarify an answer from an earlier question if they do not remember what the answer was. Clarifying an earlier answer does not count as a question.
A player may examine other players' Cluzzles by picking up their Clay Stations during the round. However, players should return the Clay Stations to their proper positions quickly, so that others can see them.
Questions always pertain to a player's entire sculpture, unless stated otherwise in the question. There are two reasons you may wish to ask a question that does not pertain to the entire sculpture. The 1st reason is because you want to ask a question about a part of the sculpture. The 2nd reason is because you want to ask a question about the object on the Cluzzle Card instead of the clay sculpture.
Example for the 1st reason: The Orange Player's object is 'Golf Ball'. He has sculpted a golf ball and a man holding a golf club. However, you are unsure if the man is playing golf or hockey. Instead of asking about the entire sculpture, you may want to ask "Is the small object that you sculpted flat?"
Example for the 2nd reason: The Red Player's object is 'Windshield Wiper' and she has sculpted a car with windshield wipers. You may want to ask, "Is the object on your Cluzzle Card a part of a car?"
Players are not allowed to ask questions of themselves to make their own Cluzzles easier for everyone else to guess.
The Essence of Cluzzle
You should never answer a question in a tricky or misleading way. An experienced Cluzzle player is one who has learned how to create slightly ambiguous sculptures, ask subtle questions and make insightful guesses. Above all, Cluzzle is about the laughter that is inspired by the humorous sculptures that you and your friends create each game.
Questioning Hint 1: Try to figure out the...
- Location of the Object: Would you normally find this Cluzzle indoors? Would you normally find this Cluzzle in the kitchen? Would you expect to find this Cluzzle in Africa?
- Function of the Object: Is this Cluzzle a man-made object? Is this Cluzzle an animal? Do people normally eat this Cluzzle?
- Material of the Object: Is this Cluzzle made out of wood?
- Size of the Object: Is this Cluzzle bigger than my hand?
- Number of Words/Spelling: Does your Cluzzle have more than one word? Does this Cluzzle start with the letter 'A'?
Questioning Hint 2: The best questions give you information without revealing much information to the other players. For example, if you think the red Cluzzle is 'Pancakes', you should not ask, "Are those pancakes?" If the Red Player says "Yes", everyone will know what the Cluzzle is and will get points for it at the end of the round. Instead, you may want to ask something like, "Is this Cluzzle usually associated with mornings, as opposed to evenings?"
More Details on Answering Questions
It is the answerer's responsibility to make sure that they understand what the questioner is trying to figure out. If you are unsure of what another player means by their question, you must clarify with the questioner rather than risk answering incorrectly.
Example: The Yellow Player has sculpted a 'Raccoon'. The Red Player asks, "Is your Cluzzle a small animal?" This is a hard question to answer because a raccoon is small if compared to an elephant, but large if compared to an ant. The Yellow Player should say something like, "Can you clarify your question by asking if my Cluzzle is smaller than a specific object I can compare it to?"
Players are not allowed to be deceptive with their answers. You must answer the spirit of a question, not its literal grammar, in order to convey the information that a questioner is actively seeking.
Example: The Red Player has sculpted a 'Washing Machine'. The Blue Player asks, "Could you find this object in the living room?" The Red Player should answer "No" because even though it is possible for a washing machine to be found in a living room, it is clear that the Blue Player is trying to figure out where one would normally find the object. If the Red Player is unsure of what the Blue Player wants to find out, the Red Player should clarify with something like, "Do you want to know if the object is usually found in a living room or whether it is technically possible for the object to be found in a living room?"
Occasionally, a player will not know the answer to a question and will say "I don't know." In this case, the question is not counted and the player who asked the question does not have to flip over one of their Question Tokens.
Players must respond to every question promptly. It is not legal to stall in order to waste time in the current round.
More Details on Guessing & Scoring
Occasionally, after scoring for a correctly guessed Cluzzle, it is discovered that the sculpting player answered a question incorrectly during the game. In this case, all players who were affected by this incorrect answer are awarded points as if they correctly guessed the player's Cluzzle. There is no penalty for the sculpting player accidentally answering incorrectly.
Example: The players are reading out their guesses for the Purple Player's Cluzzle during the 2nd Round. The Orange Player guesses 'Whale' and the Purple Player says that she is correct. You say, "But I asked you if your Cluzzle was a mammal and you said that it wasn't. A whale actually is a mammal, but I changed my guess because of how you answered that question." The Yellow Player says that this incorrect answer affected her as well. In this case, all 4 players mentioned (Purple, Orange, Yellow and You) would get 2 points.
Variations
3-Player Game: Each player receives 2 different Clay Stations, 2 sets of 4 Question Tokens, 2 tins of clay, a Guess Sheet and a pencil. Each player draws a random Cluzzle Card and selects 2 objects from it. Each player sculpts 2 objects, one for each different color of clay. All of the other rules for Questioning, Answering and Scoring are the same as with 4 to 6 players, with each player basically playing the role of 2 different players.
Hidden Scoring Variation: Do not keep score by moving your pieces of clay around the centerboard scoring track. Instead, each player keeps track of their own score by circling each of their correct guesses on their Guess Sheet. Players must also circle the round in which their Cluzzle was correctly guessed. At the end of the game, add up your scores. This variation keeps players from trying to target the leader by not asking questions of their Cluzzle (which does not actually help because it hurts all players equally). It is also nice for players who don't want their score to be known by everyone.
Visit the Cluzzle website to create your own Cluzzle Card and for other fun stuff: www.cluzzle.com
Contents
- 110 Cluzzle Cards
- 6 Tins of Colored Cluzzle Clay
- 6 Clay Stations
- 6 Pencils
- 1 Centerboard
- 24 Question Tokens
- 60 Double-Sided Guess Sheets
- 2 Sand Timers
- 1 Rules Booklet
Credits
- Game Designer: Dominic Crapuchettes
- Co-Developer: Satish Pillalamarri
- Ages: 8 and Up
- Players: 3 - 6
- Playing Time: 15-20 minutes
© 2005 North Star Games, LLC. All rights reserved. The following are trademarks of North Star Games, LLC: Cluzzle, "The Game of Comical Clay Puzzles", Clay Station, "Artistic Ability Not Required" and Claytopia.