Similo Review: Can You Guess the Secret Character?

Can your team find the secret character, by slowly eliminating all the other characters on the table from one new clue each round?

Published by Horrible Guild, Similo is a deduction clue-giving game. Multiple decks have been published in the line, each featuring a different theme of characters.

Gameplay

Each card in the deck shows a character. One player is chosen as the clue giver. The clue giver draws one card from the deck and looks at it secretly. This is the secret character. He then draws 11 more cards, shuffles them all together, and lays them out face-up. Next, he draws a hand of five cards.

The game is played over five rounds. Each round, the clue giver will play one card from his hand as a clue, and then draw a new card. He will either place his clue card vertically to imply something about the character he is playing is similar to the secret character, or he will play it horizontally to imply that the secret character is somehow different from the character he is playing.

All the other players then discuss and choose one or more characters to remove from the table. The number of characters removed is equal to the round number, until the final round when there are only two characters left, and players remove the final character. If the secret character is ever removed, the players lose the game. If the secret character is the last character remaining after all rounds, then they win the game.

Players can use two different Similo decks, by using one deck to draw from for the characters in the center of the table and one deck for the clue giver to draw the clue cards from.

Fables

The theme here feels like it has a broad appeal. It covers a wide range of stories, many of which have had multiple interpretations in various formats. You have Alice in Wonderland, Wizard of Oz, fairy tales, and more. Lots of players are going to be familiar with at least some of these characters.

It’s also enjoyable to compare characters from different stories and figure out ways to clue towards certain of them or away from others. This is definitely our favorite of the two decks we received for review and the one that felt the more versatile.

Myths

We did wonder a little how this one would land with people who aren’t familiar with these characters. We enjoyed that each one had a one-line description written across the card to establish a little backstory and explain who they were.

Clues are also encouraged to be flexible and up to player discretion, so this could work in interesting ways as players interpret how they imagine the characters to be.

It is worth noting also that these appeared to be strictly Greek myths, which is not indicated on the box. So, if you’re hoping for some Norse mythology in here as well, you will be disappointed.

Review

The simplicity of the rules combined with the puzzle and deduction of the gameplay of Similo is quite enjoyable and makes this a great casual deduction game. Also, while the clue giver does have some interesting things to consider and choices to make, the role feels more fun and less daunting than other clue giving roles, such as the one in Codenames.

There is a little inconsistency in the rules across the decks. For example, in Fables the vertical vs horizontal card placement is a variant (the base rules are that all clues are played horizontally and are meant to indicate characters who are not the secret character) while it is taught as the only rule set for Myths.

There are a lot of themes for decks out there, which makes it easy for players to pick the decks that most appeal to them. Playing with two decks adds an extra level of challenge and is a fun twist on the game, and combining different themes that way opens the door for a lot of potentially fun associations and interesting clue logic.

The components, from the card quality to the artwork, is excellent. This is also the first time we’ve seen a box with a hook at the top for hanging in a store, where the hook can slide down to hide inside the box. This is so clever and makes it much easier to store once you have it home.

Similo is fast and you’re definitely left tempted to play several rounds. It’s light and enjoyable, and an excellent casual clue-giving game.

Pros: Speed and ease of play, clue giving is stress-free, different deck themes

Cons: Some decks might not work as well for your group

Disclosure: we received a complimentary review copy of these games.