Concluzio: A Card Game of Light Deduction

Can you deduce what your secret card is before any of your opponents have a chance to deduce theirs?

Published by Puzzling Pixel Games, Concluzio is a light deduction card game in which you attempt to figure out three different features on your secret card by playing cards one at a time and being told whether or not there are any features in common with other cards in your hand.

Gameplay

The deck is shuffled and each player is dealt a hand of five cards which they look at. You are then dealt a sixth card, which you do not look at, but hold so that it’s facing the other players. This is the secret card you are trying to guess. You must guess its color, number, and the shape shown on it. There are seven possibilities for each of these three categories.

At the start of the game, you select one of the five cards in your hand and give it to the player on your left. If possible, it must have at least one thing in common with her secret card. If you do not have a card that has anything in common with hers, instead you pass her a card and inform them that it has nothing in common with it. Each player places the clue card passed to them face-up on the table, and then draws a new card from the deck to replace the one they passed. Players then start taking turns.

On your turn you reveal a card from your hand and the player to your left indicates whether any features on the card match your secret card or not, with a simple yes or no. You are not informed how many features or which ones. You keep the cards you play in front of you on the table to keep track of the clues you’ve been given. You end your turn by drawing a new card.

Alternatively, on your turn you may guess your secret card, announcing a color, number and shape. If you are right, you win the game. If you are wrong, you are eliminated.

Review

The deduction in Concluzio is straightforward and simple, which fits well with the game’s fast playtime. It’s easy to keep track of what you have already learned, and everyone has a bit of secret information that their opponents do not have. You know everyone else’s secret cards, as well as the cards you don’t play, but keep in your hand; this information can prove helpful, particularly near the end as you get closer and closer to deducing your secret card.

While the game box says it can take up to twenty minutes to play, we found games to be faster — but it's one of those cards games that is so easy to play several times in a row. Gameplay is easy to teach, and this is a very accessible game that can be enjoyed by children or those unfamiliar with most games.

The box fits in your hand, making it an extremely portable game. The artwork is a little bland and unappealing, however. Any theme could have been used to make it look more interesting, while the choices for some of the shapes are strange (for example both a solid circle and circle outline are two different shapes).

Concluzio is a lovely little meeting of deduction and light card game. It’s really satisfying to slowly narrow down the options for your card. It’s fast, it’s smooth, and it’s easy to start playing. The deduction is just deep enough to be engaging, without ever being frustrating, and scales well across the player counts.

Pros: Light family-friendly deduction, game time makes it easy to play several rounds

Cons: Artwork and shape choices could be improved

Disclosure: we received a complimentary review copy of this game.