The Very Clever Pipe Game
The Very Clever Pipe Game is another in a series of abstract strategy games from James Ernest and Hip Pocket Games. It was originally published as a 120-card envelope game in 1997¸ and returns now in a more compact and affordable form.The Very Clever Pipe Game is unlike any pipe game you've seen before. We promise! In the basic game¸ each player has a different color of Pipes (either Black or White) and is trying to construct closed sets of his own. When you complete a set¸ you take those cards off the table¸ and whoever takes the most cards wins.The rules of the game allow you to play cards anywhere on the table¸ even unconnected to the existing layout¸ as long as they conform to the existing grid. There are special rules for half-card sized holes (called ''Pillars'') and for deciding who takes the cards when two sets form at once.Once you have played the basic Pipe Game¸ you can move on to version two: Fields. Every card has light and dark Fields which run behind the Pipes. In the Fields game you are building the board by the same rules¸ but instead of picking up Pipe sets¸ you pick up Fields of your own color that are completely surrounded by Fields of the opposite color.In version 3¸ which is playable by up to 4 players¸ each player has either a Pipe color or a Field color¸ and each is trying to pick up sets of his own color. You can also play either of the two basic games with 4 players¸ by forming two teams of 2.The Very Clever Pipe Game has 48 cards¸ including several cards that were not in the original edition. The deck is better balanced for Pipes vs. Fields than the original game¸ and there is also a slight tweak to the starting rules (players draw starting hands of 9 cards and discard 4). What's more¸ the artwork has been updated to reflect the sensibilities of the new millennium. Okay¸ not really. We just made the borders white instead of black.