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About Similo
Similo is a small cooperative deduction game from Horrible Guild. Twelve character portraits sit on the table, and one player secretly knows which of them is the target. They give clues using only other character cards: played upright to mean similar, sideways to mean different. Everyone else discusses and removes more cards each round, and if they ever remove the secret character, the team loses. It takes ten minutes, needs no reading, and works for a family table as well as for adults.
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Is Similo Right for You?
Best for
Similo is for families, mixed-age groups and anyone who wants a short cooperative game with lots of discussion. It is best with three or four players, when everyone has a say in each removal. It also makes a good filler between longer games.
Maybe skip it if…
Large groups will find the guessing side gets crowded, and the clue-giver role does not rotate within a game. Anyone who dislikes loose, interpretive clues may find it frustrating.
How to Play Similo
Setup
The clue-giver secretly draws one card as the Secret Character, shuffles it with eleven more, and lays out a grid of twelve. They then draw a hand of five cards.
On Your Turn
- The clue-giver plays one card from hand: vertically if it shares something with the Secret Character, horizontally if it is different in some way.
- The guessers talk it over and remove characters from the grid: one in the first round, then two, three and four.
- The clue-giver draws back up to five, and the next round begins. Every clue played so far still counts.
How to Win
Everyone wins together if the Secret Character is the last card standing. Removing it at any point is an immediate loss.
💡 Strategy Tips
Read clues as a set, not one at a time. Two upright clues that share a feature narrow the field far more than either alone.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Forgetting earlier clues. Every clue stays in play, so a card from round one still matters in round four.
- Reading a sideways clue as meaning the opposite. It only means the target differs in some way, not in every way.
- Removing cards too quickly. Remove the cards that clash with the most clues, not the first one that seems wrong.
- As clue-giver, holding back a good clue for later. The early rounds remove few cards, so a strong clue does most good when the field is still wide.
Advanced Strategy
- As clue-giver, think about which cards on the table a clue rules out, not just what it says about the target.
- Guessers should name the feature they think a clue points to out loud. It helps the group agree, and it helps everyone remember later.
- Clue-givers can play a horizontal card to remove a group of similar characters at once, which is often safer than trying to point straight at the target.
- Keep the grid in its original positions. Moving cards around makes it harder to remember which characters each clue was compared with.
Variants & House Rules
Other decks
Horrible Guild sells many standalone decks, including Fables, Myths, History, Animals and Wild Animals, plus licensed sets. Each plays on its own.
Mixing two decks
With two decks, the official rules let you use one as the characters on the table and the other as the clue cards, which makes for stranger links.
Video Guides
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Our Verdict
Similo is a small, clever game that does a lot with a deck of portraits. We recommend it for families and for short breaks in a game night, where its ten-minute length is a real strength. It is not a big-group game, but at three or four players it is a quiet favourite.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cooperative?
Yes. The clue-giver and the guessers win or lose together.
Does it work with eight players?
It works, but with that many guessers the discussion can be dominated by a few voices. Three to five is the most comfortable range.
Which deck should we buy first?
Any of them. Each deck is a complete game, so choose the theme your group likes best.