Claim! A Fast-Paced Party Game of Cards, Chaos, and Competition

Be the first to run outside and come back in, or to sing Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star! Complete the requirements and grab a card. Grab the most cards after 10 rounds to win the game.

Claim! is a fast-paced, active party game published by Game Warden and designed for 4-27 players, that takes about 10 minutes to play.

Gameplay

Shuffle the cards and divide them into various stacks, placing them within reach of the players. The game is divided into 10 rounds. Each round, each player draws one card without looking at it. All cards are then revealed at the same time. Players race to claim as many cards as possible, usually by completing them before the other players (you cannot start with your own card).

There are nine different types of cards. Spell cards require you to spell out the object displayed on the card. Name Six cards require you to list six things that belong in the category shown on the card. Dance cards require you to do 2.6 seconds of the dance listed on the card. Sing requires you to sing some portion of a specific song. Compete requires you to have some type of head-to-head competition with another player (the other player must agree to the competition). Do requires you to do the action listed on the card. Place requires you to grab a specific object and place it on top of the card. Grab If cards only allow you to grab them if you meet the criteria of the card. Finally, Resolve cards are kept until the end of the round, when the group identifies together who meets the criteria of the card and that player claims it.

Any cards not claimed at the end of the round go back into the box. You place any cards you claimed during the round face-down in front of yourself. The player who claims the most cards at the end of 10 rounds wins the game.

Image provided by the publisher

Review

Claim! is a fun and active party game. There’s a lot of running around to grab things or performing actions or competitions, and there’s plenty of chaos as players break out in song or start to dance. The more players, the merrier — there will be more chaos, confusion, and cards on the table each round.

The range of categories is fun, and that initial moment when all the cards are revealed and you have to read them quickly and figure out what cards to go for is often both exciting and hilarious. There are going to be some cards you just can’t complete, though. For example, you might not have the item on hand for a Place card, and the Grab If cards are going to be up to chance whether they apply to you or not. But there are enough rounds and cards on the table that this is just part of the fun of the game rather than feeling unfair.

Rules for the singing category are a bit vague. The rules say how long you have to dance to win one of the dancing cards, but unless otherwise stated on one of the song cards (and for most of them it’s not), the rules just say you have to sing ‘some’ of the song named. This feels a bit ambiguous and leads to some gray area that can be frustrating for players.

The graphic design does lack a little something to be desired. There’s nothing outright wrong with it, and the text is all easy to read, it’s just that the cards feel a little plain and boring — such an active, fun game feels like it deserves a little something more. The box it comes in also is a little plain. This is a great game, and it deserves solid presentation.

If you like active games that get you up and moving, Claim! has a lot of fun moments with a large number of cards, a wide range of actions, and great player interaction.

Pros: Very active, lots of cards and categories, great player interaction

Cons: Could have better presentation, the rules for the Sing cards are vague