Clinic: Deluxe Edition

I had not played the first edition of Clinic—and it was probably the only Viard game that had managed to escape my collection. The mixed comments I kept hearing had held me back, so I came to the Deluxe Edition with healthy caution. And yes, the first encounter is somewhat intimidating: lots of tiny mechanisms, all tied together, and a read-through that easily inspires the familiar, “Great, you brought something like Pipeline again.” Thankfully, that impression does not last long.

In practice, the game flows far more smoothly than its rulebook suggests. After one or two rounds, its operation becomes clear, and the individual rules stop feeling like a pile of little gears waiting to chew you up. At its core, it is an economic sandbox: you have room to decide how to proceed, but every choice has to stand up within a very tight framework.

The main tension comes from how little it forgives mistakes. You can theoretically play it safe or take risks, but if winning is the goal, risk eventually feels like the only route. I did not experience it as a game built around flashy confrontations; the pressure lies in the economic system itself and in whether your own management will punish you. It is also fairly dry in its basic form, which will not suit everyone.

Clinic did not drive me wild, but it left me with that sweet, persistent burn that makes you want another game. The Deluxe Edition includes sixteen variants, and I am almost certain that somewhere among their combinations there is a truly great version of the game. It is just that, as with Friese’s 504, I do not think I will ever sit down and conduct the systematic research needed to find it. If I go to prison, though, this is the one I am taking with me.