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Ticket to Ride: Rails & Sails
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- 6.6
Clippers
2002
Rules assistance for Clippers
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 2–5 players
- 60 min
- 10+
- Complexity 2.6/5
For 2 players
Rules assistant for Clippers
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Clippers is a board game released in 2002 for 2–5 players, 60 minutes per game, and ages 10 and up. It was designed by Alan R. Moon and its main mechanics are Network and Route Building.
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About the game
Remade and re-themed Santa Fe. Players own trading settlements on islands in the Pacific and must attempt to get trade routes established in order to make those settlements score points. Trade routes are established by connecting various different shipping companies, represented by different colored Clippers, to land at your island. The more Clippers that land at an island, the more points a settlement there will be worth. Players control creation of trade routes by six trading companies by laying down wooden sticks that advance the appropriate clipper. The different islands have point values, as well as a set amount of potential settlements and a number of ports that clippers can land at. Throughout the game phases, players will have to manage placing their settlements, claiming option cards, laying track segments, and adding new clippers. With no luck involved, it is a difficult task to both advance the clippers in the way you want without alerting your opponents to your plans. Successful play heavily involves taking advantage of situations your opponents leave open and capitalizing on ports that they make valuable. At the end of the game, an island will be worth its value multiplied by the number of different companies that have landed at it. Duplicate landings by the same company do not increase the score. For every settlement you have on an island, you will score points. For instance, an island with a base value of 5 that has 3 different companies will be worth 15 points. If you have placed 2 settlements there, it will earn you 30 points. Place your ports too early and no one will send ships there; place them too late and you may not get a spot!
Mechanics
Designers
Publishers
- Descartes Editeur
- Eurogames
Questions and answers
Clippers supports 2–5 players according to the catalogue. This range comes from the publisher’s listed player count, so the game can be set up for any group size within it. Some setups, rules and scoring details may still vary by player count, so check your edition’s rulebook for the exact configuration.
The listed playing time for Clippers is 60 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists Clippers for ages 10 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
Clippers has a complexity rating of 2.6 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a medium-light game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
Clippers belongs to these categories: Economic and Nautical. Its main mechanics are Network and Route Building. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of Clippers are: Alan R. Moon. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists Clippers as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.