The best games do more than challenge our minds… they engage our emotions and deliver a true experience that we want to share with others and relive again and again. We want to be swept up in the excitement promised by the game’s theme. So, when you create a game about being a paramedic in the field, where lives hang in the balance and failure to act in time can be the difference between life and death, you need to deliver — in spades!

This August, Smirk & Dagger Games introduces Paramedics: CLEAR!, a competitive game for up to four players that drops you right into the action of being an EMT from the very first moment of play. Be quick to assess and sustain patients and rush them to the hospital. Manage your resources and upgrade your ambulance to save as many lives as possible. You only have seconds to act and the clock is against you. This is a manic, high-tension, timed game of saving lives – and you probably won’t be able to save them all.

The game features a FREE companion app timer which limits each player’s turn to 60-seconds and dwindles rapidly to just 45- or 30-seconds later in the game. In that time, players race to triage new patients, purchase medical supplies, treat their medical needs, and transport them to the hospital for victory points. CRITICAL patients add to the drama, and must be treated and rushed to the hospital, or be sent to the morgue, instead, where they count against your score.

The app, available on both Google Play and Apple iOS Appstore, dispatches players with the sound of fire station alert tones and bells, and pushes players to work quickly as the heartbeat of their patient beeps on the EKG display. All actions on a player’s turn must be completed and the timer button clicked off, as the player calls out aloud “CLEAR!” to save the patient. Otherwise, the EKG will alert you to coronary distress, with seven-seconds to go, before flatlining and signaling the loss of your charge as the timer reaches zero.

While the game can be played with any stopwatch-style timer, the free companion app complements the theme and tension of the game. Gary Kagan, the designer of Paramedics: CLEAR!, is an applications developer by day and considers himself a “math guy” who is partial to Euro-style designs, numbers, and patterns. In fact, early versions didn’t even have a timer. “But,” explains Gary, “it felt like the game was missing something. When the timer was added it made such a difference. How you handle yourself and your emotions under stress is a critical element to the game – and ties to the theme perfectly.” The atmosphere it helps create and the sound of players yelling “CLEAR!” also goes a long way to attract new players to the table.

Though, at this point, you may be wondering how a game about saving lives fits into Smirk & Dagger’s long running reputation for publishing ‘take that’ games. Curt Covert, owner of S&D, laughed, “Yeah, me too – at first. There’s no question that when you play the first couple times, the clock is the enemy and you’re so focused on making sure your patients don’t die there’s little time for anything else. But, as you get better at managing the clock and marshalling your emotions, you start to see opportunities to advantage yourself and poke the other players. Though, the fact that the game so deeply involves players emotionally is what truly endeared it to me. Above all, that’s what I hope all Smirk & Dagger titles deliver for fans - and in this regard, it absolutely has a home.”

Critical patients present one of the more ‘smirky’ opportunities in the game. Unlike regular patients, who require only one medical need be cared for each turn, Critical patients must have all their needs met on the turn you receive them or they will perish. “The adding of Critical patients introduced a whole new element to the game,” Gary expressed, “and a really good way to screw over opponents.” This is because when you empty a gurney, you must immediately draw two new patient cards and triage them, selecting one for yourself and giving the other face down to an opponent on their back-up gurney, creating a nasty surprise when their turn begins. Of course, if they are successful, the points are often higher for rescuing them.

“One of the changes that came late in the design was asking other players for help - STAT!”, Gary exclaimed. There are times when a player simply doesn’t have the resources available to save a patient. This new rule allows a player to call out “I need X supply, STAT!” and holds up two supply cards they are willing to give up to get the once crucial element they need. An opponent can gain an extra card on their turn for helping – but, is under no requirement to do so. “I feel this is a critical part of the game as it adds player interaction and passive-aggressive back-stabbing at the same time,” Gary continued. “I loved watching playtests where one player calls for help and players just sat quietly, even though they could... or the ones who offered their assistance mere seconds before the timer expired!”

Balancing this is the ability to upgrade your rig, so your shifts run more efficiently. You can add more supply cabinets and store more supplies for when you need them most. You can increase your hand size. And, importantly, you can pay to have a Medevac helicopter standing by on the pad, ready to fly out a patient when you can’t save them yourself.

“Working with Curt at Smirk & Dagger was an incredible experience,” Gary expressed.  “Although the game mechanics were meshing and it was pretty solid, working with Curt really helped fine tune the game. As a designer, I'm extremely happy with the final result of this project.”

For gamers who love timed games and the excitement they provide, or heavily thematic games that live up to the promise of the concept, Paramedics: CLEAR! is a must have. “I love when players have just finished a game, sit back from being on the edge of their seat, and can finally breathe a sigh of relief,” Curt said. “It may not be a true simulation of being a paramedic, but it delivers the same emotional-charged candy that you’d want from a game about it.”

“But as stressful as Paramedics: CLEAR! may seem at first,” Gary added, “I've noticed that it actually helps you manage stress by teaching you to control the situation you're dealt and not to panic. (he smiles) Though, I can't say that’s true for everyone, rookie!”

Be sure to check out Paramedics: CLEAR! when it debuts this August. It’s one helluva ride. “Rescue squad – confirm and depart!”

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Curt Covert is the owner and Chief Instigator at Smirk & Dagger Games, dedicated to proving that games are more fun when you can stab a friend in the back. A fourteen-year veteran in the industry and the inventor of Cutthroat Caverns, Hex Hex, and Nevermore, just to name a few. It's kinda like the word "schottenfreude" was coined just for him and his games.