When Apple Arcade launched in 2019, it had one game that I’d label a killer app: What the Golf? The wacky game was a total riot, twisting a very simple sports hook on its head in countless ways. That approach has since become something of a studio philosophy for developer Triband, who has escalated that idea in each of its games since, from What the Bat? to What the Car? It’s latest game, the Apple Arcade exclusive What the Clash?, takes that idea even further to reimagine what a multiplayer game can be.
And as you might expect, the results are very, very silly.
What the Clash? is a one-on-one multiplayer game that seems simple when you first boot it up. The idea is that players choose a minigame and then must compete in short rounds until someone lands three wins. A game only takes a few short minutes and almost functions more like WarioWare in scope. In its opening tutorial, I simply need to beat my opponent in a game of ping pong by dragging my character, a sentient hand, on screen. Easy, right? There’s not just one twist on that idea, but dozens. Before each round, both my opponent and I have to play a card, which acts as a modifier. If I play a fan card, for instance, a fan is placed on the table that makes for windy playing conditions. But the conditions of a round aren’t just determined by one card, but a combination based on the two modifiers each player chooses. If I choose a wheel card and my opponent choose “long,” we’re suddenly playing a round with giant arms that are moved around the table by spinning a pirate wheel.
Just like Triband’s previous games, the joy comes from discovering just how much a simple idea can be pulled apart. That becomes more apparent as I unlock more minigames and cards through a simple reward rail. The second minigame I get is archery, which simply has my opponent and I shooting targets that match our colors. Through some experimenting, I wind up playing rounds where we instead have to roll exploding barrels towards one another by peppering them with arrows. The third minigame, racing, gets blown apart even more. With cards like “mini,” I can transform a traditional race into a slot car minigame where my opponent and I have to navigate around cats whose paws block the track. When my opponent and I play too wooden plank cards, we instead are put on skis.
That idea makes it especially a great idea for kids as there’s no bottom to the ever-changing silliness of these games. Each one has dozens of potential card combinations that change the game. Part of the fun comes from trying to unlock them all, making What the Clash? just as much about collecting combos than winning. It’s a clever spin on what Triband has done so well across its three previous games, turning its unpredictable design into a series of multiplayer surprises that make each game feel new.
As fun as it is, there are some limits to what’s ultimately a light multiplayer oddity that I can’t imagine will have a long tail. There are a handful of minigames available at launch, but not all of them feel well equipped for the gameplay hook. One throws me into a a version of Puzzle Bobble where I need to make color matches to snag trophies snuggled into a puzzle well. The modifiers I’ve tried there rarely shake that idea up in an exciting way. The same goes for Tag, which is the most inventive minigame on paper but the hardest to escalate. Here, players swing on pegs and fling themselves around a round arena. A trophy appears and players have to fight to both grab it and then hold on to it long enough to score the point. It’s a genius bit of physical comedy, but the modifiers only tend to add lasers and water streams on screen as obstacles rather than change the core idea.
I’m hoping that the game will get a bit of a boost through updates. Triband is already working on more minigames and there’s even an in-game survey that asks players what they’d like to see added later. It’s a small scale live service approach that should keep What the Clash? fresh with new jokes to check out over time. That will be key, because the competitive aspect of it is a little shallow at present, more geared towards kids who will get a laugh out of it until they get bored — and that tends to happen once you play a round with no new combo. Triband designs levels like jokes and it’s hard to get the same laugh twice, let along dozens of times.
What the Clash? isn’t a reason to subscribe to Apple Arcade, but it does add a bit more depth to a library that’s only getting stronger in 2025. It joins highlights like Puffies, Katamari Damacy: Rolling Live, and Space Invaders Infinity Gene Evolve and offers something very different from any of those games, even if it’s a bit of a gimmick. If you already have a subscription, it’s the kind of curiosity that will give you, or your kids, a good reason to smile for a few days. Lord knows we need that right now.
What the Clash? is available now on iOS devices via Apple Arcade.