'Send in the Clowns' is a quick-playing card management game in which you take on the role of a circus impresario. Your troupe of clowns have entered the Best Dressed Clown competition and are trying to assemble costumes (made up of four garments - hats, shirts, trousers, and shoes) that match in colour (red, yellow, green, blue, purple, or pink) and pattern (stripes, checks, spirals, or stars). But just as fast as your three clowns gather their matching clothes, so your rival troupes swap clothes in your wardrobe with clothes from their wardrobe! Each clown can wear accessories (red noses and blue buckets) to enhance its score, which is based on the longest run in each category (colour, pattern, and accessories): 1, 4, 9, 16 VPs. Each game, one colour and one pattern scores one step higher than the others. You can also add balloons, unicycles, tightropes, and juggling balls to extend your scoring! Each player turn involves 3 main actions: 1) draw a card; 2) draw another card -or- swap a card -or- play a card; 3) play a card. You can only play cards if one of their characteristics matches the adjacent card. And you can only swap a card it it matches the one you are swapping it for. An optional extra action at the end of your turn allows you to discard a card to claim an accessory (nose or bucket).