The Friendly Watcher, based off of Rodney from Watch it Played, is arguably my favorite promo card for Clank! as it’s not only hugely beneficial to the player that purchases it, but the card also directly impacts the other players. This is a game that doesn’t feature enough direct interaction (in my opinion) and the Friendly Watcher brings just that to the table. This is a card that you want not just for the benefit of receiving gold and distributing Clank! to other players, but also because you don’t want other players to own it. You cannot afford not to buy it. That’s what makes it brilliant. It’s a ticking time-bomb on the table as players hope to gather enough skill points to purchase the card before others do.
Besides that, the card gives players a victory point at the end of the game and grants three gold every time it’s played. That’s an absolute fortune over the course of the game. If this is available in the early game, you’ll see this card at least four times (if not more), which grants you at minimum twelve gold. That’s either twelve points or items that can assist you during the game. Even if you buy it late game and only play it once, that’s three points you didn’t have earlier. There are very few cards with that kind of payoff.