Parents' Guide to

The Clique: Diss and Make Up

By Erin Bell, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 10+

Shallow game explores cutthroat school cliques and shopping.

Game Nintendo DS 2009
The Clique: Diss and Make Up Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this game.

  • The Clique: Diss and Make Up Game: Screenshot #1
  • The Clique: Diss and Make Up Game: Screenshot #2
  • The Clique: Diss and Make Up Game: Screenshot #3

Community Reviews

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age 2+

Based on 1 parent review

CommonSenseParent
CommonSenseParent Parent
November 23, 2010
age 2+

Excellent video game for girls

The Clique: Diss and Make Up is an amazing game that young girls will enjoy playing. There's fun mini-games and girls can learn the value of a dollar thanks to the shopping. The content is tame, and there is no violence. I highly recommend purchasing this for your girl gamer. A+

This title has:

Educational value
Great messages
Great role models
See all 1 parent review

What’s It About?

Loosely based on the novel The Clique by Lisi Harrison, THE CLIQUE: DISS AND MAKE UP is about a young girl's efforts to make friends and fit in at her new school by ingratiating herself with the six different ruling cliques: the Eccentrix, Mathletes, Jocks, Pop Divas, Arteests, and Pretty Committee. To impress each clique, players have to dress their character in certain clothes, perform errands for clique members (such as fetching items), dish juicy gossip, and in some cases perform well in a chosen school subject (the Mathletes, for example are impressed by straight-A's in algebra). As well, players take trips to the mall where they can work one of four job mini-games to earn cash and spend it on tops, pants, skirts, and shoes.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (1):
Kids say (4):

The premise of The Clique is about as shallow as they come, furthering the idea that young girls have to dress a certain way to be accepted and risk snarky put-downs if they look "wrong." There isn't a whole lot of gameplay either, aside from the simple mini-games that represent jobs and classes. Once players have figured out what they need to do (buy the right clothes, run a couple of errands, and get invited to the party at the end of the day), the entire game can be completed in a couple of hours. The story – a typical teen angst love triangle with misplaced crushes and rivalries – is predictable, too. Fans of the book or movie might get a kick out of The Clique, but it's not a very satisfying game otherwise.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • What are some of the cliques at your school? Do you think you belong to a clique?

  • Why do you think kids choose to be in a clique?

  • Do you think it's more important to "fit in" or to be yourself?

Game Details

  • Platform: Nintendo DS
  • Available online?: Not available online
  • Publisher: Warner Bros. Games
  • Release date: August 25, 2009
  • Genre: Girl
  • ESRB rating: E10+ for Comic Mischief
  • Last updated: August 31, 2016

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