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Until recently I always believed a "clone" was a game that was almost identical to another, right down to the level design. For example I would consider Mole Kart on IOS to be a Mario Kart clone, or Cartoon Land 3D Safari to be a clone of Super Mario 3D Land. Or i would consider Super Mario Brothers 2 to be a Doki Doki Panic clone, or how Farmsville is a clone of Farmtown (Apparently. I've never played either so i don't know for sure)

But recently the term seems to be getting used a lot more, especially with games like Playstation All Stars and LBP Karting. But what makes these games clones that doesn't also make Diddy Kong Racing a clone of Mario Kart? Or Mortal Kombat a clone of Street Fighter? 

Basically how much can a game get away with copying before it's considered a clone?