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Clue, the board game of murder, mystery and suspense!

Game:
Clue
Board game manufacturer:
Hasbro
Number of players:
3-6

QUICK VERDICT

A classic board game unlike any other, Clue (or Cluedo outside of North America) is a simple concept, but a real challenge, especially for younger players. Play by candlelight on a rainy day for that mystery atmosphere!

Clue (also known as Cluedo) is like an Agatha Christie novel set in game form. It's been around for decades and, like many other of the popular classic board games with cult followings, has spun off various versions, including The Simpsons Clue.

As the board game play is identical from version to version, we probably won't bother to review them all in full. But we will attempt to keep up with the versions by publishing news items for you.

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The Game

The owner of a mansion has been murdered and the six guests at the house (the players) are all suspects. Players must gather clues from the nine rooms of the house, interrogate their fellow guests and try to solve the murder.

The original game pieces in the Clue board game had colours to match their names. These names have entered into modern folklore, so don't be surprised if you've heard them before:

• Professor Plum
• Miss Scarlet
• Reverend Green
• Mrs. Peacock
• Colonel Mustard
• Mrs. White

There are cards matching each of these characters, plus a card for each of the nine rooms of the mansion and six murder weapons (which have physical representations too). Clue board game, especially in its classic form, definitely has an indefinable English country manor feel to it that's very appealing, not to mention eerily familiar to fans of murder mysteries!

One of each type of card is placed unseen into an envelope. These unseen cards - person, room, weapon - tell the players 'Whodunnit', and how, at the end of the game. The rest of the cards are dealt equally to the players. Each player also receives a pencil and a list of the rooms, suspects and murder weapons.

Finding out the facts of the case in the Clue board game requires observation, strategy and careful note-taking, by eliminating known cards from the players' lists to narrow down the possible conclusion. For example, if a player is dealt five cards at the start of the game, that's five that can't be in the murder envelope. These can be crossed off their list immediately.

Want to play CLUE on your computer? Get CLUE Classic FREE
with a 30-day trial to GamePass!

Each player begins at a designated starting point on the board. By throwing dice, they move around the mansion. Once in any of the rooms, they can make a suggestion of a possible murder combination involving that room. That combination is recreated.

So, if a player reaches the Library, says, "I suggest Professor Plum with the revolver in the Library", the Professor Plum and revolver tokens are moved to the Library.

Now, clockwise around the board, the other players must disprove the suggestion, if they can, by showing ONLY the current player ONE of the three cards he has mentioned. If the first player has none of them, the next must show one and so on. The current player can then cross another potential location, weapon or suspect from his list and the game continues.

The winner of the Clue board game is the first person to make a correct accusation, in the same format: "I accuse X person with Y weapon in Z room." He opens the envelope without showing the other players.

Once an accusation is made by a player, it's binding. If he's correct, the game ends. If not, he is eliminated from the game, returns the envelope and the other players continue. 

Want to play CLUE on your computer? Get CLUE Classic FREE
with a 30-day trial to GamePass!

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