Cluedo

Cluedo was originally marketed as "The Great New Detective Game" upon its launch in 1949 in North America. A deal was quickly struck to licence "The Great New Sherlock Holmes Game" from the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle estate. Advertising at the time suggested players would take on the guise of "Sherlock Holmes following the path of the criminal", but no depictions of Holmes appear in the advertising or on the box.[10] From 1950 until the 1960s, the game was marketed as "The Great Detective Game," at which time it became the "Parker Brothers Detective Game".

Cluedo 1956 UK Edition depicting a Sherlock Holmes type character.

With the launch of the US 1972 edition, a television commercial showed Holmes and Watson engaged in a particularly competitive game. Adjusting with the times, in 1979 US television commercials a detective, resembling a bumbling Inspector Clouseau from the popular Pink Panther film franchise, looks for clues.[11] In 1986, the marketing slogan added "Classic Detective Game" which persists through the last 2002/2003 edition.

In the UK, Cluedo was marketed as "The Great Detective Game" from the mid-1950s until 2000, when it was rebranded as the "Classic Detective Game."[4][12] However, in the mid-1950s Waddingtons also adopted a Sherlock Holmes-type detective to adorn their box covers for a brief time, though unlike in the US editions, there was no acknowledgement that the character was actually the famous detective. In the 1980s, as in the US, Sherlock Holmes also appeared in TV advertising of the time, along with other classic detectives such as Sam Spade.[13]

The game consists of a board which shows the rooms, corridors and secret-passages of an English country house called Tudor Mansion (named Tudor Close, Tudor Hall, Arlington Grange, Boddy Manor or Boddy Mansion in some editions) in Hampshire, England, in 1926. The game box also includes several coloured playing pieces to represent characters, miniature murder weapon props, two six-sided dice, three sets of cards (describing the aforementioned rooms, characters or weapons), Solution Cards and an envelope (or a mirror in some editions) to contain one card from each set of cards, and a Detective's Notes pad on which are printed lists of rooms, weapons and characters, so players can keep detailed notes during the game.

The figurines and traditional set of North American & UK suspect tokens

The murder victim in the game is known as "Dr. Black" in the UK edition and "Mr. Boddy" in North American versions.

Players' tokens are typically plastic pawns or figurines; the standard edition of Cluedo has six of these suspects:

• Miss Scarlett (the second "T" was dropped in North American versions after 1963). She is represented by a red token.
• Rev Green ("Mr. Green" in North America). He is represented by a green token.
• Colonel Mustard. He is represented by a yellow token.
• Professor Plum. He is represented by a purple token.
• Mrs. Peacock. She is represented by a blue token.
• Mrs. White. She is represented by a white token.

In 2016, Hasbro launched the current standard version of the game with a new character, Dr. Orchid, replacing Mrs. White. She is represented by a pink token. The next year, Hasbro made an edition of Clue/Cluedo with a mirror instead of an envelope.

The weapon icons are typically made of unfinished pewter (except the rope, which may be plastic or string); special editions have included gold plated, brass finished and sterling silver versions.

• Candlestick
• Dagger (Knife in some North American editions)
• Lead Pipe (called lead piping in earlier UK editions; the early tokens were made out of actual lead and therefore posed a risk of lead poisoning)
• Revolver (first depicted in the UK as a Dreyse M1907 semi-automatic pistol,[14] and in North America as a Colt M1911 pistol.)
• Rope
• Wrench (depicted as a monkey wrench in North American editions; and an open-ended spanner in some traditional UK versions)

There are nine rooms in the mansion where the murder can take place, laid out in circular fashion on the game board, separated by pathways overlaid by playing spaces. Each of the four corner rooms contains a secret passage that leads to the room on the opposite diagonal corner of the map. The centre room (often referred to as the Cellar or Stairs) is inaccessible to the players, but contains the solution envelope, and is not otherwise used during game play. Coloured "start" spaces encircle the outer perimeter which correspond to each player's suspect token. Each character starts at the corresponding coloured space.

† ‡ denote secret passages to opposite corner

At the beginning of play, three cards—one suspect, one room, and one weapon—are chosen at random and put into a special envelope, so that no one can see them. These cards represent the solution. The remainder of the cards are distributed among the players.

Players are instructed to assume the token/suspect nearest them. In older versions, play begins with Miss Scarlett and proceeds clockwise. In modern versions, all players roll the die/dice and the highest total starts the game, with play again proceeding clockwise. Players roll the die/dice and move along the board's corridor spaces, or into the rooms accordingly.

The objective of the game is to deduce the details of the murder, i.e. the cards in the envelope. There are six characters, six murder weapons and nine rooms, leaving the players with 324 possibilities. As soon as a player enters a room, they may make a suggestion as to the details, naming a suspect, the room they are in, and weapon. For example: "I suspect Professor Plum, in the Dining Room, with the candlestick." The player's suggestions must include the room they are currently in and may not be made in the corridors. The tokens for the suggested suspect and weapon are immediately moved into that room, if they are not both already present. Suggesting an opponent's token is a legitimate board strategy; likewise the weapon icons, though esoteric. A player may even suggest himself or herself as the murderer and may include cards in their own hand.

Once a player makes a suggestion, the others are called upon to disprove it. If the player to their left holds any of the three named cards, that player must privately show one (and only one) of the cards to them. Otherwise, the process continues clockwise around the table until either one player disproves the accusation, or no one can do so. A player's turn normally ends once their suggestion is completed.

A player who believes they have determined the correct elements may make an accusation on their turn. The accusation can include any room, not necessarily the one occupied by the player (if any), and may be made immediately following a suggestion.[15] The accusing player privately checks the three cards in the envelope. If they match the accusation, the player shows them to everyone and wins; if not, they return them to the envelope and may not move nor make suggestions/accusations for the remainder of the game; in effect, "losing". However, the other players can move their token into rooms when making suggestions and they must continue to privately show cards in order to disprove suggestions. A player who makes a false accusation while blocking the door to a room must move into that room so others can enter and leave. If all players except for one player have made an incorrect accusation, the remaining player automatically wins.

If a player's suggestion has brought another player's token into a room, the second player may make their own suggestion in the room when their turn comes up, if desired. If not, they may move out of the room, and if able to reach another room, make a suggestion therein, as usual. In the American version, players are not allowed to make suggestions repeatedly by remaining in one room; if they wish to make a second suggestion, they must first spend a turn out of the room.

The first opportunity is in choosing the initial playing piece. Mrs. Peacock has an immediate advantage of starting one-space closer to the first room than any of the other players. Professor Plum can move to the study, and then take the secret-passage to the Kitchen, the hardest room to reach.[16] Traditionally, Miss Scarlett had the advantage of moving first. This has been eliminated with the implementation of the high roll rule in modern versions.

The next opportunity is choice of initial rooms to enter. Again Mrs. Peacock has an advantage in that she is closest to the Conservatory, a corner room with a secret passage, enabling a player on their turn to move immediately to another room and make a suggestion after rolling the dice. Miss Scarlett has a similar advantage with the Lounge. Making as many suggestions as possible maximises how much information a player can gain, which is advantageous. Therefore, moving into a new room as frequently as possible is one way to meet this goal. Players should make good use of the secret passages. Following the shortest path between rooms then is a good choice, even if a player already holds the card representing that room in their hand. As mentioned earlier, blocking passage of another player prevents them from attaining rooms from which to make suggestions. Various single space tracks on the board can therefore become traps, which are best avoided by a player when planning a path from room to room.

Each player begins the game with three to six cards in their hand, depending on the number of players. Keeping track of which cards are shown to each player is important in deducing the solution. Detective Notes are supplied with the game to help make this task easier. The pads can keep not only a history of which cards are in a player's hand, but also which cards have been shown by another player. It can also be useful in deducing which cards the other players have shown one another. For example, if Miss Scarlett disproves Rev. Green's accusation that Mrs. Peacock did the crime in the Ballroom with the Candlestick, a player with both the Ballroom and Mrs. Peacock cards in their hand can then deduce that Miss Scarlett has the Candlestick. A player makes a suggestion to learn which cards may be eliminated from suspicion. However, in some cases it may be advantageous for a player to include one of their own cards in a suggestion. This technique can be used for both forcing a player to reveal a different card as well as misleading other players into believing a specific card is suspect. Therefore, moving into a room already held in the player's hand may work to their advantage. Suggestions may also be used to thwart a player's opponent. Since every suggestion results in a suspect token being re-located to the suggested room, a suggestion may be used to prevent another player from achieving their intended destination, preventing them from suggesting a particular room, especially if that player appears to be getting close to a solution.[16]

One reason the game is enjoyed by many ages and skill levels is that the complexity of note-taking can increase as a player becomes more skillful. Beginners may simply mark off the cards they have been shown; more advanced players will keep track of who has and who does not have a particular card, possibly with the aid of an additional grid. Expert players may keep track of each suggestion made, knowing that the player who answers it must have at least one of the cards named; which one can be deduced by later events. One can also keep track of which cards a given player has seen, in order to minimize information revealed to that player and/or to read into that player's suggestions.

Clue can be played in a non–face-to-face environment such as Zoom. The board can easily be created as an Excel Spreadsheet and "shared" by the Clue Master, who is a non-playing individual. After determining the number of players, the Clue Master (Host) randomly determines the three, randomly-selected, solution cards. The names of the remaining cards are distributed, in the normal fashion, randomly, to the players, by image and/or list. The Clue Master rolls dice and moves tokens on the board, visible to all players. When a suggestion is made, players refute the suggestion using the "chat" function to identify, privately, the card they hold that disproves the suggestion. This replaces "showing" the card to the suggestor. When an accusation is made, the Clue Master, either confirms or denies its accuracy.

On August 8, 2008, Hasbro redesigned and updated the board, characters, weapons, and rooms. Changes to the rules of game play were made, some to accommodate the new features.

The suspects have new given names and backgrounds, as well as differing abilities that may be used during the game. The revolver is now a pistol, the lead pipe and spanner/wrench have been removed, and a baseball bat, axe, dumbbell, trophy, and poison have been added. The nine rooms have changed to (in clockwise order): Hall, Guest House, Dining Room, Kitchen, Patio, Spa, Theatre, Living Room, and Observatory.[17]

There is also a second deck of cards—the Intrigue cards. In this deck, there are two types of cards, Keepers and Clocks. Keepers are special abilities; for example, "You can see the card". There are eight clocks—the first seven drawn do nothing—whoever draws the eighth is killed by the murderer and out of the game.[18]

The player must move to the indoor swimming pool in the centre of the board to make an accusation. This adds some challenge versus the ability to make accusations from anywhere in the original game.

The most significant change to game play is that once the suspect cards have been taken, the remaining cards are dealt so that all players have an even number of cards (rather than dealt out so that "one player may have a slight advantage"). This means that depending on the number of players a number of cards are left over. These cards are placed face down in the middle and are not seen unless a player takes a turn in the pool room to look at them.

The changes to the game have been criticized in the media for unnecessarily altering classic cultural icons. The game has also been criticized by lovers of the original game.[7][19][20]

As of 2017, Hasbro no longer sells the game via its website. However, they do continue to sell a version of it as part of their Grab & Go travel series. Notably, it plays identically to standard classic rules, but visually continues to use the new Discover the Secrets room layout, and two of the new weapons, as well as other design artwork. However, the Intrigue cards are no longer a part of the game.[21]

CLUE/CLUEDO the digital adaptation is based on the official Hasbro board game developed by Marmalade Game Studio for iOS and Android mobile devices as well as Steam and Nintendo Switch. The object of the game to determine who killed the game's victim Dr Black,(Or Dr Boddy,) with what weapon? In which room? The player, as one of the six suspects, will ask questions and take notes. The overall goal being to solve the crime first.

• Clue "Master Detective" (1988),[22] an expanded version of the game featuring 12 rooms, 10 characters, and eight weapons, with support for up to 10 players. In addition to the regular cast, Clue Master Detective adds Miss Peach, Monsieur Brunette, Madame Rose, and Sergeant Gray to the list of suspects. It also added poison and a horseshoe to the assortment of weapons. The fountain, the gazebo, and the carriage house were added to the list of rooms.
• Cluedo: 50th Anniversary (1999), also released as Clue: 50th Anniversary, this standard edition came in a "deluxe" format with the option to play with an extra murder weapon, a bottle of poison. This edition was also issued in a miniaturised Cluedo European travel version. Drew Struzan provided artwork for the game, which was originally created for the US 1996 edition and additionally used for The Limited Gift Edition and the US Clue Card Game (he did not create the Rev. Green portrait used in the Cluedo editions).[23]
• Clue "Nostalgia Edition" (2003, 2007)[24] Hasbro began offering a retro Nostalgia edition of the game, essentially a re-issue of the 1963 design in a wooden box. A custom version of the game was also released in the US by Restoration Hardware as Wooden Box Clue with different cover art.[25] In the UK it was released under the Cluedo brand, and was an official re-issue of the original 1949 Waddingtons' design.
• Clue "Vintage Edition" (2005, 2009),[24] also released as Cluedo "Vintage Edition", Hasbro re-formatted the nostalgia edition into a "vintage" bookshelf collection along with a series of other popular boardgames. In the Cluedo version, they continued to use the 1963 design and adapted it for the UK market for the first time with localised characters and naming conventions.