Cluedo: Classic Board Game Review

The first entry in our classic board game review series takes a look at Cluedo and is written by guest blogger, Jess O'Brien...

The classic detective game! Cluedo, or Clue, is a game of logic and mystery which has been a family favourite for generations - since its release in 1949. The object of the game is to solve the murder of Dr. Black. As you make suggestions about the murder suspect, weapon and location you will eliminate possibilities and get closer to the truth….

Introduction to Cluedo

Cluedo is an intense game of mind and strategy, with players needing to use their deductive reasoning to help conclude which suspect has murdered Dr. Black. This is worked out by asking the following questions:

• Who did it?
• With what weapon?
• In which room?

Several spin-offs have been released as part of the Cluedo franchise, including games, books and a film - some featuring extra characters and different gameplay. Franchise versions of this classic board game include Harry Potter, Big Bang Theory, Star Wars, Sherlock and Family Guy.

In 2007 a Disney special was released which celebrated the The Twilight Zone: Tower of Terror ride at Hollywood Studios.

With hundreds, if not thousands, of new board games and card games being published every year, it’s refreshing to pull out a classic family board game and still have a fantastic time together.

Set-up

Set-up is relatively simple and quick for this particular board game, given that you have read through the rules of the game and understand exactly how to play, as knowing which rooms your characters can move between and how many spaces at a time they can travel can get quite confusing.

Up to six people can play Cluedo and they'll need to be able to access the board to move their character pawns with ease, so make sure that you choose a game surface that all of your players can sit around.

Gameplay

Using the power of elimination, you move your character around the game board, which in the original edition is a mansion, as one of the game’s six suspects:

1. Ms. Vivienne Scarlet - The sultry and beautiful actress of the game
2. Col. Michael Mustard - The militant and athletic colonel
3. Rev. Jonathan Green - The conniving and religious priest (mobster)
4. Mrs. Elizabeth Peacock - The sinister and political senator of the game
5. Prof. Peter Plum - The uptight and intelligent professor of the game
6. Mrs White - The mean-looking cook!

Upon new release in 2009, the Cluedo suspect's names’ differed slightly to the originals. For example, Rev. Jonathan Green was simply known as Mr Green. Last year Hasbro also made the decision to kill-off Mrs White and replace her with Dr Orchid - who was home-schooled by the classic character.

As you move around the mansion you'll need to collect clues from which to conclude which suspect murdered the game’s perpetual victim, Dr. Black, and with which weapon and in what room.

Gameplay is fairly difficult to understand if you are playing for the first time. I’ve previously stated in the Set up section of this review that if you haven't read through the game rules thoroughly, you will struggle to keep track of where you can move to and how far in every throw of the dice.

Final Thoughts

Cluedo is the board game that brings the family around the table. There may not be oohs and ahhs, or any welcome arms when it’s first suggested to play, and some may choose to sit out, but before long, the classic attraction of solving the mystery pulls people to the table, and everyone has got their detective hats on for the next round!

Zatu Games Score: 95 out of 100