Cluedo, known as Clue in North America, is a murder mystery-themed multimedia franchise started in 1949 with the manufacture of the Cluedo board game. The franchise has since expanded to film, television game shows, book series, computer games, board game spinoffs, a comic, a play, a musical, jigsaws, card games, and other media.
Background It began with the original Cluedo board game where the host Mr. Boddy (Dr. Black in the UK version) was found dead where he was killed by one of the visitors in a certain room with a certain murder weapon.
Characters
The murder victim in the game was known as Dr. Black in the UK edition and Mr. Boddy in North American versions. Updated editions of the game, released by Hasbro in 2023, refer to him as Boden "Boddy" Black Jr.
Player tokens are typically plastic pawns or figurines; the standard edition of the game has six suspects:
Miss Scarlett (the second "t" was dropped in North American versions after 1963 and added back in 2016), the stock femme fatale character; she is represented by a red token/figurine. Colonel Mustard, a retired military officer with a distinguished career; he is represented by a yellow token/figurine. Mrs. White, the chief domestic servant, typically the housekeeper or cook, updated as "Chef White" in the 2023 edition; she is represented by a white token/figurine. In the 2016 edition Mrs. White was replaced by Dr. Orchid, a young biologist and adopted daughter of the victim, represented by a pink token. Dr. Orchid was replaced by Chef White in the 2023 UK and North American editions. Reverend Green, the local clergyman, updated as Mayor Green in the 2023 edition; he is represented by a green token/figurine. Known as Mr. Green in North American editions, initially a middle-aged businessman with possible criminal connections turned into a young and handsome playboy. Mrs. Peacock, a stylish widowed socialite, updated as "Solicitor Peacock" in the 2023 edition; she is represented by a blue token/figurine. Professor Plum, an intelligent yet absent-minded academic; he is represented by a purple token/figurine.
Rooms The rooms on the board game consist of the hall, the lounge, the dining room, the kitchen, the ballroom, the conservatory, the billiard room, the library, and the study.
Murder weapon 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. Early versions of the game included lead piping that was made from actual lead, and which was replaced with a steel version in later editions.
Candlestick Dagger (Knife in North American editions) Lead piping (Lead pipe in North American editions) Revolver (first depicted in the UK as a Dreyse M1907 semi-automatic pistol,Dreyse M1907 WORLD WAR II and in North America as a Colt M1911 pistol) Rope Spanner (Wrench in North American editions)
Board game spin-offs Waddingtons, Parker Brothers, and Hasbro have created many spin-off versions of the game, consisting of alternative rules varying from the original Classic Detective Game. (Such spin-offs are distinct from themed "variants" using the basic rules and game configuration, effectively new skins on the original board game.) In addition to revising the rules of gameplay, many of the spin-off games also introduce new characters, locations, weapons, and/or alternative objectives.
Clue VCR Mystery Game The Clue VCR Mystery Game (1985) released as Cluedo: The Great Video Detective Game in the UK and Australia. Rather than the standard table-top board, this VCR adaptation relied on an hour-long video containing humorous scenes of the suspects interacting at Boddy Mansion. Players watched the recording, in either VHS or Beta tape formats, to uncover details of several murders per game, matching clues given on cards to the action on the video. Only five weapons (candlestick, knife, revolver, rope, and poison) and five rooms (Dining Room, Kitchen, Hall, Conservatory, and Library) are featured but there are a total of ten suspects, with Monsieur Brunette, Madam Rose, Sgt. Gray, and Miss Peach in addition to the original six. It is notable for being the first game adaptation to rely on a videotape recording. Released in April 1985, it sold nearly 500,000 copies, becoming the fourth best-selling video cassette of 1985 in the US (after Beverly Hills Cop, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock and Ghostbusters). Consisting of "18 different lively mysteries", Games named it among the top hundred games of the year.
Super Cluedo Challenge Super Cluedo Challenge (1986) is an advanced version of the Cluedo rules, introducing three new characters (Captain Brown, Miss Peach and Mr. Slate-Grey) and three more weapons (the blunderbuss, poison and axe). The rules are greatly expanded, with each card having coloured and numbered squares in each corner, which are uncovered by special card holders. These allowed 'clues' to be given by uncovering a small segment of the card, showing only a colour/number. Rather than the remaining cards being dealt out at the start of the game, they had to be 'discovered' by reaching one of the many blue counters scattered on the board.
Clue VCR II: Murder in Disguise Clue VCR II: Murder in Disguise (1987) Sequel to Clue VCR Mystery Game; more scenarios with the same 10 characters from the first VCR game. The rooms this time around are the Dining Room, Lounge, Hall, Billiard Room, and Hotel Room.
Cluedo Master Detective Cluedo Master Detective (1988, released as Clue: Master Detective in North America and Super Cluedo in France, Germany and UK) is an expanded version of the original game. In addition to the original characters, weapons and rooms, the game adds four new characters (Madam Rose, Sgt. Gray, M. Brunette and Miss Peach—the same four characters introduced in the VCR games), two new weapons (poison and horseshoe), and seven new rooms (courtyard, gazebo, drawing room, carriage house, trophy room, studio, and fountain) to the mansion. This version was also made into a video game.
Clue Jr. Case of the Missing Pete Clue Jr.: Case of the Missing Pet (1989) was a variant for children and the first Clue Jr. game in the United States of America. The player played as one of the old six suspects, who are children, and try to find out who took the missing pet and where they hid it. The suspects' names are Mortimer Mustard, Georgie Green, Peter Plum, Wendy White, Polly Peacock and Samantha Scarlet.
Travel Clue Travel Clue (1990) is more than just a miniaturised version of the standard game as offered for the UK Cluedo editions, the first US travel edition is played somewhat differently. Instead of rolling dice, players simply choose a room to visit on their turn. Once there, they can see any cards in the room and question other players.
Cluedo: The Great Museum Caper Cluedo: The Great Museum Caper (1991), released as Clue: The Great Museum Caper in North America, is rather different from the original. One player is a thief whose goal is to steal paintings while the other players attempt to apprehend the thief. The thief keeps track of his or her position secretly on paper and is thus not seen by the detectives, until the thief is spotted by a detective or the museum's security system. Ideally, multiple rounds are played, with each player getting to be the thief once. The winner of the match is then the thief who stole the most paintings without getting caught.
Cluedo Card Game Cluedo Card Game (1992) is a shedding-type card game, where players attempt to match cards featuring the locations, weapons, and characters from the original game with a central pile of cards.
Clue Little Detective Clue Little Detective (1992) is commonly considered a major departure from the standard game, as the object of this game is to be the first to reach the front gate from the attic after hearing a scary noise. It is not an official Clue Jr game.
Junior Cluedo Junior Cluedo (1993) is the first Junior game for Cluedo, second Clue Jr. game overall. Instead of finding the murderer, the players need to find the ghost of their ancestors and remember where they are.
Travel Clue Jr. Travel Clue Jr. (1994) Like the regular Travel Clue game, it is not merely a miniaturised version of the Clue Jr. series, but a unique format with its own set of rules. Instead of rolling dice, a spinner is used, to move around the board for an opportunity to open a door and obtain a clue.
Clue Super Sleuth Cluedo Super Sleuth (1995) is another advanced version of the Cluedo rules, though in a different manner. There is no set board to this game, instead the board is made up of twelve tiles which are laid out randomly as players enter new rooms, to create a 4x3 grid. The murder cards remain unchanged to the basic edition, but are not dealt to each player, instead there are 'clue' squares on the board marked by small plastic magnifying glasses, which players collect to get clues. In addition to the "clue" counters there are also item counters, which allow the player to pick a card from an item deck. These item cards allow such things as making more than one suggestion per turn, or moving an extra character. Extra characters in the game include a Black Dog, Inspector Grey, and Hogarth the Butler. They can serve as help or hindrance and are controlled through the item and event cards. Event cards are drawn from a deck upon a certain roll of the die and can have varying impact on a game.
Clue Jr. The Case of the Hidden Toys Clue Jr.: The Case of the Hidden Toys (1995, later reproduced in 1998) is themed for children. Instead of solving a murder, the children search for clues for the whereabouts of some lost toys. The rules are significantly different from those for the regular board game. The characters have been reduced to 4. Version One's detectives are named Mortimer Mustard, Samantha Scarlet, Peter Plum, and Greta Green, while version two's detectives were named Vivienne Scarlet, Liz Peacock, Peter Plum, and Johnny Green.
Cluedo: Passport to Murder Cluedo: Passport to Murder (2000) was an update of Super Cluedo Challenge with the setting changed to an Orient Express-style train in Istanbul station. There is very little change to the mechanics of the game (except each player can only play the six original characters), with mainly cosmetic changes and updates to the characters.
Cluedo Card Game Cluedo Card Game (2002) is a different card game from the previous game, this time the user has to deduct the Dr. Black's killer, their escape vehicle and their destination.
Cluedo SFX Cluedo SFX (2003) released as Clue FX in the US, (2004), and Super Cluedo Interactif in France, (2004) is another departure from the original rules. Each player plays as one of four new characters (Lord Grey, Lady Lavender, Miss Peach and Prince Azure), adding the first non-Caucasian character since the early Asian Miss Scarlet, none of whom are suspected in the crime. The murder is not of Dr. Black (Mr. Boddy) but of his attorney Miles Meadow-Brook. The usual suspects are in place, this time bolstered by two new people Mrs. Meadow-Brook and Rusty the Gardener. The gameplay is completely different though, with the introduction of the electronic section announcing moves and clues and no die rolling. Instead players move from location to location to track down each of the suspects to gain their clues, before finding Inspector Brown to make an accusation.
Cluedo Junior: The Case of the Missing Cake Cluedo Junior: The Case of the Missing Cake (2003) released under the Clue brand in North America, is another children's variation where the players have to find out who ate a piece of chocolate cake, when did they eat it, and with what drink.
Cluedo Mysteries