Cluedo & Clue FAQ

Below are a selection of the most frequent questions that I am asked about Cluedo / Clue. If you have a query that is not answered here, then please feel to Contact Me and I'll do my best to help.

[General] [Products] [Rules] [Misc]

General

  • What is Cluedo / Clue / Detetive / / ?

    • Cluedo (Europe & Australia), Clue (North America), Detetive (Brazil), Mystery Game (Japan) and Cluedo (China) are all different names for the same game (hereafter refered to as Cluedo for simplicity). Cluedo is a game of deduction where you get to play detective by trying to work out whodunit, with what and where.

  • Who invented Cluedo, when and where?

    • Cluedo was invented by Anthony E. Pratt [E = Ernest], a solicitor's clerk from Birmingham in England. He invented the game in 1943 with the help of his wife (who designed the board). In 1948 he submitted it to Waddington's Games in Leeds, who published it for the first time in 1949. For more information, see the Patent.

  • What does the name "Cluedo" mean?

    • "Cluedo" is a pun on the traditional game "Ludo" (which is also Latin for "I play"); mixed with the word Clue for the murder mystery element. So it's saying Murder Mystery Boardgame in one word. I believe Ludo is not well known in the USA, thus as the pun would not be understood, Parker Brothers probably decided to just call it Clue for marketing reasons.

  • What was the original name of the game?

    • It was originally named "Murder", but changed it's name to Cluedo / Clue before publication.

  • Who were the original suspects?

    • The original ten suspects were Doctor Black, Mr. Brown, Mr. Gold, The Rev. Mr. Green, Miss Grey, Professor Plum, Miss Scarlet, Nurse White, Mrs. Silver and Colonel Yellow. These were changed to the infamous six - Colonel Mustard, Professor Plum, Reverend Green, Mrs. White, Miss Scarlett and Mrs. Peacock when the game was published. For more information, see the Patent.

  • What were the original weapons?

    • The original nine weapons were: Axe , Shillelagh?(1), Bomb, Rope, Dagger, Pistol, Hypodermic Syringe, Poison and Poker. For more information, see the Patent.

  • What are the suspects called in other countries?

    • For a list of the names that I know about - please see the International Section. If you know of any others not listed, then please Contact Me

  • In which county was Dr. Black murdered?

    • This was a question posed in the Bechtel Engineering Christmas Quiz 2001. For all those that need the answer, I think the answer you want is "Hampshire". This is because the 2000 edition of the game has a newspaper on the front cover; on which it says: "The eminent anthropologist and man of letters Dr Black was found dead last night at his Hampshire home...".

  • How many possible solutions are there in the standard game?

    • 6 * 6 * 9 = 324 permutations.

Products

  • Where can I buy Master Detective/Super Sleuth/Super Cluedo Challenge/Jigsaws/Passport to Murder/... ?

    • All of these games are out of print. Your best chance of finding them are from second hand or auction websites. I throughly recommend eBay.com / eBay.co.uk.

  • Where can I get the detective notes for ... ?

    1. If you want "real" ones, contact you local Hasbro outlet (the address should be on your game box or go to Hasbro.com, Hasbro.co.uk or other Hasbro site for your country).
    2. Suda.co.uk has a very useful Detective Notepad for serious players of the Original game!

  • Where can I buy Clue books?

    • Most clue books can still be found on sites like Amazon. If you can't find it there, try eBay.

  • Where can I get a UK PAL VHS copy of Clue the Movie?

    • Clue the movie hasn't been sold on video in the UK for a good few years now. Your only options are:

    1. It was released on Region 2 DVD (Europe, Middle East & Japan) on 3rd November 2003! Order your copy from Amazon.co.uk NOW!
    2. Keep an eye on second hand/auction sites like www.ebay.co.uk
    3. Buy a US NTSC version (e.g. from Amazon.com) and buy a video player that can play NTSC (you can get them for as cheap as 40 quid last time I looked)
    4. Buy a DVD Rom drive or DVD Player that can play US / Region 1 DVDs and buy the US / Region 1 copy (e.g. from Amazon.com)
    5. Wait till it comes on the telly again!

  • Where is the house shown in Clue: The Movie?

    • Michael from The Art of Murder has done a lot of investigation into the house's existence. Check out his article here.

  • Where can I get a copy of the Cluedo TV Show / Will you copy your videos for me?

    • Tapes of the TV show used to be obtainable from Action Time for about £10 a tape (which was sometimes an episode and sometime a series). HOWEVER, they must have changed their policy or something as for the last few years they've been quoting £100 a tape!

    I'd love to do copies for people but I get a couple of emails a week from people asking me to do so - and I just don't have the time to do a single copy let alone hundreds! Thus I've had to make a rule of just saying no to everyone. It's completely illegal to copy tapes anyway.

    I really hope that they either bring it out on DVD or on one of the Satellite channels like Challenge TV or ITV2. All we can do is pester companies until someone listens. One place I suggest is sending an email to: wotv_postbag@ipcmedia.com ("What's On TV" magazine - who were asking for suggestions for repeats) saying that you'd love to see Cluedo repeated on telly or released on DVD. I also suggest emails to: info@actiontime.co.uk, enquiries@challenge.co.uk , Officers.duty@granadatv.co.uk and anyone else you can think of! Also sign this petition

  • What happened to the other Clue Chronicles / Cluedo Chronicles after Fatal Illusion?

    • Clue(do) Chronicles was intended to be a three part series; but unfortunately the combination of Hasbro Interactive shutting down and EAI deciding that games were "not part of their core business"; meant that parts 2 and 3 weren't created and probably will never be.

  • Where can I find a walkthrough for Fatal Illusion?

    • A good walkthrough can be found at here.

  • How do I open the lock in Cluedo Chronicles: Fatal Illusion?

    • This is the toughest part of the game as the lock can be very fiddly and requires perseverance to actually get it to work! I must assure you not to give up as the rest of the game makes the effort worthwhile!
    IMPORTANT NOTE: The answer to this depends on whether the date format of your edition of the game is DD/MM/YY (e.g. in the UK) or MM/DD/YY (e.g. in the USA). If you are not sure, then click the word Cluedo or Clue in the bottom right corner of the game (while looking at the lock) and it will give you a hint about how to solve it and what order you should use.
    ANSWER (DD/MM/YY):

    1. Turn clockwise (right) to 31 and stop.
    2. Anti-clockwise (left) to 12 BUT go round past 31 the first time and then on the second time stop on 12.
    3. Clockwise (right) to 38 and stop.
    4. Click on the door handle.

    ANSWER (MM/DD/YY):
    1. Turn clockwise (right) to 12 and stop.
    2. Counter-clockwise (left) to 31 BUT go round past 12 the first time and then on the second time stop on 31.
    3. Clockwise (right) to 38 and stop.
    4. Click on the door handle.

Rules

  • Where can I get the rules to ... ?

    • Original Cluedo Rules (1996 Version) - Use this if you are looking for the rules to Clue.
    Super Cluedo Challenge Rules
    Cluedo Super Sleuth Rules (Version 403M09)
    Clue: The Great Museum Caper Rules
    Junior Cluedo
    Cluedo Junior Detective
    Cluedo Card Game
    Others (at Hasbro.com)

  • Do I have to be in a room to make an accusation?

    • No. You can make an accusation during any of your turns - no matter where you playing piece is. But don't forget - if you are wrong - you lose the game!

  • Can I stay in a room for as long as I want to?

    • No. Excerpt taken from Cluedo 2000 rules : "You cannot stay in the same room whilst trying to eliminate it from the investigation; you must leave it and re-enter each time. You cannot leave and re-enter a room on the same turn, even by a different door."

  • Can I only enter through a doorway where the door is open / ajar?

    • This seems to be a confusion that the images in the later versions of the board has caused. You can go through any of the doorways (i.e. where there is no wall / window) whether the door is open or shut.

  • Is landing infront of a doorway enough to enter a room?

    • No. You must have enough moves to actually enter the room (e.g. you need to roll at least a 4 to move from the Conservatory into the Ballroom).

  • Does a turn immediately end upon entering a room via a Secret Passage?

    • No. The phrase "If you use a secret passage, this constitutes your move for that turn." is a little confusing, but "Move" is talking about physical movement and "Turn" is your whole turn including suggestion and possibly accusation.

    So, for example, if you start your turn in the Lounge, you may move through the passage to the Conservatory and then either end your turn or make a suggestion in the Conservatory. Note: You cannot continue moving outside of the Conservatory until your next turn.

  • Do you have any tips on playing the game?

    1. Make a note of every suggestion and deduce from it as much as possible. As each suggestion is made, go back to the previous suggestions and see if you can deduce more.
    2. Choose the suspect that you suggest very carefully. If it's one of your opponents, you may help them by pulling them into a room that they don't know about. Conversely you could hinder them by dragging them away from a room they are trying to reach.
    3. Choose you rooms carefully. Rooms are usually the hardest things to work out in the game so you may want to concentrate on this for the start of the game. Choose which room to go to by seeing which you can reach, which you have and which you have been shown.
    4. Make good use of the corner rooms. If you own both, then you can flick back and forth between them each turn and quickly find out the suspect and weapon. If you are entering a corner room that you don't own for the first time, you may want to concentrate on suspect and weapon rather than room; as it will be easy to get back to the room to suggest again.

Misc

  • How can I have a Cluedo / Clue themed party?

    • Here are a few ideas which you could combine to make a Cluedo / Clue themed party:

    1. Have everyone dress up in colourful clothes and give them colourful names.
    2. Label the rooms of your house with the rooms from the game.
    3. Have a Cluedo / Clue tournament or play different variations of the game.
    4. Watch the Clue movie.
    5. Track down a rare copy of Cluedo Party Tudor Mansion Edition or failing that, buy a "How To Host A Murder" type game (Click to search Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk) and possibly change the characters' names to be Clue characters.
    6. Hide two quiz questions (possibly Clue related or game related or just general) in every room of the house. People have to find the questions and answer them. The person with the most right answers wins.
    7. Have a treasure hunt with clues to where the next clue is hidden until you find the treasure.
    8. Read a murder mystery story (see Mystery.net)
    9. Everyone sits in a circle and one by one says a word which builds up a story (possibly make up a murder mystery story).
    10. Look around your area for murder mystery diner parties / murder weekends etc.

  • Where can I play "Murder At Boddy Mansion" / "Murder At Blackwell Grange"?

    • Since MSN's Zone.com stopped hosting the game, the only place that I believe you can play it is at Kali. However it's been many years since I heard about it being played there and they aren't in the list of games. Might be worth a try though.

  • Where can I play Cluedo / Clue online?

    • You used to be able to play a normal game of Cluedo / Clue at Games.com however I think they have shut it down. At the moment your only option is to play "Murder At Boddy Mansion" / "Murder At Blackwell Grange" at Kali (see above) - if that does still work.

© Paul Howls, 1997-2010

IMPORTANT NOTE: Cluedo and Clue are registered trademarks of Hasbro Ltd. (formerly trademarks of Parker Bros. Ltd. and Waddingtons Games Ltd.)

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