Product Description

HAMPSHIRE - Well-known anthopologist John Black was found dead on Saturday night at his Hampshire estate, Tudor Mansion. The course of his death is yet unknown, but the police are treating it as suspicious... It's down to you to use your skills as a detective to solve the mystery and reveal the criminal! As there is no evidence of a break-in, it seems that Dr. Black was killed by one of the guests at the mansion! You need to search the nine rooms and secret passages for clues and be the first to solve the mystery. Who killed him, where was it and which weapon was used?

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2691 in Toys & Games
• Brand: Hasbro
• Dimensions: 10.43" h x 1.97" w x 10.43" l, 1.41 pounds

Manufacturer's Description
For more than 50 years, this mystery's kept everyone guessing! Poor Mr. Boddy's been murdered in his own stately home! Who could have done it? And how? And where? Was it Colonel Mustard in the Conservatory with the Revolver? Or did Miss Scarlet commit the crime in the Library with the Candlestick?

With six suspects, six possible murder weapons and nine rooms in the mansion, there are hundreds of possibilities, and plenty of clues to investigate!

For 3 to 6 players.

Manufacturer's recommended age 8 years +.

Box Contents

Customer Reviews

Along with Monopoly, another timeless classic
Its amazing how you can forget about such timeless games such as Cluedo, but after a spring clearout, I found a terribly old edition of Monopoly (with that awful stale smell!) and a 70's edition of Cluedo on top of my wardrobe. Cluedo seems to stand out the most, because it didn't cause as many as many arguments in the family, and its enjoyment factor is second to none.

Its hard to review games and try to convince the buyer how good or bad they are - everyone has their own tastes on what they find enjoyable. Cluedo however, is very much a neutral game, because few people dislike it, or indeed, find it the best thing since sliced bread. You don't need lots of players, but do you need more than 2 (for an interesting game). Its not boring, but its not too exciting... Get the idea?

I bought this modern edition to find little has changed since the times of my 70's edition, apart from that the board has some nice pictures on it (replacing the awful plain mucky cream board) and that the playing pieces were improved (replacing little plastic cones, with balls on top). The packaging was also thankfully smaller. The game's objective is fairly straightforward - you simply need to discover who murdered the victim, using what weapon, and in what room. This is done through the process of elimination, and of course, this is were people play it differently. Play to the proper rules, and you'll have cramp in your legs due to hours of studying other players cards. Or, as we discovered, you can just simplfy the game if you have a time limit, which when I was kid, wasn't long if the Lego was in the room too. So in our case, we simply played it so that each player walked around the rooms, and as soon as you walked into that room, the other players were called over, and they had to show you the cards of your selected situation. If your still with me, this means that in the process of elimination, I'll select a dagger, the room i'm in, and a character.

'Cards' are used as evidence - their are a small number of cards, with just one representing each character, room and weapon. At the start of the game, they are shuffled into 3 piles, with one random card from the character, weapon and room pile being placed in an envelope, containing the information as to who murdered, what weapon was used, and where it was done. Finally, the rest of the cards are shuffled all together and handed equally to each player, with no knowledge as to the cards identity. Once one has their cards, they are then 'ticked' off a score sheet, so that the process of elimination begins.

Play to rules, and this is made harder, as you have to stick with the weapon token that is in that room. And so as you can see, playing the game along your own rules makes life alot more enjoyable, and less arguments. The more people involved in the game, the longer it will last, as the possibilites become larger due to the fact that the situtation cards (weapons, characters, and rooms) are more spread out. The winner is the first person who identifies who the murderer was, with which weapon, and in whichever room it was. The players predictions must match the cards in the centre of the board, which are chosen at random at the start of the game. But who say's you can't just take a wild guess?

The quality of the product is second to none - as usual, a good stiff board, well detailed tokens, and good cards, just what you'd expect. In terms of target audience, it probably takes a group of people with good patience to last out a game (if theirs lots of people) and its more of a teens and older game, though maturer children, of which their are few these days, will probably last out.

Summing up, this is a classic game and its great to just relive entertainment that doesn't require electrics or TV's (though the Nintendo Wii is surely the must have gadget this year). Highly reccomended!

The classic whodunit game
Known in Britain and Germany as Cluedo but in America as Clue, this classic game is based on a simple idea but your enjoyment of it (or lack thereof) will depend to some extent on what sort of brain you have. The game is basically a logic puzzle so it is not a game of luck (though there is a little luck involved) so the most skilful player will win most of the time.

With six possible murderers, six possible weapons and nine possible locations, there are 314 possible solutions to the puzzle. By a process of elimination, each player tries to work out the combination. Each player is dealt some cards containing names of people, weapons and locations, so is able to eliminate some possibilities immediately.

The main skill lies is in knowing what is the best combination to guess when it is your turn to guess, and understanding the implications of your (and other people's) previous guesses. When you guess a combination, you announce it aloud for everybody to hear. Going round in a circle, your opponents have to either say they haven't got any of those three or they show you a card. Nobody else sees this card but they know that this person has one of the three you guessed. Of course, that person may have more than one of the three but as only one card need be shown, you don't know that. If none of your opponents is able to show you a card, then either you have guessed correctly or you've got one of the cards in your own hand. In the latter case, it seems like a wasted guess although there are occasions when bluffing might be useful. In any case, those players who can make most use of clues offered by all guesses, not just their own, have the best chance of winning.

Yes, this game can be a lot of fun, but you need a brain suited to solving logic puzzles to really enjoy it.

Interesting game
My son loves this game. He played it at school and so wanted it for Christmas. We've played over and over and we all seem to enjoy it. One has to keep an attentive eye on the game and write down all the clues and sometimes guess how the game is going by observing other players' game. Good fun and doesn't go on for ever.