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What is the clue board game?
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If murder mysteries are something you like, then the clue board game after a long day’s work is just what you need. As the name suggests, Clue is a game about searching for clues and ultimately deciphering the murder of Mr. Boddy!
It is a game with a rich history, created during World War 2 in the UK; it quickly became a household name, and rightfully so; everyone loves an excellent mystery, and in Clue, you get to be the one solving it.
At first, it was called “Murder”, but over the years, the name went through some changes, becoming Cluedo, and at last settling on the name “Clue”.
Without any extra equipment or complex setup, you can enjoy a fun, action-packed game of Clue. The game is well suited for ages 8 and up and can be enjoyed by your entire family.
The main goal of the game id deduce who the killer is; the winner of the game is the player who, by the process of elimination, was able to guess the three clue cards in the secret envelope.
These three cards hold the answer to Mr. Boddy’s murder! So now that you have a brief overview of the game, it’s time to dive deep into the rules and figure out how to play!
How to play clue board game?
Before we know the rules, let’s first understand how the board is structured and how to set up the initial playing field.
Here are the components that you’ll find in a game of Clue:
- Board
- 6 Suspect Tokens
- 6 murder weapons
- Dice
- Detective Notebooks
- Secret Envelope
- Room cards
- Character Cards
- Weapon cards
Start by placing the Clue Board game down.
Next, sort the Character, Room, and Weapon cards into separate decks. Then pick the top card from each deck and put these three cards in the secret envelope. Place the secret envelope in the center of the board.
Distribute the remaining cards to the players. It doesn’t matter if some players get more cards than others.
Place one Murder Weapon in each Room (the game rule book should give you the name of the rooms in which each weapon goes, but not all Clue board games come with this)
Each player chooses a Token they’d like to play as in the game.
Ms. Scarlet always goes first, followed by the players beside her in a clockwise manner.
How to move in clue game?
The movement of the players across the mansion is pretty straightforward. We use the Dice given by the game to move along the squares played out in the mansion hallways.
Notice that the Dice has a magnifying glass symbol on it. This symbol represents the Clue cards. When you roll the dice and get this symbol, you pick up a clue card; if you get two characters, you pick two Clue cards.
The magnifying symbol is also a one, so if you get a magnifying glass symbol, you can move one square. You can only move horizontally and vertically; moving diagonally is prohibited.
Moving over other players is not allowed. You can enter the room if you get a number significant enough to enter a room. For example: If you roll a 7 and are near Room doorways 3 blocks away, you can still enter it.
You can move out of a room by rolling any number and coming out. You can’t leave a room if a player’s blocking the doorway.
Although you can move out of the room and enter a new room, there’s a secret passage available. There can be more than one player in a room.
Suggesting a suspect
Once inside a room, a player can start suggesting a suspect. When suggesting a suspect, the player must mention the suspect’s name, the room the murder took place in, and which weapon was used.
For example: A player might say something like this – “I suspect Colonel Mustard did the murder in the Lounge with a wrench.”
Now that you’ve made a suggestion, it’s time to begin the detective work!
- If you’ve suggested a suspect, the player to your left can disprove yourtheory by showing you one of the cards you mentioned in the suggestion. If the player on your left holds more than one such card, he can choose the one he wants to show you. Suppose he has no cards to disprove your theory. In that case, you move on to the next player and keep doing so until you either get a card to disprove your theory or no one has the cards to disprove your hypothesis.
- If and when a player shows you a card, you can mark that card and the player who has it in your notebook. This way, you’ve eliminated some cards and gotten close to finding out who committed the crime!
- Your notebook should always remain a secret, don’t show it to any other player.
Accusing
Once you’ve suggested a murder, and no one has disproved your theory, you can make an accusation.
You win the game when you make the correct accusation. This is done by accusing someone of committing the murder and then checking the secret envelope.
Suppose your accusation about the murder is correct, you win the game, but if you’re wrong, simply place the secret envelope back down (don’t show it to anyone), and you’re now eliminated.
You’ll still have to show your cards when someone suggests, but you can’t move anymore. The other player continues playing the game until someone wins or everyone makes a wrong accusation.
When every accusation turns out to be inaccurate, you all lose as the murderer gets away. And that’s basically how you play Clue card game!
