Week of December 4 – Clue – the game trivia

Cluedo is a popular murder/mystery-themed board game originally published by Waddingtons in Leeds England in 1949.  Clue is the North American name of the game.

The object of the game is for players to strategically move around the game board (a mansion), in the guise of one of the game’s six characters, collecting clues from which to deduce which suspect murdered the game’s perpetual victim: Dr. Black (Mr. Boddy in North American versions), and with which weapon and in what room.
The suspects:  Miss Scarlett, Colonel Mustard, Mrs. White, Reverend Green (named Mr. Green in pre-2002 North American versions), Mrs. Peacock and Professor Plum.

The weapons:  Candlestick, Dagger (Knife in North American versions), Lead Pipe (called Lead Piping in earlier UK editions – the early tokens were made out of actual lead and therefore pose a risk of lead poisoning), Revolver (first depicted in the UK as a Dreyse M1907 semi-automatic pistol and in North America a Colt M1911  pistol.) Rope, Spanner (called Wrench in North American editions).

The rooms: Kitchen, Ballroom, Conservatory, Dining Room, Cellar, Billiard, Library, Lounge Hall and Study.

The aim is to deduce the details of the murder; that is, the cards in the envelope. There are six different characters, six possible murder weapons and nine different rooms, leaving the players with 324 distinct possibilities.

The first opportunity is in choosing the initial playing piece. Mrs. Peacock has an immediate advantage of being one space closer to the first room than any of the other players. However, Miss Scarlet moves first.

Eight unique Clue editions were published in North America (1949, ’56/60, ’60/63, ’72, ’86, ’92, ’96, & 2002).