What exactly is Clue, and why is it such a popular board game? 

Clue is a popular mystery board game where someone is murdered in a big and glamorous mansion. At the time of the murder, only six people were in the house. So that means that one of them is the murderer and everybody, including you, is a suspect. 

The reason I think this game is so popular is because of the theme of the game. As it might sound strange, I think that the board game simulates a fantasy that a lot of people have. Being locked in the mansion with a bunch of people who are suspects in a murder, you set out to find justice for the victim. Use your detective skills to find out who did it.

How do you play Clue, and what are the basic rules?

At the start of the game, you put all the characters, weapons, and locations into piles. After shuffling every pile, you take one card from each pile and put it in a secret envelope. The weapon, location, and the murderer are hidden from every player in the secret envelope. You will randomly place one of the weapon pieces in a room until you run out of weapons to place.

After the secret envelope, you will shuffle the remaining piles of cards together and pass them out between all the players. When you receive your hand, you will have a mixture of weapons, locations, and characters. So that means if you have it in your hand, it can’t be in the secret envelope, and they are not used in the murder in any way. Make sure to mark off the people, weapons, and places that you have in your hand and mark off the ones you may see from another player. That way you can keep track of which places, people, and weapons can not be in the envelope.

As you move around the map, you will make accusations towards characters, weapons, and locations to try to find clues on what is not in the envelope. Eventually, someone will narrow it down enough to where they will guess what is in the envelope. If they are successful, then they win the game. If they are not successful they are eliminated from the game completely. The gameplay will then continue like normal.

General Information
Play Time: 10 to 60 Mins
Publisher: Hasbro
My Recommended Age Group: 8 to 100
Player Count: 3-6 Players
Difficulty 1-10: 2

Can you explain the objective of Clue and how you win the game?

As I mentioned before, the objective of the game is to find out who the murderer is, what weapon they used, and in what location the murder took place. The way to win the game is by guessing who, what, and where. If you guess it correctly you win the game.

What makes Clue different from other board games? 

To my knowledge, I don’t know very many games similar to Clue. In that way, it kind of sets itself apart from other games. The only game genre I can think of that is similar is those new case files they’ve been coming out with the last few years. It’s different because it touches on people’s detective and deduction skills like no other game has done before.

Are there different versions or editions of Clue available?

Yes, there are so many different versions of Clue. With Clue being such an easy and simple game concept, it opens the door to easy versions with many different themes to it.

Here is a list of some of my favorites:

Special Editions Of Clue	Price On Amazon
Clue: Junior – For All Of You With Kiddos	LINK
Clue: The Office – Check Out The Custom Weapons!	LINK
Clue: Harry Potter – The Board Moves!?	LINK
Clue: Disney Villains – My Wife’s Personal Favorite	LINK
Clue: Scooby Doo – For All My Fellow 90s Kids	LINK
Clue: Dungeons & Dragons – DnD And Clue? Who Knew We Needed This?	LINK

Can you play Clue with just two players?

There is no official way of playing two players that was released by the makers of Clue. I did do some combing on the Internet and found a good method of playing with only two players. 

First off, you wanna set up the board as you would normally with the secret envelope and then shuffle the rest of the piles into one big pile. You will give each player five cards at random. Then you’ll put the remaining eight cards in what we’ll call a phantom pile near the board. As you play through the game normally you will guess what the other player has in their hand. If your guess is incorrect, you will draw a card from the Phantom pile. Along with picking a card from the pile, you will also discard a card of your own to the bottom of the phantom pile. (You cannot discard the same card you drew from the phantom pile.)

Adding the phantom pile drastically changes the dynamic of the two-player Clue game. If you were to play Clue with the original rules and only two players, it just doesn’t work. With the original rules and two players, it turns into a luck-based game and not a game of deduction and deception. Whoever has the better dice rolls is the player who usually ends up winning.

How does the deduction aspect work, and what strategies can you use to solve the mystery?

The deduction aspect of Clue takes place when everyone gets their cards. You start off the game already knowing that the characters, weapons, and locations in your hand are not in the envelope. As you move around the board to different locations, you will be prompted to accuse a character and associate them with a weapon. The location will always be the room you are in. So make sure you go to the room you think they were killed in before making any guesses. Going clockwise people will tell you if they have one of the three different cards. The main aspect of the deduction is keeping track of who’s said what and things that you know to be true for a fact. 

For example, you have Colonel Mustard and the ballroom in your hand. You know that nobody else has those cards. so you make an accusation in the ballroom saying that it’s Colonel Mustard in the ballroom with the pipe wrench. What it’s going to do is narrow down whether someone has the pipe wrench or not. Then, as you go through the game, you’ll figure out what is exactly in the envelope. 

Some people get so good at asking and deducing that they can figure out two different cards at the same time. It takes time, but your skills will get better as you play more.

What are the characters, weapons, and rooms in the classic version of Clue?

Characters	Weapons	Locations
Colonel Mustard	Candle Stick	Hall
Mr. Green	Rope	Study
Mrs. Peacock	Wrench	Ballroom
Miss Scarlett	Revolver	Conservatory
Professor Plum	Lead Pipe	Dining Room
Doctor Orchid	Dagger	Library
–	–	Kitchen
–	–	Lounge
–	–	Billiard Room

Is Clue suitable for players of all ages, or is it geared towards a specific audience?

I think to play the game properly you need some level of understanding of deduction. I personally think it’s best to be at least 14 years old. I’m sure there’s some kids that are younger that can probably figure out the game too, but I feel like this is around the age where you can figure out what you need to do to properly play Clue.

How long does a typical game of Clue last?

The typical game of clue lasts between 15 and 60 minutes. Obviously, this just depends on how well people are playing the game and how many people you have in the game. Usually for me and my family with four players it took right around 30 minutes.

How does the magnifying glass dice side work?

While traveling around the board from location to location, you will probably roll a magnifying glass symbol. When you do roll one, you will draw the top “Clue” card from the “Clue” deck.

After drawing the top card you’ll perform the action on the Clue card. For example, if the card says “Name one suspect you want to be revealed.” You’ll name one character you want to be shown, then if anyone around the table has that card in hand, they must show it to you.

Are there any expansions or additional content available?

Not really. When I looked into additional content and expansions, I could only find new games that were based around the Clue “world.” In my opinion, those are just separate games that you can play.

What do players typically enjoy most about playing Clue?

I think that the typical player of Clue enjoys the mystery of the game. Like I said earlier, it’s one of those games that is fairly unique. There are really not too many games that use deduction to help you win the game. That paired with the fantasy of murder mystery and you’ve got many people hooked.

Can you share any memorable moments or experiences you’ve had while playing Clue?

So my younger brother Isaiah loves Clue. For a short while he was obsessed with the game when he’s playing, he just happens to become very confident that he knows what’s in the secret envelope. Almost every single time he has guessed wrong. Fortunately, for him, there was this one time that we were all sure he was wrong, and he got so lucky and actually got everything correct inside the secret envelope. Everyone at the table was mind-blown and couldn’t believe he had actually done it. Let’s just say he felt like he was on top of the world.

How’s the box organization?

My wife and I have a true love for a nice and carefully made game box. We both find it so satisfying when all the parts of the game fit in the box so perfectly. When I think of a really good honorable mention that comes to mind for me is the 7 Wonder games. Unfortunately, the game box for Clue is just not up to our standards. It didn’t have too much organization. You’ll play a game, close the box, then by the time it’s open again. The box is a huge mess like a tornado was in the box.

Where can someone purchase a copy, and how much does it typically cost?

Find the game is fairly easy go to any kind of Walmart or big store with a game section and you’ll find it. From everything I’ve seen it can go as low as $10 but typically right around $20.

My Wife’s 2 Cents

Hello Everyone! Honestly, I really love this game and I am hoping to get some of the other versions of it in the near future. I love this game because It makes me feel like I am Nancy Drew solving an impossible case. I also love playing this game because we typically play it with my mother-in-law and brother-in-law and for some reason after two rounds into the game my brother-in-law thinks he has got the murder solved. So he will make his guess and it usually is horribly wrong and one of his answers usually involves one of the cards in his hand. So it always makes the game more interesting and fun.

Other Games I Like

Game	Price	My Review	Why It Made My Current Top 3 (Changes Regularly)
CATAN	Check On Amazon	Here	Great game for brainstorming and fun. I have literally passed out laughing from this game. I even wrote about it in my review of the game. Go check it out!
FIRE TOWER	Check On Amazon	Here	Clean, simple, and fun. I love the way the game was designed around such an obscure topic. Such a unique game that will make you want to have everyone play with you.
KA-BLAB	Check On Amazon	Here	Great game for brain storming and fun. I have literally passed out laughing from this game. I even wrote about it in my review of the game. Go check it out!

Thanks for taking the time to look over my review. I hope that it brought you some kind of value. God Bless.