Rogue Review - Clue

In the last…decade…no, it’s been longer than that…damn I’m getting old…since I discovered modern gaming I’ve generally looked back on the childhood classics with disdain. I detest Monopoly with a passion. Candy Land is pointless. Life, while amusing in Star Wars form, isn’t much better since it’s almost pure randomness. But last year we brought out Clue for my son and I was reminded that not all classic games are bad. It’s still a bit of chance but you actually have to think in order to win.

Production- A

This retro version of the game stands up well compared to modern games. It still comes with mini versions of all of the weapons, most made in metal, except the rope which is plastic. The art design fits the theme and the cards aren’t cheap and flimsy. The clue pad is thick with pages and does it’s job adequately. There’s nothing to complain about here.

Theme- B+

Solving a mystery is a fun concept. Though the original theme seems a bit weird at first. You don’t know where the murder occurred and can’t tell what the weapon was between a revolver and a rope?

This is one rare case where the movie version of the game actually makes both better. If you haven’t seen it get right on that. It’s classic hilarity. Especially since the original theatrical release had different endings and nobody knew. This feeds into making the game’s shaky premise just end up working.

Gameplay- B+

The gameplay is admittedly flimsy in some places. The base rules of rolling dice to move around the board can make things drag on a bit. They also open the door to real jerk behaviors. You technically can’t move your figure through another player’s figure. This allows someone to block a doorway and prevent others from getting to do anything on their turn. And because movement is based on random dice rolls, this can occur unintentionally if you roll a 1 when leaving a room or come up one short when trying to move to a new room. You can also be a jerk when following the rule for pulling a person into your room when you make a guess accusing their character. If someone has been spending two rounds to try and get to a certain room, only to be pulled across the board, repeatedly, it gets a bit frustrating. Fortunately, both of these things can be house ruled away without detriment to the game.

The real fun of the game is the logic puzzle of trying to figure out “Whodunnit?” This is a great way to teach kids deductive reasoning and logic. They have to solve a puzzle using missing information. At the base level, they go around trying to fill in all of the blanks until there is only one remaining. But as they get at this kind of thinking, they can start to learn to make deductions.

If Player 2 guesses Professor Plum, in the Library with the Pipe and then Player 3 shows them a card, that’s a clue even though you didn’t see it. Maybe you know that Player 2 has the Professor Plum card, and you have the Pipe. You can deduce that Player 3 had the Library. This is a skill kids will learn over time as they play. When they start to make these connections is pretty cool to watch.

Expansions- TBD

None that I am aware of. This is a classic game that doesn’t do the expansion thing.

Conclusion- A

A classic game for the whole family that still holds up today. Because of the randomness of the answer it can be played infinitely without adults getting to bored (though we’ll always get bored repeating something before kids will). And it also teaches good thinking skills. Plus, it gives you an excuse to go watch the movie.