Setup
Players
- 3-6
Materials
- Clue Game Board that includes 21 cards (6 Suspect cards, 6 Weapon cards, and 9 Room cards), 6 colored Suspect tokens (Miss Scarlet – red, Mr. Green – green, Colonel Mustard – yellow, Mrs. Peacock – blue, Professor Plum – purple, and Mrs. White – white), 6 Weapon tokens (Rope, Lead Pipe, Knife, Wrench, Candlestick, and Revolver), Case File Confidential envelope, 1 die, Notebooks and pencils for each player
Additional Setup Notes
- Place all Suspects tokens in their designated space on the Clue board. Note: if fewer than six players are joining, still place the remaining Suspect tokens onto the board. Those are still potential killers on the loose!
- Divvy up the weapons into rooms at random so each room has a Weapon token inside.
- Take the 21 cards and separate them into three categories: Rooms, Weapons, and Suspects. Shuffle these piles face-down and select one card from each group. Slide these cards into the Case File Confidential envelope.
- Place the Case File Confidential envelope onto the X in the center of the Clue board.
- Shuffle the remaining cards and deal them face down clockwise around the table. Don’t let anyone see your hand, that spoils the mystery and ruins any strategy.
Objective
The objective of Clue is to solve the mystery of who murdered Mr. Body. Players must move around the Clue Board to unveil the truth of where Mr. Body died, how he was murdered, and which party guest was the killer. Players beware: Mr. Body’s murderer could be anyone!
Gameplay
Begin by checking the three cards in your hand. You can instantly cross these cards off in your notebook, as you know they are not a possibility in the final ruling. Traditional Clue rules state that Ms. Scarlett always goes first. Turns will continue clockwise around the playing area.
Each turn consists of moving your token in hopes of making a suggestion within the case. When it’s your turn, begin by rolling a die to determine how far your player will move. Each turn consists of players trying to reach a different room within Mr. Body’s mansion to investigate the case. Some rooms contain Secret Passages that make navigating the sprawling mansion easier.
If you’ve reached a room with a Secret Passage inside, there is no need to roll the die if you simply wish to travel to the other corner room, but that ends the movement for the turn. After they’ve rolled a die, players can move forward or backward, vertically or horizontally, but not diagonally.
Players are not allowed to enter the same room twice within one turn or enter a room that another player is occupying. Players are also not able to occupy the same space as other players. When making a suggestion, you must name the room you have entered.
The goal of Clue is to travel around the playing board to make suggestions surrounding the investigation. Each suggestion consists of naming a suspect, a murder weapon, and the room you’re occupying. For example, if you’re inside the Ballroom, you could say, “I think Mr. Body was killed by Colonel Mustard in the Ballroom with a Rope.”
Once a player has made a suggestion, the weapon and suspect tokens named are moved to the suspected room. Once they’ve been moved, that is where they stay until the next suggestion demands or if a player’s turn arrives.
Starting with the player on your left, opponents will verify the details of your suggestion by revealing any incorrectly guessed suggestions within their hand. For this example, the player to your left might have the Rope card in their hand, eliminating the rope as a possible murder weapon. That player will then show you the Rope card, thus ending your turn.
If the player can’t deny any elements of the suggestion, they will tell you they can’t confirm or deny it. If the first player can’t disprove the suggestion, the next player in the sequence will check their hand to verify, and so on until you’ve either been shown a card or no one can disprove the claim.
Once you’ve been shown a card, you can cross off that option within your notebook. As the game progresses, players will attempt to deduct options from the potential suspects, weapons, and rooms, until they’ve solved the mystery using the process of elimination. If no one can disprove a given suggestion, the player can either end their turn or make a formal accusation.
Remember: Each player receives one accusation per game. If your accusation is incorrect, you lose the game and are removed from gameplay. Don’t make any rushed decisions!
Endgame
The game of Clue ends once a player feels confident that they’ve solved the mystery, thus prompting a formal accusation. They’ll accuse a suspect of killing Mr. Body in a specific room with a specific murder weapon. E.g. “I believe Mr. Body was murdered by Mrs. Peacock in the Library with the Revolver!” The player can then secretly check the Case File envelope, and if they are correct, place the three cards face-up to prove they’ve successfully solved the case and won the game.
If incorrect, they will replace the cards in the envelope and leave the game. The remaining players can continue the investigation until someone cracks the case for good.
Clue boasts 324 different murder case scenarios, so yes, it’s perfect for a replay! Simply shuffle the cards and reset the board to keep the murder mystery rolling.
Clue Tips
- You can make a suggestion and accusation on the same turn. If you think another player is close to solving the mystery before you, don’t feel afraid to pull a double play!
- Mislead your opponents by naming one of the cards you hold within your hand. This can conceal information from your competition!
- If your Suspect has been moved to a room for a suggestion, once it’s your next turn, you can either move from that room as usual or make a suggestion for that room instantly.
- It’s possible to block opponents’ movements by blocking doors on the board. That said, you cannot forfeit a die roll to remain in a particular room.
FAQs
Can Clue be played with less than three players?
At least three players are required for a solid game of Clue to make sure you’re able to solve the mystery within a realistic time.
How many versions of Clue is there?
There are 15+ special editions of this classic game including Clue Escape, Clue Conspiracy, and more.
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