Cluedo Mysteries

Not to be confused with Clue Mysteries (book series).
Cluedo Mysteries
(Clue Mysteries in North America)

Box cover
Publisher(s) Parker Brothers
Players 2 to 6
Age range 8 and up
Setup time < 5 minutes
Playing time 30 minutes
Random chance High
Skill(s) required Deduction
Dice Rolling

Cluedo Mysteries (Clue Mysteries in North America) is a board game which is based on Cluedo, but varies greatly from the original. It was released in 2005 in the United States, as part of a new line of Cluedo games including the 2002 edition of Cluedo, Cluedo FX, and the Cluedo DVD Game.

Overview

The most obvious difference featured in Cluedo Mysteries from Cluedo is the objective. Unlike Cluedo and Cluedo SFX, the objective of this game is to find a culprit and where they are hiding. There are no murders involved in this game. There is also no player-to-player deduction. The game is a remake of the 1980s game "Mysteries of Old Peking". Players use tokens and move around the board - which is not Tudor Mansion, but Hampshire, England. Once players visit various locations on the board and get information there, they eliminate suspects one by one until they think they have solved the case.

Suspects, Victims, and Witnesses

Suspects

Biographies given in the game displayed, the following twelve are suspects for all 50 cases:

Age: 25

Aspiring Actress. Would she accidentally uncover a well-guarded family secret?

Age: 61

After a mediocre military career in England, he served with some distinction in Africa. Now penniless and hounded by creditors, he's struggling to pen his memoirs. What dark secret from his past is haunting him?

Age: 62

She was Sir Hugh's cook, housekeeper, and nanny to his young nephew John Boddy. With little to show for decades of dedicated service, she now wants compensation. What delicious scheme is she cooking up to get it?

Age: 53

A pastor with a shady past, the charismatic "Reverend" had several run-ins with the law in America. Escaping to England, he quickly began courting wealthy patrons. By what unholy schemes will he fleece his new flock?

Age: 48

This socialite and three-time widow is running low on youth and inheritance. What is she hiding from her daughter, Josephine? And what juicy tidbits can be found in her diary?

Age: 37

Formerly a professor of Ancient Mid-Eastern Culture, Plum made several trips to Egypt - all funded by Sir Hugh Black - in search of ancient artefacts. Will he find the secret map that leads to a tomb full of hidden treasure?

Age: 44

She's the town busybody and the wife of Boddy's attorney, Miles Meadow-Brook. What dirt will she dig up on her neighbors? And what mischief will she make during her husband's final days?

Age: 61

Rusty served in the military under Sir Hugh Black, and later became his groundskeeper. Crusty, cynical, short on funds and soon to retire, he's desperate for cash. Who is he blackmailing to keep an old secret?

Age: 29

Social-climbing herbalist Lady Lavender was widowed when her husband was mysteriously poisoned. Her clients keep her wealthy and entertained, but she wants more. What plan is she concocting to spice up her life?

Age: 33

Handsome, worldly and well educated, the "royal" Azure has both an elusive lineage and a knack for cashing in on it. Will his long-standing feud with fellow gun collector Colonel Mustard come to a nasty end?

Age: 22

After a happy childhood in America, fun turned to tragedy for Miss Peach: her father went broke, she left law school, and her fiancé left her. Bitter, lonely and miserable, she wants someone to pay - but who?

Age: 44

Charming, artistic and temperamental, Lord Gray served as a cartographer in World War I, and now designs water gardens for wealthy clients. With whom is he feuding, and how far will he go to get the upper hand?

Victims

All of the suspects and Mr. Boddy are victims of the petty crimes that occur throughout Clue Mysteries. Another victim of a few crimes is Mr. Miles Meadow-Brook, the ill-fated lawyer who is murdered in Clue FX, which chronologically follows this game.

Witnesses

The six original suspects (Miss Scarlett, Colonel Mustard, Mrs. White, Rev. Green, Mrs. Peacock, Professor Plum) as well as Dr. Black (Mr. Boddy) and Inspector Brown make up the eight witnesses. They each have their own location on the board where players go to receive information about the cases. In addition to those eight, Mr. Reginald Ash, butler, is mentioned in the mysteries. His journal provides some of the mysteries.

The Board

Unlike Cluedo, Cluedo FX, or the Cluedo DVD Game, the crimes that occur in Cluedo Mysteries' fifty cases do not all occur on the grounds of Tudor Mansion. The board is of Hampshire, England - where Tudor Mansion is located. The crimes occur at other various places, but there are eight locations on the board that players visit and interrogate witnesses. They are:

There is a ninth location: the Town Center, the circle in the middle of the board. All players begin here.

The Crimes

Cluedo Mysteries revolves around 50 mysteries included in a booklet. Players choose a mystery, read the synopsis before, and attempt to solve it. There are 50 mysteries in all. They span a period between June 1 and August 7, with each crime given a specific date. They are:

Note: Mystery 42 (the Reckless Rider) appears differently in the Casebook. The date reads: Sunday 26TH July 1925. For unknown reasons, the date is the only one written in this style and the only to include the year.

Game Play

Set Up

Game Play

Clue Cards

Cluedo Mysteries features Clue Cards. When you land on an Open Road space, you take one from the pile and follow the directions. They can tell you to go to specific building or lose a turn. You must follow the directions as soon as you pick it up. Discard it. If you go through all of the cards, reshuffle. There are 24 Clue Cards.

Scene Tokens

There are four scene tokens. The culprit is hiding at one of these scenes, and it is up to the players to find out which one. A visit to Dr Black at Tudor Mansion will help out immensely. The tokens move around the board throughout the game and are path blockers. The four tokens are:

Pawn Movement

Spaces

There are four types of spaces:

Interrogating a Witness

There are three kinds of locations. Each has its own use and device to help read the information. They are:

After you visit each of the locations, you can write down the information you receive. The suspects will tell you physical traits about the culprit (man or woman, gray or black hair, glasses or not, etc.). On the inside of the detective notebook are pictures of each suspect for help. You can write down the statements from each witness on their respective line on your Clue sheet. In the upper right corner of each sheet is a number for each suspect (which corresponds with the pictures in the notebooks) that you can mark off when you have eliminated him or her from suspicion. You can write the culprit and where they are hiding in the solution bubble at the bottom of the sheet.

Final Accusation

Despite the differences between Cluedo Mysteries and Cluedo, the final accusation holds the same. If you are confident that you known whodunit and where they are located at you can make a final accusation. In order to make an accusation, you must be on the scene token where the culprit is located. You state your accusation, and then you check it by reading the solution in the back of the Casebook to yourself. If you are wrong, you are out of the game. Do not tell the other players the solution. The game will continue, but without you. If you are correct, you win the game. Read the solution aloud for all the other players.

Points of interest