As the Clue Evolves...

 In the seemingly never ending Saga of the Clue Games, actually forgot that I had these, which would have meant that this week would have been the last week. Alas, when I went to the game room to get those last games, these were staring me in the face. Well, here we go then!

In 1988 Parker Brothers decided that Clue needed an update. Their solution was to add extra...well...everything! So, in celebration of "more is more," we have Clue, Master Detective!

The back of the box gives you a good overview of the extras included in this game.

The board has the typical rooms, plus additional ones! The Gazebo, Fountain, Courtyard, and Carraige House bring the number of places the murder could have happened to twelve! 

And what do we have here? New suspects and weapons! The four new suspects are Mme Rose, Sgt. Gray, M. Brunette, and Miss Peach. The new weapons are the Poison (as seen in the 50th Anniversary edition) and an apparently unlucky horseshoe. By the way, the weapons tokens are a bit larger than normal, cast in a bronze-like metal, and have great detail! The new characters are...wood. 

You might want to take some time to read the booklet that holds the instructions, since it has quite a few trivia facts about our favorite boardgame, including characters' names from around the world!

The cards are pretty straightforward...

The game is played exactly like it always has, except for the additional stuff. It can make for a slightly longer game, but it's fun! 

But in 2003 Parker Brothers introduced a version of Clue that kicked all the rest to the curb. Gone is the die and spaces. Gone are all the rooms, gone is...well just about everything about the gameplay. And then they introduced an electronic butler to control everything. The result was Clue FX.

It comes in a large, sleek blue foiled box with modern graphics. As far as the gameplay goes, I'll let the Boardgame Geek website describe it... 

The body of Miles Meadow-Brook, John Boddy's trusted attorney has just been found, and it's up to you to find out who did it...where...and with what weapon!

The Butler will help narrate your mystery and keep track of every move you make! When he calls out your turn, move your pawn and click on one of nine different locations to search for clues. Did it happen in the Swimming Pool or the Garden? The Tennis Courts or the Garage?

Search the grounds for your favorite CLUE suspects such as Miss Scarlet and Colonel Mustard and pick up additional hints. Perhaps they'll be able to show you that it wasn't the Garden Shears or the Horseshoe that was used in the crime...Keep track of the clues you find to help you solve the Meadow-Brook Mystery!

The board is large and even a bit 3D. There are no rooms, only areas. 

The electronic butler is controlled by these bushes (I know, that's a little weird)

The batteries (3 AA size) go in the back, next to the "on/off" switch.

The notepads look high tech as well...

Here are the four player characters. Note that they are NOT suspects! You have all the old regular characters for that roll.  The sculpts on these plastic pieces is actually pretty nice.

And here are the people you can "question." Their answers come in the forms of cards in their individual envelopes.

At least the solution envelope is pretty much the same...

And here we have all the new weapons, suspects, and areas. Note that you don't actually get tokens for these weapons and suspects. I think that's a downside to this version. 

The instructions...

As you can see, it's a little involved. It's not a bad game, overall, but I'm not sure that I would call it a real Clue game. There's just too much that is very different.

Another quibble I have is that although the game is set before the classic Clue game (Mr. Boddy is still alive throughout this game) the graphics seem far too modern. I think they went overboard with the whole wizz-bang electronic angle, and completely forgot the heart and soul of the original.

That being said, it's good for what it is, and it plays easier than you would think. 

Well, that's it for this week! Next week is REALLY our final Clue post! Of course, it IS going to get a little weird....

Until next time, keep searching for treasure!