All board games

Cluedo is a deduction game about solving a hidden case: which suspect committed the crime, which weapon was used, and which room it happened in. The game is called Clue in the United States and Cluedo in the United Kingdom and many other countries. Editions vary, but the classic idea is the same: gather information, eliminate cards, and make the correct final accusation.

The case file

At the start, one suspect card, one weapon card, and one room card are placed secretly into the case file envelope. Those three cards are the solution. Every other suspect, weapon, and room card is dealt to the players. If you see a card in your hand or another player shows it to you, that card cannot be in the envelope.

How a turn works

1. Move around the mansion. On your turn, move toward a room. In classic editions, you usually roll dice and move through corridors into rooms.
2. Make a suggestion from a room. When you are in a room, name a suspect and a weapon with that room. For example: Green with the Rope in the Kitchen.
3. Other players try to disprove it. Starting with the next player, each player checks whether they hold one of those three cards. The first player who can disprove the suggestion secretly shows you one matching card.
4. Record the information. Cross off any card you see. If no one can disprove a suggestion, that combination becomes important, but it is not automatic proof unless your notes rule out the alternatives.

Deduction examples

The notebook is the most important part of the game. You are not trying to remember everything; you are trying to eliminate possibilities. A shown card is certain evidence. A player failing to show a card is also useful, but only when you know what they could have held.

Suggestion vs accusation

A suggestion is a question you ask during the game to gather information. An accusation is your final answer. You name one suspect, one weapon, and one room, then check the case file. If you are right, you win. If you are wrong, you cannot win the game, though in many editions you still remain available to show cards when other players make suggestions.

How to play

1. Set up the mystery. Separate the suspect, weapon, and room cards. Put one card from each group into the case file envelope without looking. Shuffle and deal the remaining cards to the players.
2. Start eliminating. Cross off the cards in your own hand immediately, because none of them can be the hidden solution.
3. Enter rooms and suggest. Move from room to room. When you enter a room, make a suggestion using that room, any suspect, and any weapon.
4. Show one matching card. If another player can disprove your suggestion, they secretly show you one matching card. If they hold more than one matching card, they choose which one to show.
5. Use the notebook carefully. Mark what is certain, what is possible, and which player gave you information. Good notes matter more than memory.
6. Make one accusation when ready. Only accuse when you are confident about all three cards in the envelope. A correct accusation wins the game; a wrong accusation usually removes your chance to win.

Strategy

• Cross off your own cards first. Your hand is private certainty: none of those cards can be in the case file.
• Track who showed you a card. The card matters, but so does the player who showed it. Later suggestions can reveal what else that player might or might not hold.
• Suggest cards you hold deliberately. Including one of your own cards can isolate the other two parts of a suggestion or hide what you are really testing.
• Do not rush the accusation. A suggestion can be repeated and tested. An accusation is usually a one-shot decision.

History

Cluedo was created in Britain by Anthony E. Pratt and first published by Waddingtons in the late 1940s. Parker Brothers later published it in North America as Clue. The central deduction structure has remained recognisable across many editions: a hidden suspect, weapon, and room, with players narrowing the solution through suggestions and note-taking.