Game: Clue Master Detective

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GamingWench — 2008-05-16T20:49:50+00:00

A tense fight over the title of Master Detective

Thread: Re: Review: Elementary My Dear Watson...Elementary.

GamingWench — 2008-05-13T18:03:19+00:00

I agree with the review overall. One complaint I had about mechanics was that Madame Rose's and Miss Peach's playing pieces looked extremely similar colour-wise. I had to repaint Miss Peach to make her look less pink.

I found this better than traditional Clue but the weapon and room card art was unimpressive. My favourite part was the rule/background book with interesting trivia about Clue around the world, as well as background sketches for all the characters. In other words, a lot of fun and a more satisfying play than the vanilla version.

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GamingWench — 2008-05-12T19:15:57+00:00

Detective Notebook for Clue Master Detective - More space for notes!

Thread: Re: A Family Man’s Perspecive – THE Clue Game

Karlsen — 2007-09-15T00:15:14+00:00

There is another substantial difference between Clue Master Detective and Clue that is worth mentioning.

When posing a question in the original Cluedo (as it is called in my neck of the woods), you start with the player to the left and and as soon as someone shows you a card it stops. With Cluedo Master Detective the rules state that you continue around all players. Most people I know play Cluedo Master Detective with the original rules Cluedo (or make considerably less double or triple blind guesses).

Thread: Re: A Family Man’s Perspecive – THE Clue Game

gjnave — 2007-09-13T19:04:07+00:00

Thank you for the post... you actually filled in a lot of what I didn't mention. Thank you!

Thread: Re: A Family Man’s Perspecive – THE Clue Game

Ostadan — 2007-09-13T18:28:51+00:00

Because there is more of everything, there are a few things changed to speed play. One is that you are rolling two dice instead of one, cannot be blocked at doorways, and do not have to stop in rooms during your move (good: the dice rolling to go from room to room introduces randomness of dubious value into the deduction game, and this arrangement increases mobility considerably). Another addition is 'snoop' spaces that let you look at a random card from another player's hand. Finally, when you make a Suggestion, you see one card from _all_ players who have them in their hands.

The Snoop and revised Suggestion rules doubtless speed the game, but adult players will probably wish to use the original rule and ignore the Snoop spaces. This should make for a sufficiently challenging logic puzzle.

Oh, and by the way, the victim's name (in the U.S. -- the rulebook provides interesting information on the characters in other countries) is 'Boddy', not 'Body'.

I haven't played in years. This makes me think I might want to try to get it to the table one of these days.

Thread: A Family Man’s Perspecive – THE Clue Game

gjnave — 2007-09-13T17:23:15+00:00

*I am in my early 30’s; have 2 small kids whom I’m trying to raise well; am busy with the work I do; love to play games. My reviews reflect these aspects of my life. So perhaps if you are in a similar area of life you may find my perspective helpful for what you’re looking for.*

The Kid Factor: No real problem here except of course for the theme. But no gory pictures or anything.

The Basics:
The game takes place in the large manor of Mr. Body in which several individuals have been invited over for a large banquet. However, sometime during the evening Mr. Body is murdered. It’s up to you and the other players to find out whodunit, howhedunit, and wherehedunit.

The game consists of playing sheet (which has a list of all items in the game), playing pieces, weapons, a board game representing the mansion, and playing cards that correspond to each person, room, and potential weapon in the mansion. These are shuffled into 3 piles, from which 1 card is secretly taken from each pile and hidden under the board. The drawn cards (which no-one knows) are thus, the killer, the location, and the weapon. The rest of the cards are shuffled together and distributed to the players.

Gameplay starts by each player attempting to move through the mansion (this is done with a single six-sided die) to varying rooms where he/she can make an educated guess at how Mr. Body died – (i.e. “It was Colonel Mustard in the Dining Room with the Candlestick”). The person directly to their left now must disprove that theory by secretly showing one of the three items mentioned in the guess (i.e. Colonel Mustard, the Dining Room, or the Candlestick). If that person is not able to disprove the theory then the person to their left must disprove it. Once the theory has been disproved the original player then marks the card off of his playing sheet and effectively discounts it as being part of the solution – remember the real cards are under the board and thus cannot be used to disprove an accusation.

This continues until one of the players believes they have enough information to make a reasonable accusation. At this point, they must make it to the alleged sight of the murder, and make an accusation. After announcing their accusation, they then secretly look at the cards under the board to see if they were correct or not. If they guessed correctly the game is over and they win; if they guess wrong, they are eliminated from the game and the turns continue.

Clue itself
This game has been around forever. And rightfully so: Clue is a classic. The gameplay is well-done and the mechanics carry-out across the decades. Now of course they have come out with “Mystery of the Abbey” (which I haven’t played), which is as far as I understand a “new” Clue. This is a testimony to how well Clue has held-up over the years: people still like to play it.

Master Detective
So what’s special about the Master Detective edition? You can boil it down to one word: more. They have included a larger board (more rooms), more weapons, and more people to choose from. This basically makes the game a bit longer and adds a little more newness to the game if you’ve already played it a million times.

Another nice touch is the rulebook. They’ve really spent time fleshing out the different characters and their motives for possibly killing Mr. Body. Not that any of it actually matters to the gameplay, but it does add immensely to the theme.

I also have to note how nice the weapon pieces are. Instead of being cruddy little plastic things they actually have some weight to them and are well sculpted. I have to admit, my favorite is the bottle of poison (which was not in the original).

Bottom Line
Great game – if you like Clue. If you don’t like Clue, then it will just be more for you to dislike. The only problem I see is whether or not this game is still in print or not. I would assume that if this particular version is not that there is a reprint version out there somewhere.
I give this game a 9 out 10 since it expands very well on an already great game.

Thread: Master Detective with 9

johnclark — 2007-07-14T01:02:58+00:00

Friday 13 July 2007 and Clue: Master Detective was played. I have written elsewhere on the merits of MD vs regular Clue and this game only confirmed those thoughts.

The 9 players were:

Colin
Carlyn
Jeanette
Alise (14)
Jessica (12)
Sophie (10)
Ben (14)
Josh (12)
Me

We all had three cards each.

Nine players REALLY challenges your record-keeping system, and this is exactly where the game is won and lost. Most guesses are met with several "I can't help" responses, so the information flows think and fast, at least early on.

I was making good progress, until after about 45 minutes I discovered that I had already marked Ben off for having the Dining Room and suddenly it seemed he must have it. Jeanette was also surprised at that point and so perhaps Ben had erred earlier in not showing a card he had, but no-one could be sure and he denied it.

Anyway, this meant that I now had Ben down for FOUR cards, and so tried to resurrect my record system, but it was tough. What I should have done was target Ben's cards on my turn and made every effort to discover what he did in fact have.

At about an hour Josh made a wild accusation and was wrong for all three cards.

A couple of rounds later I decided that I could not get any closer than what I had so I made my 'best guess', which turned out to be wrong.

Jeanette then had a try, and was also wrong. At this point I though that the game may go forever, since Jeanette and I had the best systems, and the others were a fair way away.

Sophie, however, had played a simple record system and made a correct accusation, ending the game at almost 2 hours.

I did go on for a bit too long, but with 9 players it was not too bad.

Lessons:

Making a mistake in your record keeping is disasterous. What I need to do next time is simply keep a complete record of every guess made and the responses, so that if things go wrong then I can reconstruct the entire record again. It would also keep a record to check if someone has erred in now showing a card.

Anyway, I thought that the game was a success and am keen to try again. Clue scales very well, since you are always discovering information even when not your turn.

Thread: Re: Review: Elementary My Dear Watson...Elementary.

johnclark — 2007-06-26T23:17:57+00:00

Actually, adding more stuff does more than make the game longer - it makes it better:

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/173359

Thread: Why this is better than standard Clue

johnclark — 2007-06-26T23:15:53+00:00

I love Clue, but anyone who has played much Clue will notice two problems with the original game:

1. Finding the room is significantly harder than finding the person and the weapon, for two reasons: there are more rooms and you have to physically move around the board to guess them. If you get lucky and discover the murder room early then you have a huge advantage.

2. The game can suffer from unwitting spoiler players, who inadvertantly reveal all of their information, making the endgame silly. For example my dad, who once he has discovered the correct room will just sit there and cycle through the combinations of person and weapon until he has discovered the correct one. By his obvious play he reveals all he knows. Yes its bad play, but it wrecks the game for everyone and simply creates a blanket finish.

Master Detective does not solve these problems but makes them much less of an issue by simply having more of everything. That is, it is a lot more effort to discover all three elements, and even if you get lucky on one you are still a long way from the solution. Its true that there are still more rooms than people or weapons, but the number of rooms has increased by 33 per cent (12 compared to 9 in the original game), but the number of people has increased by 67 per cent (10 compared to only 6 in the original) and the number of weapons has increased by 33 per cent (8 up from 6).

The designers have been smart in increasing the number of people by the most. Hauling another player into your room in order to suspect him/her is always risky, so increasing the number of people only increases the decision making angst.

[Note that this was written assuming that you play the game with the original rules, ignoring the moronic 'snoop' spaces]

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ColMustard — 2007-06-08T22:45:50+00:00

One of five new locations.

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ColMustard — 2007-06-08T22:45:23+00:00

One of five new locations.

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ColMustard — 2007-06-08T22:44:57+00:00

One of five new locations.

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ColMustard — 2007-06-08T22:44:34+00:00

One of five new locations.

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ColMustard — 2007-06-08T22:44:16+00:00

One of five new locations.

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ColMustard — 2007-06-08T22:43:44+00:00

One of two new weapons.

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ColMustard — 2007-06-08T22:43:11+00:00

One of two new weapons.

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ColMustard — 2007-06-08T22:42:26+00:00

One of the four new suspects.

Thread: Review: Elementary My Dear Watson...Elementary.

matt71 — 2006-04-10T12:52:59+00:00

Rank: 7

Objective:

To discover the murderer, the weapon used, and the room Mr. Body was murdered in. The first player to solve the mystery wins the game.

Bits:

Two six-sided die, 10 pawns of various colors, a pad of Detective Notebooks, eight weapons made out of metal, 30 cards that have the suspects, rooms, and weapons on them, a small envelope that says, “Case File-Confidential”, and a board with 13 rooms.

Set Up:

This game says it can be played by 3-10 players. However, I usually play the game with two players, and I find that it plays just as well that way.

Each player chooses one of the colored pawns that they will use to move around the board. The deck of cards is separated into three piles: suspects, weapons and rooms. Each pile is turned face down and shuffled separately. The top card of each pile is then placed face down into the envelope marked, “Case File-Confidential.” The envelope now contains the murderer, the weapon used, and the room that poor unfortunate Mr. Body was murdered in.

The three piles of cards are then all shuffled together and dealt out face down to all players. These cards are kept secret from the other players in the game. Players then look at their own cards and use their Detective Notebooks to check off any suspects, weapons, and/or rooms in their hand. Since there is only one card for each suspect, weapon, and room in the game; players know that the cards in their hand cannot be in the Case File Envelope.

Each player rolls the die; highest roll goes first. Play will go clockwise around the table for the rest of the game.

Flow of Play:

On your turn, you roll both dice and move your token around the board. If during your turn you land on a “Snoop” space (it has an illustration of a magnifying glass), you can choose which player you want to “snoop” from. You draw one card from that player’s hand, and mark it off in your Detective Notebook, and then give the card back to the player. If you have not used up your dice roll, you can continue to move your pawn until you do.

The game revolves around making suggestions (guesses). You can make a suggestion by moving your pawn into one of the rooms on the board. You then state, “ I suggest it was (Suspect name), in the (name of the room your pawn is in when you are making the suggestion), with the (weapon)." In other words you would say something like, “ I suggest that it was Mr. Green, with the wrench, in the dining room." When you make a suggestion, you place the pawn representing the suspect and the weapon token in the room. You can even suggest your own pawn as a suspect. If an opponent is using a pawn that is associated with your suggestion, you then move his pawn to the room you are in at the time of the suggestion.

When you make a suggestion, each player checks the cards in his hand and shows you one card in his hand that matches what you stated in your guess. If he has more than one card that matches your suggestion, he chooses which one to show you. You mark off the cards that you are shown in your Notebook. These suspects, weapons, and/or rooms were not involved in the murder.

When you narrow down the list to one suspect, weapon, and room you can then try to win the game by making an accusation. To do that you state, "It was (Suspect name), in the (name of the room you think Mr. Body was murdered in. Unlike making a suggestion, you do not have to be in the room of the murder when you make the accusation.), with the (weapon)." You then check the envelope to see if your accusation is correct, if it is, you then prove it by showing the cards to the other players and you win the game. If you are wrong about any of the cards, you then put the cards back into the envelope without the other players seeing them. You can’t win the game but still must show your cards when you are “snooped” and during suggestions made by other players.

Conclusion:

I like playing this game. The replay value is high because the suspect, weapon, and room involved in the murder are always different. I also enjoy the deductive reasoning that you must use to win the game.

I would rank the game as medium weight because it takes some thought to try an figure out what your opponents are doing as well as what suggestions you should make based on the reactions or patterns you may be able to pick up from other players. There are strategies that can be used to misdirect your opponents, so there is some sneakiness to the game as well.

Clue Master Detective went out of production in the 1990’s, but you can still find it being sold on Ebay. What is the difference between Master Detective and the original Clue game? Master Detective has three more rooms, two more weapons, and four more suspects. It also has “Snoop” spaces that are not in the original game. So what effect does having more rooms, weapons, and suspects have on the game? It comes down to two things:

1. It extends the length of the game.
2. It can accommodate up to ten players as opposed to the original Clue game that allows up to six players.

Other than that, the mechanics and game flow are the same, except for the addition of “Snoop” spaces.

Clue is a classic game that has been around for over 50 years. If you have never played it, or don’t own a copy, I would suggest that you add it to your collection. It’s a fun game that uses a clever concept not found in other mainstream family board games. Adding it to your collection is just...well...elementary.

Thread: Re: Quick Comments

matt71 — 2006-03-03T13:08:35+00:00

You know, I don't think we played it with making more than one suggestion? I think we played with the old rules when it came to that. I'll look into it though.

Thread: Re: Quick Comments

Karlsen — 2006-03-02T23:15:13+00:00

jbetz45453 wrote:
Also i think another thing that makes it better is that when you make a suggestion you don't stop at the first person who has one of the three things in your suggestion.

We find that that rule makes it far too easy, especially if some players make double or triple blind guesses. We always play with the original Cluedo rules.

Thread: Re: Quick Comments

jbetz45453 — 2006-03-02T17:32:44+00:00

Also i think another thing that makes it better is that when you make a suggestion you don't stop at the first person who has one of the three things in your suggestion.This is different than regular clue so you need to be more creative when you make a guess.So its always good to suggest at least one card that you have in your suggestion but you need to remember things that you have shown to other players as well.The snoop spaces are fun too.There is nothing better than someone snooping your cards only to pick one they have seen already.Still a fun game to play and much better than regular clue.

Thread: Quick Comments

matt71 — 2006-03-02T12:24:20+00:00

Rank: 8

I purchased this game in 1989. It is the only Clue game I ever owned and I still play it once in awhile.

I don't know why the game went out of print. The game has more rooms and basically more of everything so it is a little more challenging than the regular Clue game.

Thread: More, more, more

consectari — 2005-09-13T21:45:52+00:00

This game can be summed up in one word. More! More rooms, more weapons, more suspects, but most of all, more exciting, more challenging, more fun! Game play is almost identical to original clue, including all the usuall suspects and weapons. Some of the old rooms reappear here as well. Added weapons include the poison and horseshoe. New suspects are Sgt Gray, Miss Peach, Mme Rose, and M. Brunette. The mansion is much larger and now includes some exterior locations. One fun aspect are the snoop spaces, which allow you to look at another players card when you land on it! With this expanded game, clue requires so much more thought. There's so much more to keep track of. It's a thrilling challenge. I've loved this game since it first came out. Though out of print, it is still quite sought after, and with good reason. If you love a mental challenge, find this game, or some one who has it and play right away.

Thread: Re:User Review

K-Swift — 2005-03-10T04:25:36+00:00

Karlsen wrote:
PSac wrote:

Making an accusation: Once in a room, announce who you think did it, the weapon you believe was used and the room you are in (you can only make an accusation if you are in that room). Move the suspect and weapon pieces to that room. Everyone who has one of the cards for the accusation you made must show a card. It is usually a good idea to announce one of the cards you hold so that three Clue cards are not shown (in which case everyone would learn the three alibis that you learn).

We always play with the original Cluedo rules where instead of everyone who has one of the cards shows you a card that only the first person around the table shows you a card.

It makes, IMHO, the play much more interesting and less susceptible to people accidently revealing (via the triple blind call warned against in the review above) or finding out more information than may have been intended.

I just recieved my copy today off of eBay (for a steal of $20 I might add ) I was reading through the rules and noticed that as well, I've decided to just use the original Clue rules. I do think the Snoop space is a cool addition though.

Thread: Re:User Review

PSac — 2004-09-29T13:01:00+00:00

Karlsen (#56971),

It's funny, I've hardly ever found people playing by the rules of Master Detective; most just use the original Clue rules for everything. To me, it's doesn't make a big difference because in both games I (and the others I play with) tend to make an accusation with something I already own just in case someone has two of the items and they figure out what the other person showed me. I think the major difference would be the time it takes to play the game.

Thread: Re:User Review

Karlsen — 2004-09-29T01:36:28+00:00

PSac wrote:

Making an accusation: Once in a room, announce who you think did it, the weapon you believe was used and the room you are in (you can only make an accusation if you are in that room). Move the suspect and weapon pieces to that room. Everyone who has one of the cards for the accusation you made must show a card. It is usually a good idea to announce one of the cards you hold so that three Clue cards are not shown (in which case everyone would learn the three alibis that you learn).

We always play with the original Cluedo rules where instead of everyone who has one of the cards shows you a card that only the first person around the table shows you a card.

It makes, IMHO, the play much more interesting and less susceptible to people accidently revealing (via the triple blind call warned against in the review above) or finding out more information than may have been intended.

Thread: User Review

PSac — 2004-09-28T13:55:27+00:00

Clue Master Detective is a newer version of Clue with more rooms, weapons and suspects. With all these additions, the rules have changed slightly for a different strategy and flavor to the game. As in the classic, your job is to be the first to correctly guess who killed Mr. Boddy, where the murder happended, and what weapon was used.

Components: gameboard, 10 tokens, 8 weapons, 30 Clue cards, pad of detective sheets, a Confidential File envelope, and two dice.

Gameboard: The gameboard is divided into 13 rooms, one is the starting room and the other 12 are rooms/places to visit where the murder may have taken place.

Gameplay: Separate the Clue cards into three piles for the rooms, weapons and suspect. Randomly choose one from each pile and place it in the Confidential File. These three are the solution to the mystery. Shuffle the remaining cards together and deal them out to the players. These represent the alibis to the mystery. On your turn you will roll two dice and move your token, trying to enter a room to make an accusation.

Making an accusation: Once in a room, announce who you think did it, the weapon you believe was used and the room you are in (you can only make an accusation if you are in that room). Move the suspect and weapon pieces to that room. Everyone who has one of the cards for the accusation you made must show a card. It is usually a good idea to announce one of the cards you hold so that three Clue cards are not shown (in which case everyone would learn the three alibis that you learn).

Snoop space: Passing over a snoop space allows you to randomly draw a Clue card from one of your opponents.

Secret passages: There are three secret passages which allow quick access to the opposite end of the board. Unlike Clue, you do not have to announce the intended use of a passage. Simply roll the dice and count the passage as one. You could the proceed to exit the new room and continue moving around the gameboard on that same turn.

Winning: When you think you have the answer, on your turn make the guess for the game (you do not have to be in that room and you can make the guess after an accusation). Then, check the Confidential File. If you are right, you win. If not, you are out of the game, but keep showing Clue cards to other players.

Clue Master Detective is very similar to the orignal version of Clue with the exception that everyone could show you a card when a accusation is made instead of just the first person who has one. Therefore, although there are more rooms, weapons and suspects, the game doesn't take any longer to play. There is a strategy for recording accusations others make to find out useful information later, but once that strategy is learned, the game is pretty simple. There is a little more element of luck with the added snoop spaces: sometimes you will get lucky and see a card vital to solving the mystery, and sometimes you will only see what you've already learned.

Overall, it's a pretty good game to play with younger people, but I wouldn't recommend it for serious gamers. My wife enjoys it because of the mystery aspect. I, however, just play to humor her. The game doesn't really grab me; I can't find anything in the game that makes it interesting. Maybe at first it is interesting to find a strategy to the game, but once you find one, it's the same strategy for every game; the game just doesn't change. Most often the winner is someone who makes a lucky guess and finds some critical information that the others don't know. Many times the game gets to where everyone has two parts of the answer and we're just waiting to see who will be the first to stumble upon the third.

Thread: Session Report

Dan Bosley — 2002-04-08T18:10:20+00:00

About 15 or so years ago, Diane and I rented a movie called “Blind Date” starring Bruce Willis and Kim Basinger. We thought it was one of the funniest movies we had ever seen. We laughed and laughed and laughed.

Then, a couple of years ago, I saw in the TV Guide that “Blind Date” was on TV. I gathered the children about me. “Children” I said. “We must all watch this movie on TV together. It is a very funny movie. You will love it”.

The children were excited. They had never seen the movie before. They clapped their hands and jumped up and down for joy. As did I. “We will laugh and laugh and laugh”, I said.

The fateful evening came. The 4 of us gathered around the TV, in eager anticipation. The popcorn was ready.

Well, great sadness descended upon the Bosley household. After the first half-hour of the show, no one had laughed yet. We gave it another 15 minutes. Still no laughs. The movie was not funny. At all. The children were glum. “Father”, they said. “This movie is not funny. Why did you tell us to watch it?” And the children left the room.

Diane and I looked at each other. The children were right. The movie was stupid, it wasn’t funny. We turned the TV off. I was puzzled. How could a movie be funny 15 years ago and not now? It was the same movie. We were the same people.

And then I had the answer. Perhaps it was just the mood we were in the evening we watched it. Perhaps ANY movie would have been funny that particular night. For whatever reason, I did indeed enjoy the movie that night 15 years ago. And then, because of that, in the deep recesses of my mind, “Blind Date” was filed under the category “Funny Movies” .

Only - when I had a 2nd opportunity to see it - it didn’t meet the expectations I had set up for it. So great disappointment set in. Great, great disappointment. Memory plays tricks. You remember some things as being better than they actually are.

Which brings me to Clue - Master Detective...

I remember playing Clue as a kid. We didn’t play it a lot, but it did get played from time to time. And I remember (or at least I think I do) that I enjoyed it at the time. Sort of a mental puzzle, or a brain-teaser kind of game.

It was fun to play detective, and figure out who did it, with what weapon, and where.

Fast -forward to April 5, 2002. Crime and Mystery Night at the Terminal City Gamers. Eight of us decide to play Clue - Master Detective.

The game is basically a “bigger” version of regular Clue. There are more suspects, more weapons, and more rooms. More of everything. Just a lot more fun! As the back of the box says “Clue - Master Detective ....It’s so entertaining, it’s criminal!”

And the back of the box also says “Imaginative themes, colorful graphics, and fun, interactive gameplay are just some of the elements that make our family games so entertaining. And we test all our games with children and adults alike before they ever get to you, so we know they’re the best they can be.”

Well, with promises like that on the back of the box, and my memories of the original game, there is absolutely no doubt that all will enjoy the game tremendously. No doubt whatsoever.

So, the 8 of us plunge into the game. The 8 players are Diane, William, David, Rick, Andrew, Lenka, Chris, and me.

Clue - Master Detective has 10 suspects, 8 weapons, and 12 rooms.

The game basically consists of rolling the dice and moving your pawn to a room. Then you get to ask about a suspect and a weapon in the room that you are in. The people you ask show you a matching card if they have one. And you make notes, trying to deduce who, which weapon, and where.

First thing to note. Why does this game even bother with a board? All the board does is create frustration. Most dice rolls will allow you to get to the next room. And of course, as soon as you do, you ask your question. But if you happen to roll a low number, all you can do is move a few spaces, and that’s it. That’s your whole turn. While everyone else is getting to ask questions. Now that isn’t that fun-plus!

The biggest frustration with the board though is that when you are trying to go to a specific room, and you’re just about there - and then someone decides to ask a question about your character - zoom, you are suddenly mysteriously transported across the house to this other room. And then you have to start all over again, heading back to the original room you were trying to get to in the first place. More fun-plus!

You could play the game just as well (or better, for that matter) with no board at all. Everyone gets to ask a question every turn. And if you wanted to simulate the magnifying-glass spaces on the board that let you look at one of an opponent’s cards randomly, you could still roll dice. If you get doubles, then you could consider that a magnifying-glass roll. Any other roll would be irrelevant. So throw out the board.

With 8 players, everyone starts off with either 3 or 4 cards. They then must spend the rest of the game trying to eliminate suspects, weapons, and rooms. And since you only start with 3 or 4 cards, it takes a LONG time to do this. A very long time. A very, very long time.

And that’s the biggest problem the game has. The game is now supposedly designed for up to 10 people. Thank goodness we only had 8 people. The more people you have, the less information you start with, and the longer it is between turns. Granted, you do get information from other people’s questions when it‘s not your turn, so you’re not sitting there on your hands, but as the game goes on, often the information you get from other peoples’ questions is stuff you already know.

I won’t write off the game totally. I would never play it with 8 people again, though.

But I think if you played the game with only 3 people, it would probably be not too bad. With only 3 people playing, you would start off with a lot more information, and of course, you would be asking questions once every 3 turns, instead of once every 8 turns. So the game would go MUCH faster. You could probably do a complete game in half an hour in that case. And that would help tremendously.

If our 8-player game of Clue - Master Detective had only lasted 30 minutes, it probably would have gotten much higher ratings. But it dragged on for more than 2 hours. And like Rail Baron a few weeks ago, the longer we kept playing, the lower the ratings kept going.

The game was kind of fun for the first 20 minutes or so. But then it simply became more of the same, more of the same. And it wasn’t fun anymore. Just like “Blind Date”.

After 2 hours of play, out of sheer tedium, William made the 1st accusation. He only got 1 out of 3 right.
After William was out, we all looked at his cards. If we hadn’t, the game would still be going on.

I made the next accusation. I got 2 out of 3 right. Everyone then looked at my cards.

Finally, Rick made the next accusation. He got 3 out of 3 right. It was Sergeant Gray, with the Candlestick, in the Library.

Ratings
Diane - 5
William - 2
David - 3
Rick - 2
Andrew - 4
Lenka - somewhere between 0 and 2
Chris - 2
Dan - 3

As mentioned above, I would be prepared to try the game again sometime (maybe in a couple of years....) PROVIDED there were only 3 players and we didn‘t bother using the board. With only 3 players, I suspect the ratings would be higher.

Thread: General Comment

BoardGameGeek — 2002-01-01T06:00:00+00:00

The main gameplay change in this version (other than just extra rooms, suspects, and weapons) is the addition of little spyglass spaces on the gameboard. When you land on one of these spaces, you can choose any other player and randomly look at one of that player's cards. This helps you eliminate clues more quickly, which is important given that there are more of them in this version.

As far as the board and pieces are concerned, this version is deluxe - nice wooden pawns and large bronze weapons. No plastic to speak of besides the two clear green dice.

A very, very nice edition of this classic game.