Cluedo - The Great New Detective Game

CLUEDO is one of the most popular MURDER MYSTERY games in the world. However, if you don’t live in the UNITED KINGDOM, you might be asking yourself, what on earth is Cluedo? Cluedo has another name that might be more familiar to some, CLUE! Clue is a BOARD GAME that was INVENTED in 1943 by ANTHONY PRATT. The object of the game is to figure out who murdered the game’s VICTIM.

Spell: MURDER Spell: INVENTED Spell: VICTIM

The game that we are talking about is called _______, also known as Clue. CLUEDO

What type of game is Cluedo? BOARD GAME

What genre of the board game is Cluedo? MURDER MYSTERY

Who invented Cluedo? ANTHONY PRATT

What year did Anthony Pratt invent Cluedo? 1943

Cluedo has different names depending on where you live. What is this game called where you’re from? CLUEDO, CLUE

Who was Anthony Pratt? Anthony Pratt was born in 1903 around BIRMINGHAM, England. He was noted as a GIFTED MUSICIAN and played the PIANO at an early age. He loved CHEMISTRY and left school when he was 15 years old to PURSUE a career in it. However, because he didn’t have any QUALIFICATIONS (a quality or accomplishment that makes someone eligible for a specific job) in chemistry, he went on to pursue his interests in music and became a musician. Music led Anthony to play on cruise ships and in hotels all over the world. While playing at these different VENUES (a place where an event or something happens), part of the night’s ENTERTAINMENT would be murder mystery games involving both actors and guests.

Spell: GIFTED Spell: PIANO Spell: PURSUE

Anthony Pratt was born in ________, England. BIRMINGHAM

Anthony loved _______ but didn’t have the qualifications to pursue a career in it. CHEMISTRY

Where did Anthony play piano as a musician? CRUISE SHIPS, HOTELS

The murder mystery games that Anthony saw involved who? ACTORS, GUESTS

What year was Anthony Pratt born? 1903

During WORLD WAR 2, Anthony began working in an ENGINEERING factory that made COMPONENTS (parts or pieces of) for tanks. While working at the factory and spending time at home, he invented the game Murder, which would later be called Cluedo. Anthony remembered the murder mystery games that he WITNESSED at the different venues he performed at. He and his wife, ELVA designed the game together. Elva created the DESIGN and ARTWORK for the board, while Anthony worked on the SUSPECTS, WEAPONS, and other parts of the game. They tested the game with their friends during the long nights spent indoors because of the WARTIME AIR RAIDS.

Spell: FACTORY Spell: WITNESSED Spell: SUSPECTS

During World War 2, Anthony worked at a _______ factory. ENGINEERING

What was the original name of the game Anthony invented? MURDER

Anthony designed the game with his wife _______. ELVA

What did Elva create for the game? DESIGN, ARTWORK

What parts of the game did Anthony work on? SUSPECTS, WEAPONS

Creating Murder or Cluedo was a collaborative effort between Anthony and his wife Elva. What is something that you would like to create?

In 1944, Anthony applied for a PATENT for his game Murder. Through a CONNECTION with a friend, he was able to demonstrate Murder to the game manufacturer WADDINGTONS. The director of games at the Waddingtons was impressed and thought that Anthony’s game would be SUCCESSFUL with some minor MODIFICATIONS. It was Waddingtons that suggested the game be renamed to Cluedo, which was a COMBINATION of the words Clue and Ludo (which is Latin for “I play”). Cluedo was set to launch in 1947, but because of the SHORTAGES after WWII, the game officially launched in 1949 in the United Kingdom and in the United States under the name Clue.

Spell: PATENT Spell: CONNECTION Spell: SHORTAGES

Anthony was able to demonstrate his game to what game manufacturer? WADDINGTONS

Waddingtons liked Anthony’s game but said it needed some minor ______. MODIFICATIONS

The launch of Cluedo was delayed due to ______. SHORTAGES

Cluedo is the combination of what two words? CLUE, LUDO

What is the word for when two words are combined to make a new word? PORTMANTEAU

Anthony patented his game in what year? 1944

Cluedo was set to launch in what year? 1947

How do you play Cluedo/Clue? The game board shows the inside of a COUNTRY HOUSE with different rooms, CORRIDORS, and secret PASSAGEWAYS. In the box, there are pieces to REPRESENT different CHARACTERS, murder weapon props, two dice, and cards that give details about the rooms, characters, and weapons. At the beginning of the game, three cards are chosen at random and then sealed in an envelope. The cards include a suspect, room, and weapon which were used to commit the murder. The OBJECTIVE (goal or purpose) of the game is to DEDUCE (figure out or determine) the details of the murder by moving characters into different rooms and making suggestions about the murder. For example, I suspect Colonel Mustard, in the Kitchen, with a DAGGER. There are six possible characters, six murder weapons, and nine rooms, resulting in 324 possibilities depending on the version of the game.

Spell: CHARACTERS Spell: OBJECTIVE Spell: DAGGER

The game board shows the inside of a ______? COUNTRY HOUSE

The goal of the game is to ______ the details of the murder. DEDUCE

Sealed in the envelope are cards describing what? SUSPECT, ROOM, WEAPON

Cluedo is a popular murder mystery board game. What is your favorite board game? CHESS, CHECKERS, SORRY

Let’s look at some pictures of different versions of Cluedo/Clue that have come out.

After its release, Cluedo did not sell particularly well, and in 1953 Waddingtons offered Anthony 5000 pounds (155,000 in 2022) for the overseas rights to the game. Anthony continued to receive ROYALTIES (money paid for the use of a patent) for the game in the UK. Eventually, Cluedo/Clue became the success that Anthony and Waddingtons thought it could be, although Anthony did not receive all the overseas royalties that he originally could have. In the United States, Clue became a popular FRANCHISE, and a film was created in 1985, which is regarded as a classic murder mystery film. TV shows, MUSICALS, and SPIN-OFF games based on Clue have been made, and if you wanted to, you could even play Cluedo/Clue on a smartphone today.

Spell: POUNDS Spell: ROYALTIES Spell: MUSICALS

In 1953, Anthony sold the overseas _______ to the game. RIGHTS

In the US, Clue became a popular _______. FRANCHISE

What types of games have been made based on Clue? SPIN-OFFS

Anthony received how many pounds in royalties? 5000

What year did the Clue movie come out? 1985

Let’s look at the actual board game Clue!

Creative Writing

If you were to create a game (board game, card game, videogame), what would it be about? Describe what would make it special and unique.

Resources:

Source: http://www.kingsheathhistory.co.uk/content/cluedo.pdf

Source: https://www.history.com/news/clue-game-origin-wwii