Get a Clue - Part 1

With the advent of a certain Miss Scarlet not only commenting on my posts, but starting up a blog of her own (which reviews mystery novels), I decided it's about time to work on yet another obsession of mine: CLUE GAMES!!!!! ^_^ (or Cluedo as it's called in it's originated England).
The thing is, however, that I started this blog entry THURSDAY (10/22) and it seemed a bit longer than anticipated, so I decided to break it into two posts. THIS post will talk about what took me so long to actually make the post, as well as a little Clue trivia and a listing of the games I DON'T have in the series. The next post (to be done either tomorrow or Sunday, depending on my free time) will talk about my love of the series, why I'm obsessed, and a listing of the games I DO have, along with a mini review of each game.
OK, so what kept me so long? Well, first of all I had multiple distractions - TV shows to watch, neighbors visiting for an hour, family poking their heads in my room to talk to me while I wrote, Instant Messaging with a friend of mine about his love life, and finally the actual research into the series. Oh, and then I had to work late, took a 10-year-old to see "Where the Wild Things Are" (great movie) for her birthday, and then had the birthday party itself... so it's been a bit of a crazy weekend and not the most opportune time to do such a long blog. AAAAANYWAY...
I knew I had a LOT of different Clue games (14 to be exact), but I didn't know how many there were total, so I checked out the Wiki page. You can go ahead and just read the Wiki, but I'll give you the trivia highlights here... your choice. ^_^
First of all, Clue is only known as such in North America. That is because the original name (Cluedo) was based on the British game Ludo. Since North America knew Ludo's variant Parcheesi better, using the Ludo reference would be lost on North Americans, and so it was just dropped to Clue. Another curious change was that, until recently (2002), the Green character was changed from Reverend Green to simply Mr. Green. It's not really explained why the change took place. Perhaps it was deemed less likely for Americans and Canadians to believe a Reverend could be a valid suspect for a murder. *shrug*
Anyway, the game was created by Anthony E. Pratt, a solicitor's clerk and part-time clown from Birmingham, England. Although it was patented in 1947, World War II prevented production of the game until 1949. The game was more-or-less unchanged until the first "spin-off" game - which was a VCR interactive movie - in 1985. That's 36 years before the game errupted into - according to the Wiki page - 24 game spin-offs, 8 licenced theme variants, a video-game version for systems from Commodore 64 to GBA to iTouch (and everything in between), a computer game, an online game, an arcade game, a series for the CDi, a MMORPG mini-game, a film, a series of British game shows, a comedic off-Broadway musical where the audience actually picked the play's conclusion by selecting 3 over-sized cards - just like the game, a similar non-musical British play, an 18-book children series based on the actual Clue games and another children book series based on Clue Jr. - which involved such things as toy theft, as well as at least 5 unlicenced variants. Let's re-calculate. So, besides the original Clue game that came out in 1949, there are 48 encarnations of Clue since 1985! Out of which, I only own 14! If I'm going to own as many incarnations as I can I better get a move on! >_<
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Clue games I do not yet own, in chronilogical release order:
Super Clue Challenge ('86): An advanced rules variation to the original Clue which included the new characters Mr. Slate-Gray, Captain Brown, and Miss Peach, as well as three more weapons - the blunderbuss, poison and axe.
Clue Master Detective ('88): Sort of a suplimental game to the original Clue, this one added rooms and weapons, as well as the four new characters that were introduced in the VHS games - Madam Rose, Sgt. Grey, M. Brunette and Miss Peach.
Clue Card Game ('92): Players attempt to match cards featuring the locations, weapons, and characters from the original game with a central pile of cards.
Clue Little Detective ('92): I actually never heard of this game, and there is no info on Wikipedia, so I have no clue... (excuse the pun)
Junior Clue ('93): Apparently flipping the words in the title creates a new game... This time the "kid's version" of Clue is more like that of the original game, except the characters are trying to find the ghost of their ancestor and remember which room they spotted the ghost.
Clue Super Sleuth ('95): Another advanced version of the original Clue. A wee bit too complicated to sum up here, but the basics is that there is no board, just random tiles to be placed on the table, and there are also three non-playable characters introduced - Inspector Grey, Hogarth the Butler, and the Black Dog.
Clue Limited Gift Edition ('97): This edition isn't all that exciting, except that it came in a deluxe format with the option to play with an extra murder weapon, a Poison Chalice.
Clue 50th Anniversary ('99): Very much like the above Limited Gift Edition, the only major componants of this game is the deluxe format and the Bottle of Poison. Vertually the same thing as the LGE (but I'll try to get both regardless... cuz it IS a collection... >_<)
Clue Passport to Murder (2000): First Clue of the new Millennium! This wasn't much more than an update of Super Clue Challenge with the setting changed to an Orient Express style train in Istanbul station. There is very little change to the mechanics of the game (except you can only play the six original characters), with mainly cosmetic changes and updates to the characters.
Clue Jr. Pirate Treasure Hunt (2000): The Clue Jr. detectives (Green, Scarlet, Plum, & Peacock) must find out which legendary pirate hid what valuables in the treasure chest! Be your piratey self for this kid's take.
Clue Mysteries ('05): This is another change of rules, and this time the game play is based heavily on another board game called "Mysteries of Old Peking". Basically, much like with the original Clue Jr. (the one with the missing pet), this version of Clue has the clues hidden and you need to use the red glasses to read the clues properly. I actually remember seeing this version advertised. There aren't too many versions of Clue that I actually remember TV commercials for... Clue DVD was the other one I remember, perhaps because they were released in the same year....
Clue Secrets & Spies ('09): Oh yea, that's right, Hasbro released ANOTHER Clue game just this year! Haven't gotten it yet, tho... In this incarnation it's up to you to stop Agent Black - Clue's most notorious spy. The player must complete missions and attend secret meetings in order to stay a step ahead of the other players and receive the title of "ultimate spy". Sounds to me that this is drastically different from the age-old Clue game, but we'll have to wait until I play to see how much I like it. I mean, I fell in love with The Great Museum Caper and that also has nothing to do with most Clue games. In fact, Secrets & Spies is starting to sound like some much-awaited sequel to TGMC.
Clue Jr. Case of the Missing Prizes ('09): Well, I'm PRESUMING it was just released this year since my search for it only provided links to seller sites, that and The Art of Murder doesn't have it posted on the site. Anyway, it appears that this Clue Jr. spin-off consists of figuring out which prize was stolen and where it was hidden - or something along those lines. I don't really know much more about this game.
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And now for the Clue Variants that I must get!
Licenced:
Alfred Hitchcock Edition ('99): Set on the sound stage where multiple Hitchcock films are being shot. Played like normal Clue.
The Simpsons Clue (2000): Based off of the Fox TV series, it's played like normal Clue, except all of the traditional characters are replaced by Simpsons characters. There are actually two main versions of this game in which the Simpsons characters that are used for the Clue cast are different depending on the version. I may have to hunt down both. The North American Cast - Mr. Burns as Mr. Boddy, Homer as Mr. Green, Bart as Prof. Plum, Lisa as Miss Scarlet, Marge as Mrs. Peacock, Krusty as Col. Mustard, and Mr. Smithers as Mrs. White, contrary to early promotional material which had Maggie as Mrs. White (however, we all already know it was Maggie, with the Gun, in the Car Seat). The British (Euro?) version (the Cluedo version), as mentioned, switches up the cast a bit - Homer as Prof. Plum, Bart as Col. Mustard, Fat Tony as Mr. Green, Lisa as Mrs. Peacock, Edna Krabappel as Miss Scarlet, and Marge as Mrs. White. In both versions, the weapons are a plutonium rod, necklace, saxophone, poisoned doughnut, slingshot and the extend-o-glove.
Clue Dungeons & Dragons ('01): THE. MOST. EPIC! HOW DO I NOT ALREADY HAVE THIS ONE!?!?!?! It was produced by Hasbro shortly after their purchase of D&D owners Wizards of the Coast. The characters are D&D character types (such as Monk, Rogue, Wizard, etc.). The rooms depicted on the board are fantasy-themed (Dungeon, Dragon's Lair, Lost Crypt, etc.), and weapons also taken from the popular RPG (Mace of Disruption, Flaming Axe, etc.). Game play is identical to standard Clue unless you use the optional Wandering Monsters deck. Using this deck, players must battle monsters when landing on special spaces on the board. The players must battle monsters via dice rolls and are rewarded with magic items that confer special powers.
Clue The Haunted Mansion ('02): Based on the Haunted Mansion attraction from the Disney theme parks (relying heavily on the Walt Disney World version of the attraction as far as design.) One of the six guests in the house (Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, Goofy, and Pluto) was scared by one of the six ghosts (The Traveller, The Skeleton, The Prisoner, Emily the Bleeding Bride, The Opera Singer, and the Mariner) in one of the nine rooms (Foyer, Portrait Gallery, Library, Conservatory, Seance Room, Ballroom, Attic, Graveyard, and Crypt.) The detail on the board draws from the scenes depicted in the Haunted Mansion attraction and contains Hidden Mickeys.
Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! Clue ('02): Themed after the Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! TV series. Like the episodes, the gang has to figure out whodunit. It features Fred as Mr. Green, Shaggy as Prof. Plum, Scooby as Col. Mustard, Velma as Mrs. Peacock, Daphne as Miss Scarlet, and Mrs. White as their host. This edition takes place in a run-down version of the mansion where the Study has been replaced by the Kitchen and the original Kitchen has been turned into a cemetery after its walls started crumbling.
Clue - The Twilight Zone: Tower of Terror ('07): Another Disney Theme Park Edition, like the above Haunted Mansion game. It features The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror attraction from the Disney's Hollywood Studios theme park as the board game. Rather than a murder, the players are trying to discover who disappeared, where, and with which prop. The details, of the characters, props, and rooms draw from the scenes depicted in the Tower of Terror attraction. This version also contains Hidden Mickeys much like the Haunted Mansion version.
Clue - 24 ('09): Another new Clue game from this year! This one is themed after the 24 TV series. The game itself features Audrey Raines, Bill Buchanan, Chloe O'Brian, Mike Doyle, Nadia Yassir, and Tony Almeida. Players must find out which of the six characters is about to launch one of nine attacks (weapons) from within one of the rooms inside CTU.
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Now the unlicenced:
Kill Doctor Lucky ('96): An inversion and perhaps a parody of the series written by James Ernest for Cheapass Games. This one is sort of a reverse version of Clue. Instead of trying to solve the murder, in Kill Doctor Lucky players compete to COMMIT the murder.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone: Mystery at Hogwarts Game (2000): This variant of Clue is unlicenced, but Hasbro released a licenced variant (which I have) in 2008. Very much like it's future licenced variant, players try to find out which student cast which forbidden spell in which room in Hogwarts School. The suspects are Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Draco Malfoy, Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle.
Mystery Museum: The Biblical Artifacts Detective Game (2000): A version of Clue with Evangelical Christian elements to it. In the game, six people of different professions visit a Bible-history museum and steal one of the artifacts. It must be determined who is the thief, which artifact they stole, and where they hid it. Throughout the game, players learn about the Bible.
Clue of Cthulhu (2000): Probably the only unlicenced version I actually want to actively track down - even though I haven't done anything with the Cthulhu Mythos. Anyway, this version of Clue, as suggested, uses elements from the Cthulhu Mythos and was offered at Gen Con 2000.
PikaClue (2001): A version of Clue using elements from the Pokémon universe. Rooms are replaced with towns and cities, weapons are replaced with forms of energy and suspects are replaced with Pokémon creatures. This variant was offered at Gen Con 2001 and was inspired by the Clue of Cthulhu variant.
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Well, there you have it, after a full weekend, I finally finished Part 1! YAY! Anyway, I'm now off to bed and I'll attempt Part 2 (which is going to be how my love for the franchise started as well as the list of the Clue incarnations I do have) sometime tomorrow - but most likely Tuesday -_-

**UPDATE 10/28/09: Went to the mall today and saw that Boscovs has another Clue variant - Clue The Office! Sweeeeet! Apparently it was released August of this year. It seems that Good old Michael is forcing his staff to play a real-life game of Clue - very a la Murder Mystery party games. The hit? Poor, HR rep Toby. Our cast? Pam, Jim, Angela, Stanley, Andy, and Dwight. Game play is like the newest edition of Clue - Clue Discover the Secrets. See above post for more info on that gameplay.