Family game
Cluedo
Work out who did it, where, and with which weapon
- Set-up
- About 5 min
- Reading
- Little
The quick verdict
Full verdict ↓Great for Families with children aged 8 and up who like detective stories and puzzles
Think twice if You want something quick, since a full game usually takes around 45 minutes or more
How we rate it
Learning curve. The turn is simple, but children need to learn how suggestions work and how to note who showed what. That puts it with Ticket to Ride and Codenames on our scale.
Luck & skill. Dice decide how quickly you reach rooms and which cards you are dealt, but good notes and clever suggestions are what win.
Interaction. Players don't attack each other, but every suggestion makes someone show you a card, and you can learn from other players' suggestions too.
Set-up. Put the six characters on their start spaces and a weapon in each of six rooms, slip one suspect, one weapon and one room card into the envelope, then deal out the rest. Each player tears off a detective sheet.
Reading. You mostly read names of suspects, weapons and rooms. The 2023 version's 29 Clue cards have a line or two of English that is read aloud when drawn.
Learning curve: 1 = UNO or Connect 4; 3 = Catan; 5 = a heavy strategy game. These describe the experience, not an overall score.
Buying link pausedWe haven’t found an available Amazon listing for this edition.
Is Cluedo right for you?
Great if
- Families with children aged 8 and up who like detective stories and puzzles
- Teaching careful note-taking and step-by-step elimination without it feeling like homework
- Groups of four to six on a holiday evening, when everyone has time for a 45-minute game
- A familiar gift for parents who played Cluedo themselves as children
Skip it if
- You want something quick, since a full game usually takes around 45 minutes or more
- Your group is mostly two players, because the two-player variant is a workaround rather than the main game
- Players dislike being knocked out, since a wrong accusation stops you taking turns for the rest of the game
A place on the honours list
Good company to be in.
Recognition from beyond our table.
US National Toy Hall of Fame (The Strong National Museum of Play), 2017 (Inducted)
How Cluedo plays
Before the game, one character card, one weapon card and one room card go secretly into the solve envelope. The rest are shuffled and dealt out. Everyone ticks off their own cards on a detective sheet, because those can't be in the envelope.
- Time to teach: about 10 minutes.
- Reading and language: Most of the game is names of suspects, weapons and rooms, which you tick off on a detective sheet. The 29 Clue cards have short English instructions that are read aloud, so younger players may need a little help with those.
How to play Cluedo · Triple S Games
Choose a video · Watch right here
If this creator doesn’t allow embedded playback, watch on YouTube ↗.
A turn, step by step
- 1Move
Roll the dice and move your character through the mansion. You can enter a room through a door without the exact number, and corner rooms have secret passages across the board.
- 2Suggest
In a room, suggest a suspect, a weapon and that room. The player on your left must secretly show you one of those cards if they have it; if not, the next player checks. Tick off what you see.
- 3Accuse
When you think you know who, where and with what, make your one accusation and check the envelope in secret. Right, and you win. Wrong, and you stop taking turns but still show cards to others.
The full explanation: how a game of Cluedo goes
On your turn you roll the dice and move around the mansion, entering rooms through their doors. Corner rooms have secret passages to the opposite corner. In the 2023 edition, rolling the magnifying glass symbol counts as 1 and lets you draw a Clue card, which might open a passage or force someone to reveal a card.
When you are in a room you can make a suggestion, such as 'Professor Plum, in the library, with the rope'. The named character and weapon tokens move into that room. The player on your left must secretly show you one of those cards if they have it; if not, the next player checks, and so on. You mark what you are shown, and slowly the possible answers shrink.
When you think you know the answer, you make one accusation on your turn while in a room, then secretly check the envelope. If you are right, you win. If you are wrong, you put the cards back, stop taking turns and keep showing cards to others. If nobody guesses correctly, the murderer gets away.
For two players, Hasbro's rules have you place four of the leftover cards face down in rooms; you peek at a room's card when you enter it. The 2023 rules also let you stay in a room and make another suggestion there, which keeps the game moving.
What's in the box
- 1Gameboard
Tudor Mansion with nine rooms - 6Character tokens
Miss Scarlett, Colonel Mustard, Mayor Green, Chef White, Solicitor Peacock, Professor Plum - 6Weapon tokens
candlestick, dagger, lead pipe, revolver, rope, wrench - 50Cards
6 character, 6 weapon, 9 room and 29 Clue cards - 1Solve envelope
- 1Detective notepad
you need your own pens or pencils - 2Dice
one face shows a magnifying glass
Box: 40 × 27 × 4 cm, 1.03 kg. Handy to know for gifting and travel.
This list is from Hasbro's rules leaflet for the 2023 version (item F6420), the current box sold in India. The India-made Cluedo The Classic Detective Board Game (item E8261), an older box, is a different, simpler set: according to Hasbro India it has 21 cards (no Clue cards), 6 character tokens on stand bases, weapons on a silver runner frame that you snap off, a case-file envelope, a detective pad, 2 dice and rules in English and Hindi, for 3 to 6 players.
Where to buy
Buying link pausedWe haven’t found an available Amazon listing for this edition.
How to make sure you get a genuine copyEditions and the details worth checking.
What reviewers and players say
Cluedo has stayed a family favourite for over 75 years because the puzzle is satisfying: you start knowing almost nothing, and careful notes slowly point to who did it, where and with what. Reviewers like that children of about eight can play properly and that it teaches logical elimination without feeling like homework. The 2023 version keeps the same puzzle with new characters, gold-coloured weapons and Clue cards that add surprises. The usual complaints are dice-based movement, which can leave you wandering corridors, a confusing first game, and that it works best with three or more players.
What people love
- A real deduction puzzle that children can manage
- The satisfying moment when your notes finally point to one answer
- A familiar theme and characters many parents grew up with
- Plays up to six, so it suits bigger families
Common complaints
- Rolling to move can leave you wandering the corridors instead of investigating
- The first game can be confusing until everyone understands suggestions and showing cards
- Weaker with two players, and a wrong accusation means you stop taking turns
Based on 5 reviews and discussions
- Review Cluedo Classic board game review (Jess O'Brien, March 2017) · Zatu Games blog
- Review Hasbro's new edition of Clue (Ashley Pelletier, January 2023) · The Toy Insider
- Players When should I make an accusation in Clue? (June 2012) · Board & Card Games Stack Exchange
- Award Clue, Wiffle Ball, Paper Airplane Inducted Into Toy Hall Of Fame (November 2017) · CBS News
- Reference Cluedo · Wikipedia
Summarised in our own words from the sources above. We don't use Amazon reviews or ratings.
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Cluedo
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Why consider it | This game Work out who did it, where, and with which weapon | A different fit Hasbro's quick card-only version: no board or dice, a smaller mystery and about 15 minutes | A different fit A tiny card game that also asks you to work out who holds which card | A different fit Bluffing and deduction for teens and adults, in about 15 minutes |
| Players | 2–6 | 3–4 | 2–6 | 2–6 |
| Best with | 4-6 | 4 | 3-5 | 4-6 |
| Play time | 45–60 min | 10–20 min | 15–30 min | 15 min |
| Age | 8+ | 8+ | 10+ | 14+ |
| Rules | Easy | Easy | Easy | Easy |
| Indian edition | Available | Imported | Imported | Imported |
| On this page | Explore Clue Card Game | Explore Love Letter | Explore Coup |
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Questions people ask about Cluedo
Is Cluedo the same as Clue?
Yes. Clue is the North American name for the same game. Hasbro India sells it as Cluedo, though some Indian listings use both names. The rules and the hunt for who, where and what are the same.
Can two people play Cluedo?
Yes, the current box says 2-6 players. For two, Hasbro's rules have you place four leftover cards face down in rooms and look at them when you enter. It works, but the game is at its best with four to six players.
What changed in the new Cluedo?
The 2023 version (F6420) has new takes on the suspects, including Mayor Green, Chef White and Solicitor Peacock, and the victim is Boddy Black. Rolling a magnifying glass lets you draw one of 29 Clue cards, and you may stay in a room to make another suggestion. The basic who, where and what puzzle is unchanged.
What happens if you make a wrong accusation in Cluedo?
You put the cards back in the envelope without showing anyone and stop taking turns. You still have to show your cards when other players make suggestions. If no one makes a correct accusation, the murderer escapes.
Game facts
- Designed by
- Anthony E. Pratt
- Publisher
- Hasbro (first published by Waddingtons in the UK)
- In India
- Hasbro India Toys Pvt. Ltd. (Mumbai)
- First published
- 1949
- Players
- 2–6
- Barcode
- 195166244266
- Language
- Little reading – Most of the game is names of suspects, weapons and rooms, which you tick off on a detective sheet. The 29 Clue cards have short English instructions that are read aloud, so younger players may need a little help with those.
- Box size and weight
- 40 × 27 × 4 cm, 1.03 kg
- Awards
- US National Toy Hall of Fame (The Strong National Museum of Play), 2017 (Inducted)
Sources & photo creditsThe references behind this guide.
Facts on this page come from the publisher, the Indian maker or distributor, and the sources below. Photos are credited under each one.