Clue, the murder-mystery board recreation, has been a staple of recreation nights and big-box retailer cabinets for so long as we are able to keep in mind. In reality, 2024 marks Clue’s seventy fifth anniversary.
First launched as Clue in the USA in 1949 by Parker Brothers, the sport has bought greater than 150 million copies and is listed because the second-most-popular board recreation on this planet behind Monopoly (and never together with chess and checkers), in line with Hasbro, which purchased Parker Brothers in 1991. However Clue’s story doesn’t really begin in 1949. The sport dates again even additional, all the best way to the second World Conflict.
To find out about its origins and future, we spoke with Hasbro’s resident Clue professional — and senior vp of board video games — Brian Baker.
[Ed. note: This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.]
Polygon: How did Clue come to be?
Brian Baker: We’re going to must go all the best way again to 1943. That’s when the story begins, with a musician named Anthony Pratt. He was a piano participant in Birmingham, England, and he would play at these lavish murder-mystery events on the manors within the countryside.
Through the air raids in World Conflict II, when England was being bombed by [the German military], they [the English] have been within the bomb shelters. He wished to seize the expertise that he witnessed whereas enjoying piano at these events in a recreation. So Anthony got here up with the thought of a recreation that he known as Cluedo, which passed off in a mansion and there was a criminal offense — on this case, it was a homicide. And there’s all these colourful suspects and weapons, and the thing of the sport was to determine who dedicated the homicide with what weapon and the place within the manor did the crime really happen.
The title Cluedo was a play on the Latin phrase ludo, which implies “I play,” and the phrase “clue.” In order that grew to become Cluedo. Ludo can also be the British spinoff of Parcheesi or Pachisi, which originated in historical India. So the origin of the title really goes again a lot, a lot additional than 1943. However he introduced [Cluedo] to a British writer named Waddingtons [which was acquired by Hasbro in 1994], who initially revealed the sport, after which it was sort of licensed by Parker Brothers in 1949 and renamed Clue as a result of Ludo as a reputation and as a recreation wasn’t extensively performed within the U.S.
This yr marks 75 years of Clue. How has it modified throughout that point?
Clearly loads of time has handed, and the individuals who play this recreation, their style has modified, and the world has modified. So there’s been loads of slight modifications to the video games, close to the characters and the weapons and the rooms, simply to make it extra accessible and related to at present’s viewers.
Initially, there have been 11 rooms within the manor, and some have been eradicated. There was a gun room and a cellar, so these are not a part of the manor. There have been 9 weapons [including] an undetonated or unused bomb, a syringe, and a hearth poker — so these have been changed.
To make a recreation really feel fashionable and related for at present’s viewers, particularly over a time span like 75 years, it’s necessary to just be sure you don’t maintain it static. It’s continually evolving, and evolves with the tastes and desires of our gamers.
How typically does the bottom recreation change?
We attempt to not change it an excessive amount of. We name it a refresh, and the final time we touched the core Clue recreation was final yr. We revealed a brand new model that launched in early 2023. For that version, we did a bunch of issues. We gave the characters backstories and made them extra fascinating and supplied loads of depth. For instance, Mrs. White is now a chef. Mrs. Peacock is a lawyer. We simply felt just like the gamers of Clue have all the time puzzled who these characters are.
We attempt to not reinvent it each single yr, however we do have to take a look at it a minimum of each 4 years to ensure that the sport that’s on the shelf displays the tastes of at present’s gamers. Even the manor again in 1943, when the sport was first invented, seems to be so much completely different than I feel what folks would affiliate with a mansion at present.
There’s been loads of completely different variations. What we’ve tried to do is ensure that the furnishings and the decor doesn’t look dated, it seems to be elegant and complex. With at present’s printing applied sciences, we are able to print with a a lot increased decision, with so much richer coloration and a much wider palette. And so should you take a look at a few of the authentic illustrations and paintings of the sport, you’ll be able to inform that they’re antiques they usually’re not essentially one thing that was printed and revealed at present. So we attempt to protect the character and genuine nature of the sport, however use the entire substances that now we have entry to in fashionable board recreation publishing.
How have these technological advances affected the supplies that you just use for the sport?
Within the newest model of Clue, one factor you’ll discover is the pawns are literally miniatures of the Clue characters, whereas beforehand they have been generic pawns — Colonel Mustard was yellow, Professor Plum was purple, and that’s the best way you’ll play.
For an 8-year-old little one it’s far more enjoyable to play with a tiny miniature of that character. That’s actually enabled by a few of the molding strategies and a few of the speedy prototyping we’re utilizing. We will get much more element within the options of these miniatures. Whereas beforehand we have been restricted round measurement and backbone — these characters would look extra like blobs, somewhat than having every little thing all the way down to the cheekbones and the hair that we are able to have on these miniatures at present. That’s one space that’s been actually impactful.
We pay loads of consideration to the load of the cardboard inventory to ensure it feels premium. Within the new model, the weapons are barely bigger, a bit of bit heavier. And whereas these won’t be technologically new developments, they’re particulars that we pay loads of consideration to.
Why focus a lot on the tactile feeling of a recreation, versus the mechanics or the gameplay side?
To me, the tactile really feel of these elements is the soul of board video games — as a result of we’re competing many instances towards digital video games the place it’s about swiping, pushing a button, shifting a controller. One factor that may by no means get replaced is the feeling of shuffling playing cards, dealing them out, shifting a miniature round a board, rolling cube. There’s digital methods to interchange all of these experiences — we are able to generate random numbers utilizing a telephone, we are able to create a digital board on a display — however why is it that these video games are nonetheless round? It’s as a result of that’s the one factor that gamers don’t wish to hand over. They wish to roll cube. They wish to shuffle playing cards. They wish to maintain them of their hand, they usually wish to transfer the pawns across the board themselves. However from the time of the traditional Egyptians and the Romans, who’re enjoying video games like this, to at present, that hasn’t modified and it most likely gained’t turn into the long run.
Homicide mysteries appear to be massive in common media proper now. What’s subsequent for Clue?
Like Glass Onion or White Lotus, the thought of homicide thriller is considerably timeless. With the entire content material that’s on the market, it looks as if it’s solely growing. We’re excited as a result of now we have an leisure division that’s working carefully with Sony Photos proper now throughout a number of completely different live-action, unscripted, and different mediums to sort of construct out the franchise.
