I was at our target yesterday & today ( we go there a lot! In case you haven't noticed.) But anyway I'm so glad to announce that Murder by death is 100% correct! They were OUT OF STOCK. And I sighed with joy and they also did NOT have the chocolate edition in the holiday candy next to Candyland, Monopoly & trivial pursuit! Maybe after 5 years of 100% stupid concepts & spin offs, maybe the arrogant & money hungery people at Hasbro has finally learned that the tabloid idea was total bull****! And the they will never think about doing a similar concept ever again! I have read what my good friend MBD posted about there's only ONE DTS left in stock which is very accurate and I feel we should enjoy this new concept this game is giving us and look forward what is yet to come!
In conclusion, Hasbro we hope that this new concept you so called "quietly released." For what reason? Make you finally realize that after 5 Years that DTS was by far the WORST thing that popped into your head and that you were so embarrassed that you had to "queitly" release this new edition out to the world. Well I'm sure all of us here at TAOM will now rejoyce that you will move closer and finally fix what you first started.
Discover The Secrets is dead... thank god!
Discover The Secrets is dead... thank god!
But it is dark upstairs and I am frightened of the dark. Will anyone go with me?
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alwaysPeacock
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I have to admit, looking back on the time leading up to the release of the "reinvention" of CLUE, I'm surprised it got as much media attention as it did. Seems nobody bats an eye when another themed/modernized Monopoly is released, but change the foundations of CLUE, and WOE UPON YOUR SOUL!!!
Got the new edition last night. I appreciate Hasbro's efforts to separate this one from the "reinvention" with the tagline "The Classic Mystery Game." Could be handy if it were stocked alongside "Discover the Secrets" & grandparents were trying to pick a CLUE for the kids. Families are more likely to pick up the "classic" edition they (think) they grew up with.
Also appreciate that the classic 6 weapons have been restored. Good riddance to the baseball bat, dumbbell, and whatever I've unashamedly forgotten from that edition. And kudos to Hasbro for seeming to realize their audience with board games is FAMILIES, not hip teenagers, by noting in the rules that the bonus deck of cards is optional, and that one may play "classic Clue" without them.
Most importantly it feels like a Clue game. The board, though frenzied, is much more atmospheric than the flat, ugly mess that was the "millionaire mogul's" Hollywood mansion. The cards & character movers remind me of the older Clue & Cluedo games: rounded pawns suggesting human forms & predominantly black cards featuring the images against a simple background. The board is completely different, yet it evokes a modern mansion (reminds me of some of the country club homes I saw in high school) in the way I'm sure the original board made people (maybe Americans mostly) think of an old country estate.
My only complaint (I really can't find much to hate without nitpicking) is the game materials themselves. This is the thinnest, flimsiest board game I've bought in a long time. Even the board feels just a step above card stock/poster board. Methinks Hasbro may be shipping out many replacement parts to this edition to homes where games aren't collected, but are subjected to the daily tortures of restless youngsters.
I shall now slip away & leave this baby essay alone before it turns into a teenaged essay.
Got the new edition last night. I appreciate Hasbro's efforts to separate this one from the "reinvention" with the tagline "The Classic Mystery Game." Could be handy if it were stocked alongside "Discover the Secrets" & grandparents were trying to pick a CLUE for the kids. Families are more likely to pick up the "classic" edition they (think) they grew up with.
Also appreciate that the classic 6 weapons have been restored. Good riddance to the baseball bat, dumbbell, and whatever I've unashamedly forgotten from that edition. And kudos to Hasbro for seeming to realize their audience with board games is FAMILIES, not hip teenagers, by noting in the rules that the bonus deck of cards is optional, and that one may play "classic Clue" without them.
Most importantly it feels like a Clue game. The board, though frenzied, is much more atmospheric than the flat, ugly mess that was the "millionaire mogul's" Hollywood mansion. The cards & character movers remind me of the older Clue & Cluedo games: rounded pawns suggesting human forms & predominantly black cards featuring the images against a simple background. The board is completely different, yet it evokes a modern mansion (reminds me of some of the country club homes I saw in high school) in the way I'm sure the original board made people (maybe Americans mostly) think of an old country estate.
My only complaint (I really can't find much to hate without nitpicking) is the game materials themselves. This is the thinnest, flimsiest board game I've bought in a long time. Even the board feels just a step above card stock/poster board. Methinks Hasbro may be shipping out many replacement parts to this edition to homes where games aren't collected, but are subjected to the daily tortures of restless youngsters.
I shall now slip away & leave this baby essay alone before it turns into a teenaged essay.
"But look what happened to the cook!"
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Murder by Death
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Ah so that's the explanation for the 45 empty and half-empty glasses and bottles of wine strewn about the mansion. I guess kids are used to Aunt Rose stumbling about the house after a day filled with drinking and eating during the holidays ...alwaysPeacock wrote:And kudos to Hasbro for seeming to realize their audience with board games is FAMILIES, not hip teenagers
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alwaysPeacock
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Well, yeah, pretty much. Alcohol and sex have grown far less taboo than they might have been in 1949. It was probably shocking to some people then that kids as young as eight would be playing a game based around the idea of assuming the identity of one of six suspected murderers, all the while playing with miniature murder weapons.
Besides, neither alcohol nor sex have ever been totally absent from Clue. Hasn't Miss Scarlet usually been portrayed as a sort of femme fatale? And it's never bothered anyone before to see one or more of the characters sporting a glass of something.
Maybe it's a sign of the times, but if a modern parent is going to let their kids play a game based on the idea that one of them could have committed a cold-blooded murder, that same parent probably won't care or notice the array of alcohol bottles & glasses littering the house. A more uptight parent who would care about that probably wouldn't let their kids anywhere near the game anyway.
*beep*, classic Disney "family friendly" movies are loaded with innuendo. It keeps the adults amused while the kids laugh at what they think is just a character saying something silly.
Sex & alcohol just don't shock anymore. Sadly? Maybe, but, personally, I think they were only ever shocking because they were made taboo by social norms. The British kids looking at their new Cluedo board probably aren't even phased by the wine bottles. I'm happy to see a house (supposedly filled with young people, going by the story given with the game) that looks like these kids got a bit out of hand (look at the bedroom) & allowed something awful (murder) to occur.
Besides, neither alcohol nor sex have ever been totally absent from Clue. Hasn't Miss Scarlet usually been portrayed as a sort of femme fatale? And it's never bothered anyone before to see one or more of the characters sporting a glass of something.
Maybe it's a sign of the times, but if a modern parent is going to let their kids play a game based on the idea that one of them could have committed a cold-blooded murder, that same parent probably won't care or notice the array of alcohol bottles & glasses littering the house. A more uptight parent who would care about that probably wouldn't let their kids anywhere near the game anyway.
*beep*, classic Disney "family friendly" movies are loaded with innuendo. It keeps the adults amused while the kids laugh at what they think is just a character saying something silly.
Sex & alcohol just don't shock anymore. Sadly? Maybe, but, personally, I think they were only ever shocking because they were made taboo by social norms. The British kids looking at their new Cluedo board probably aren't even phased by the wine bottles. I'm happy to see a house (supposedly filled with young people, going by the story given with the game) that looks like these kids got a bit out of hand (look at the bedroom) & allowed something awful (murder) to occur.
"But look what happened to the cook!"
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alwaysPeacock
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Besides, you're digging too deep, perhaps even grasping. My comment about families was about the balance of old & new techniques being better integrated than in Hasbro's last attempt at giving Clue a face-lift. This is a Clue that, in its gameplay & overall design, can bridge what grandparents remember (standard gameplay, as far as Clue is concerned) with what kids today expect (young, even stereotypical, characters & probably not longer than half an hour of their attention span).
"But look what happened to the cook!"
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Murder by Death
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Um, are you reading a different story than I am? The Suspects are definitely young based on their appearance alone, and judging by the board, they definitely got out of hand. But, the story accompanying the game is the exact opposite of what I would expect depicted by the cards and board. http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8039/8034 ... b08f_b.jpgalwaysPeacock wrote:I'm happy to see a house (supposedly filled with young people, going by the story given with the game) that looks like these kids got a bit out of hand (look at the bedroom) & allowed something awful (murder) to occur.
And I am mostly kidding about the wine glasses, sorry.
It's actually ridiculous how many empties there are -- again many thanks for pointing that out. Based on the age of the kids depicted as suspects, the board looks exactly the way it should and as you correctly surmise, got out of hand and somebody got killed. I agree, the adults will find it amusing, while the kids will most likely overlook it ... Not the Jr. High kids, mind you. I actually expect that the parents of kids who might be prudish about the implications suggested by the alcohol, bath and bed sheets, would have no problems with a game based around a grizzly murder. If it's one thing we don't have a problem with in the USA, especially among the conservative and otherwise prudish right, it's guns and violence. I would be equally shocked to believe families in 1949 would have a problem with it either, given the popularity of Agatha Christie and murder mystery films of the time. Ironically it's the more liberal and intellectual families that have read every book about raising children and have been duped into buying every child safety device on the market, who are most likely to question the values and impact such a game will have on their children.And with that Happy Thanksgiving to you all, and many happy hours of playing Clue The Classic Mystery Game!
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WarnerPlum
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alwaysPeacock
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When do you all think Hasbro will get around to updating their Clue website? http://www.hasbro.com/clue and http://www.cluegame.com both still lead to a generic ad for "Discover the Secrets" with links to other Clue product pages. The site was awesome back when the 2003 revamp was on the market. The suspect bios, if flawed, were at least in-depth & tied in perfectly with the entire product line. As it is, we now only have the Hub's TV series, the "Classic Mystery Game," and the Nerf-gun-style shooting game with any references to these "CLUE Houses," but without any reasonable history behind them. It's just like, here's 6 people, they represent these houses, and Sam Black is dead, OH NO! 
"But look what happened to the cook!"
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Murder by Death
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Well, based on "The Classic Mystery Game" being used on the Winning Moves London and Sherlock Cluedo games, the market slogan is definitely replacing "Discover the Secrets". The jury is still out on the board layout and characters. Considering the USAopoly branded editions all used the Rumor cards, clock cards, etc, and the Sherlock and London editions don't even use the bonus cards from the new TCMG, it's hard to know exactly what constitute the changes to TCMG. Is it just a return to the classic 6 weapons? The Winning Moves editions are using the traditional board layout (albeit with some bizarre alterations), while the new Hasbro entry uses a significantly altered layout. Perhaps this enables Hasbro to adjust their editions as they see fit (suspects, locations, layout), with the extra "bonus" playing methods reserved solely for their editions, relegating everything else to the Classic traditional format, and further only being allowed to use Hasbro approved licensed, or pre-DTS artwork, so as not to unfairly compete with Hasbro's "young adult" cast and "modern" locations. In other words, no "original" artwork (though that doesn't really explain the Cluedo London Edition). But the games are otherwise consistent in that they can be played with, or without the extra rules, and with the same six weapons (arguably the core Trademark of the Clue game, once the 6 original characters and 9 locations are removed).
As for when DTS will be completely replaced --
Considering Habsro is still charging $19.99 for both DTS and TCMG on its website, it seems clear they are marketing them as equal games, at least until DTS completely sells out. So my guess is by next Christmas they will be marketing TCMG, or whatever replaces the current incarnation, including updating the websites. But you have to remember, Hasbro spent a fortune on the current DTS marketing, interactive websites, iPhone app, game console editions, and it is unlikely they are going to invest as heavily again until they are sure they have a long term solution. From the confusing "House of" backstory which has absolutely nothing to do with the new game, my guess is they have some work to do before they are ready to launch a unifying marketing campaign. My hope is they will at least update the suspects to make them a bit more mature by next year, when TCMG becomes the defacto replacement for DTS. Right now it makes sense as TCMG appears to be a companion game to DTS appealing to younger players. Perhaps that explains the cheap playing cards -- they don't want to invest too heavily in production until they finalize the design. But a new box cover and suspects, maybe update a couple of rooms, and you have a brand new game.
But until DTS is completely gone from store shelves, I don't see Hasbro making any serious attempt at unifying the product line like they did back in 2003. It would be just too confusing. But clearly, the "House of ______" crap points at an effort by Hasbro to eventually do just that. It's entirely possible that they were hoping the Clue mini-series was going to do better and this game may have been designed to take advantage of its success (just like the 1986 update following the Clue movie), and the confusing back-story is just left-over from that plan, now that the series is dead, and talent released form their contracts, and Hasbro is re-thinking the backstory and suspects with this new board -- come to think of it, the new board design and the suspects don't really fit together ... It's like they are from two different games.
As for when DTS will be completely replaced --
Considering Habsro is still charging $19.99 for both DTS and TCMG on its website, it seems clear they are marketing them as equal games, at least until DTS completely sells out. So my guess is by next Christmas they will be marketing TCMG, or whatever replaces the current incarnation, including updating the websites. But you have to remember, Hasbro spent a fortune on the current DTS marketing, interactive websites, iPhone app, game console editions, and it is unlikely they are going to invest as heavily again until they are sure they have a long term solution. From the confusing "House of" backstory which has absolutely nothing to do with the new game, my guess is they have some work to do before they are ready to launch a unifying marketing campaign. My hope is they will at least update the suspects to make them a bit more mature by next year, when TCMG becomes the defacto replacement for DTS. Right now it makes sense as TCMG appears to be a companion game to DTS appealing to younger players. Perhaps that explains the cheap playing cards -- they don't want to invest too heavily in production until they finalize the design. But a new box cover and suspects, maybe update a couple of rooms, and you have a brand new game.
But until DTS is completely gone from store shelves, I don't see Hasbro making any serious attempt at unifying the product line like they did back in 2003. It would be just too confusing. But clearly, the "House of ______" crap points at an effort by Hasbro to eventually do just that. It's entirely possible that they were hoping the Clue mini-series was going to do better and this game may have been designed to take advantage of its success (just like the 1986 update following the Clue movie), and the confusing back-story is just left-over from that plan, now that the series is dead, and talent released form their contracts, and Hasbro is re-thinking the backstory and suspects with this new board -- come to think of it, the new board design and the suspects don't really fit together ... It's like they are from two different games.
yay! Its official, its in very major store in the billings area!-
Murder by Death
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Yup, its the only version of Cue at my Target too aside from the Classic Detective wooden box edition. Strange Target hasn't updated their website, which further confirms in my mind that Target equates them as the same game. Once DTS sells out, you might just get TCMG.
This actually happened on Amazon too, once the 2002 Classic Detective Game sold out, they basically just started shipping DTS for anyone who ordered from the page. What a surprise that would have been thinking you were going to get the game with the little figurines pictured, and instead you got a game with a Spa and some plastic question marks. And all the reviews are for the 2002 game, leading an unsuspecting customer to think DTS is such a great game. As far as I know they haven't cored it ether. DTS still has its own page, and used re-sellers are using the 2002 edition page to sell that version which is reflected in the prices for a somewhat rare addition a decade later.
And Amazon is still calling TCMG, the Ultimate mystery game for some reason ...
This actually happened on Amazon too, once the 2002 Classic Detective Game sold out, they basically just started shipping DTS for anyone who ordered from the page. What a surprise that would have been thinking you were going to get the game with the little figurines pictured, and instead you got a game with a Spa and some plastic question marks. And all the reviews are for the 2002 game, leading an unsuspecting customer to think DTS is such a great game. As far as I know they haven't cored it ether. DTS still has its own page, and used re-sellers are using the 2002 edition page to sell that version which is reflected in the prices for a somewhat rare addition a decade later.
And Amazon is still calling TCMG, the Ultimate mystery game for some reason ...
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Murder by Death
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More evidence from the UK --
Amazon UK is selling DTS for £5 off retail, and lists a "newer version of this item is available" linking to TCMG. Other retailers are selling it for as much as £9 less.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hasbro-HAS40613 ... B000ZIXOIW
By contrast, Amazon is selling the "newer" TCMG for only £3 less off a higher retail price.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hasbro-38712-Cl ... B00871UIRO
Looks like retailers are trying to dump DTS and capitalize on the new version for Christmas.
Amazon UK is selling DTS for £5 off retail, and lists a "newer version of this item is available" linking to TCMG. Other retailers are selling it for as much as £9 less.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hasbro-HAS40613 ... B000ZIXOIW
By contrast, Amazon is selling the "newer" TCMG for only £3 less off a higher retail price.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hasbro-38712-Cl ... B00871UIRO
Looks like retailers are trying to dump DTS and capitalize on the new version for Christmas.
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Murder by Death
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chaostheory1489
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Murder by Death
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DTS is NO LONGER AVAILABLE from the Hasbro.com Shop!!
I'd say that clinches it boys and girls. NO MORE DTS!
In fact, my guess is since they didn't announce TCMG at last years Toy Fair, that they will announce this February, and roll out a whole new campaign replacing DTS with it. (Not exactly sure why they announce new toys right after Christmas instead of September or something).
Frostbyte, I don't know about Michael, but I'm not willing to accept this game as the new traditional version. Yes, the bonus cards are optional, but the layout is different and the starting spaces have been eliminated, so for me, it's still a spin-off. I would be willing to compromise if they would just make the characters more respectable. But as long as they are casting young adults, barely discernable from teenagers, in place of proper suspects, then I have to draw the line over technicalities.
I'd say that clinches it boys and girls. NO MORE DTS!
In fact, my guess is since they didn't announce TCMG at last years Toy Fair, that they will announce this February, and roll out a whole new campaign replacing DTS with it. (Not exactly sure why they announce new toys right after Christmas instead of September or something).
Frostbyte, I don't know about Michael, but I'm not willing to accept this game as the new traditional version. Yes, the bonus cards are optional, but the layout is different and the starting spaces have been eliminated, so for me, it's still a spin-off. I would be willing to compromise if they would just make the characters more respectable. But as long as they are casting young adults, barely discernable from teenagers, in place of proper suspects, then I have to draw the line over technicalities.
I just noticed something about Mustard & peacocks names.. in DTS peacock is Eleanor Peacock & Mustard is Jack Mustard.
In CTCMG they are Peacock - Eleanor Hamilton & Mustard - Jack Hartman.
Very strange why those 2 remained the same, but the other suspect names have changed.. :-/
In CTCMG they are Peacock - Eleanor Hamilton & Mustard - Jack Hartman.
Very strange why those 2 remained the same, but the other suspect names have changed.. :-/
But it is dark upstairs and I am frightened of the dark. Will anyone go with me?
Fair enough, that's agreeable. The board reminds me more of Master Detective than the classic game.
I finally picked up a copy last night. Their 2 player game ruleset was pretty simple, and can be applied to any version.
One thing that struck me as odd though. The Copyright date on all the cards and Detective Note-sheets is 2011? Were they sitting on this version for over a year? If so why? Maybe waiting for the show to air first? Very odd...
I finally picked up a copy last night. Their 2 player game ruleset was pretty simple, and can be applied to any version.
One thing that struck me as odd though. The Copyright date on all the cards and Detective Note-sheets is 2011? Were they sitting on this version for over a year? If so why? Maybe waiting for the show to air first? Very odd...
